Bulgaria got one of the portfolios of the future

Sofia: Bulgaria has received one of the portfolios of the future, Ekaterina Zaharieva said in Strasbourg on September 17 after being named by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as proposed holder of the startups, research and innovation in the next Commission.

Von der Leyen announced the proposed line-up of the next European Commission at a news conference in the European Parliament earlier on September 17.

Zaharieva, speaking to reporters, expressed gratitude for Von der Leyen’s nomination of her and for the trust the Bulgarian government had placed in her.

“I am aware of the responsibility, it is large,” Zaharieva said.

“The portfolio that Bulgaria received is one of the portfolios of the future, extremely important and at the centre, as it was in this and the next Commission,” she said.

Zaharieva said that the political guidelines that Von der Leyen had announced gave a special place to innovation and research “which we need to strengthen in order to make our economy more competitive, that is, this is directly related to increasing competitiveness of the EU and the European economy”.

Boiko Borissov, leader of the GERB-UDF coalition of which Zaharieva is a member, expressed thanks to Von der Leyen, saying that the programmes on the economy, industry, competitiveness and innovation were the most powerful and well-resourced.

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