Bulgaria is the only country that complied with the request of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to nominate a man and a woman for the new European Commission, DPA reported.

After her re-election in June, Ursula von der Leyen requested that countries propose an equal number of men and women to achieve gender balance. Despite this requirement, most countries nominated only one candidate, and that candidate was a man. Thus, if the situation does not change, two-thirds of the representatives in the new European Commission will be men. Currently, 12 out of 27 European Commissioners are women.

Bulgaria proposed the candidacies of Ekaterina Zaharieva, who held positions in three governments led by GERB leader Boyko Borisov, and Julian Popov, who served twice as Minister of Environment and Water.

• Caretaker cabinet selects Ekaterina Zaharieva and Julian Popov as Bulgaria’s candidates for European commissioner