Bulgaria's Georgieva Gives Solid Performance

From EuropeanVoice.com

Bulgaria's commissioner-designate does much better than her predecessor.

There was a palpable sense of relief among MEPs when Kristalina Georgieva turned out to be very different from her predecessor as Bulgaria's commissioner-designate. Where Rumiana Jeleva bungled her answers in increasingly halting English and betrayed an almost complete lack of knowledge of her assigned portfolio, Georgieva - a vice-president of the World Bank since March 2008 - delivered a solid if unspectacular performance. That was enough to prompt spontaneous applause even to unremarkable statements.

The 56-year-old economist got through the hearing without gaffes, although she appeared taken aback by a question as to why a World Bank vice-president would want to be a member of the European Commission. She said that she felt it was her “duty” to follow the call - but perhaps sensing that this would not necessarily endear her to her audience, she added that she was looking forward to the new task and that change was a good thing. Applause again. When Michael Cashman, a British Labour MEP, suggested that the Parliament's development committee should move swiftly to confirm her, the MEPs clapped. There was no doubt that the leaders of the political groups on the committee would approve her candidacy.

Georgieva's hearing lacked the political drama of Jeleva's appearance on 12 January, but the earthquake that struck Haiti on that day provided a sombre backdrop. As the future commissioner for international co-operation, humanitarian aid and crisis response, dealing with such disasters will fall squarely on her shoulders. Numerous MEPs wanted to know what she thought of the EU's aid to Haiti - harshly criticised for a lack of visibility - and what she would do better. Georgieva defended the EU's performance but also promised to review and beef up the EU's preparedness if necessary. “What can we do for a faster, more united, more visible Europe when the next disaster strikes?” she asked. Finding the answer, she suggested, would need some work.

Other MEPs probed her on the division of labour between her and other commissioners whose portfolios may overlap with hers, above all Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, and Andris Piebalgs, the designated commissioner for development. She replied that she found a “significant degree of internal logic” in her portfolio, a reply that is unlikely to reassure MEPs who worry about a fragmentation of the EU's humanitarian and development policy between the various commissioners and between the Commission and the new European External Action Service. She also appeared badly prepared for the question - loaded and complex – as to whether the military should engage in humanitarian work.

Expectations may have been low following the abysmal performance of  Jeleva, who subsequently resigned both as commissioner-designate and as her country's foreign minister. But that should not detract from the overall solidity of Georgieva's answers and the quiet competence of their delivery.

Copyright: European Voice 2010

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