Bulgaria's Georgieva Wins 'EU Commissioner of the Year' Award by EV

The new holder of the "EU Commissioner of the Year" award by European Voice, Kristalina Georgieva (right) is pictured here with Romanian PM Boc (middle) during relief efforts for the floods in Romania in September 2010. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Bulgaria's Kristalina Georgieva has triumphed with the "European of the Year" and "EU Commissioner of the Year" awards of the prestigious newspaper European Voice.

Thus, the EU Commissioner on International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Kristalina Georgieva, becomes the second Bulgarian EU Commissioner after Bulgaria's Meglena Kuneva, in charge of consumer protection in the first Barroso Commission, won the same awards in 2008.

Bulgaria has only had two EU Commissioners so far after joining the EU in January 2007; both of them - Kuneva and Georgieva - have been women, and both have apparently excelled in their fileds, winning the "European of the Year" and "EU Commissioner of the Year" awards of European Voice.

The winners in the several "European of the Year" categories of European Voice were determined after an online voting on the website of "European Voice". "European Voice" is an English language newspaper owned by The Economist group.

The other nominees that Georgieva defeated in the category EU Commissioner of the Year were Viviane Reding (justice and fundamental rights), Slim Kallas (transport) and Cecilia Malmstrom (home affairs).

Kristalina Georgieva was named one of the Europeans of the Year at European Voice's annual awards ceremony in Brussels Tuesday night. The 57-year-old former World Bank official was also voted European commissioner of the year.

"Georgieva, a former vice-president of the World Bank, was nominated for the post of European commissioner only when the Parliament threatened in January to withhold approval for the new college of commissioners because they were unhappy with Bulgaria's first choice as commissioner, Rumiana Jeleva. Georgieva was drafted in from the World Bank as a replacement, taking over the portfolio of international co-operation, humanitarian aid and crisis response. She led the European Union's response to humanitarian disasters in Haiti and Pakistan," says European Voice.

"Georgieva became a European commissioner almost by accident, but since February she has clearly impressed many people... 2010 has been a difficult year for the European Union, but the awards nevertheless celebrate some significant achievements. The voting for Georgieva underlines that the EU is still a force for good in the world and a global player when it comes to humanitarian aid," declared Tim King, the editor of European Voice.

In addition to Kristalina Georgieva, the list of other "Europeans of the Year" determined by the readers of European Voice contains other impressive names.

The readers of European Voice voted Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), as their EU Official of the Year. The joint winners of the category of National Politician of the Year were David Cameron and Nick Clegg, the prime minister and deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom. Jeanine Hennis-Plaaschaert was voted MEP of the Year.

The winner of the category of Inspiration of the Year was Spain's national football team, which won the World Cup in July and asserted European supremacy in the world's most popular sport.

The EV awards were presented during a gala dinner at the stock exchange of Brussels, attended by more than 120 leading legislators, policymakers and members of the EU community.

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