After Rumiana Jeleva's withdrawal from her candidature as Humanitarian Affairs Commissioner, Bulgaria has proposed Kristalina Georgieva to replace her. The ne hearing is set for 3 February, to be followed by parliament vote on the new commission on 9 February.

Bulgaria has put forward Kristalina Georgieva as its nominee for the next commission following the withdrawal of Rumiana Jeleva from the list of candidates. Georgieva has been nominated for the same post as Jeleva – humanitarian affairs commissioner. Georgieva is currently employed as vice-president of the World Bank.

Commission president José Manuel Barroso accepted her nomination on 21 January and parliament scheduled a hearing for Georgieva on 3 February.

Jeleva’s withdrawal was announced on 19 January, which was to have been the last day of confirmation hearings for the candidates. She had appeared before Parliament’s development committee a week earlier, as all of the commissioner-designates, who have appeared in public hearings in the last weeks.

The nominees must be approved by parliament. Under EU rules, MEPs vote on the entire line-up, not individuals. The vote had originally been scheduled for 26 January. Now it is set for 9 February.