Bulgarian Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva will be given the portfolio "Start-ups, Research and Innovation" in the next European Commission. This was announced today in the European Parliament by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Later, in a brief statement to the media, Ekaterina Zaharieva described her portfolio as "the portfolio of the future" and then refused to answer journalists' questions, BNR's Brussels correspondent Angelina Piskova reported from Brussels.

According to European People's Party (EPP) MEP Andrey Kovachev, the portfolio is "very good and important for the European economy and competitiveness with other parts of the world".

"We were very late in the process and it is normal to get such a portfolio. We consume European politics, we have been part of it for a long time and in this case we get what is left at the end," Ilhan Kyuchyuk, MEP from Renew Europe, told BNR.  
Reactions in Bulgaria were also mixed.

According to GERB leader Boyko Borissov (Zaharieva is a GERB candidate), this portfolio has some of the strongest and best-funded programmes. He recalled that during the election campaign, there was a lot of talk about "Europe's competitiveness against America, China". "It is our Commissioner who is given this portfolio. Many, many thanks," Borissov said.

• Ekaterina Zaharieva nominated for European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation

Tsoncho Ganev, deputy leader of Vazrazhdane, said: "This portfolio reflects the EU's attitude towards Bulgaria.

"We in the Bulgarian Socialist Party think that Bulgaria has not been given a strong portfolio in the new European Commission," said Borislav Gutsanov, leader of the BSP parliamentary group. "We see that Ursula von der Leyen has given quite good chances to Romania, where they will have a second person in the Commission as vice-president," he noted.