On Friday 28 October, European Commissioner for the Budget and Human Resources Kristalina Georgieva announced that she would be resigning from her current role to join the World Bank in January 2017.
In a press release she said: "It has been an honour to serve for the last seven years both the European Union and my country as Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and, in my current role, Vice President responsible for Budget and Human Resources". Georgieva expressed her hope that there would be a positive outcome to the on-going negotiations on the draft budget for 2017 and said: "I will be returning to Washington DC in the New Year. In the meantime I will continue to work without distractions on important pending issues. I look forward to a positive outcome to the negotiations on the Draft Budget 2017". On Wednesday, the European Parliament opened hostilities by advocating an increase in lending and overshooting the caps for the multiannual financial framework (see EUROPE 11655).
The announcement of Georgieva's departure comes shortly after her unsuccessful attempt to obtain the prestigious post of UN secretary general, a position that was finally allocated to António Guterres from Portugal. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker regretted the decision of his Bulgarian colleague and praised her talents, professionalism and determination.
Georgieva will take up the new role of executive director at the World Bank, an international financial organisation she worked for between 1993 and 2010.
Günther Oettinger to inherit Georgieva's portfolio. The Commission’s work will continue and Junker explained that he had asked Commissioner for the Digital Economy Günther Oettinger to take over Georgieva’s portfolio from 31 December 2016 at the latest. As was the case with the previous resignation of Jonathan Hill from the United Kingdom, Oettinger will face a hearing by the relevant parliamentary committees at the European Parliament.
In compliance with the European treaty (Article 246 TFEU), it will be up to the Bulgarian government to suggest another candidate to sit at the College of Commissioners until the end of the Junker Commission. The remit of the portfolio to be allocated still needs to be defined. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)