SOFIA (Bulgaria), July 7 (SeeNews) – The Council of the European Union appointed Bulgaria's Mariya Gabriel as European Commissioner responsible for the digital economy and society portfolio on Friday, the Council said.
The appointment, by common accord with the president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, takes effect immediately, and applies for the remainder of the current term of office of the Commission which ends in October 2019, the Council said in a statement.
On Tuesday, the European Parliament backed the appointment of Mariya Gabriel by 517 votes to 77, with 89 abstentions.
The commissioner for the digital economy and society will support the implementation of the digital single market strategy that the European Commission adopted in May 2015 and on the basis of which it presented a mid-term review on 10 May. The commissioner will contribute to delivering a digital single market helping to lay the groundwork for Europe's digital future with pan-continental telecommunications networks, digital services that cross borders and a wave of innovative European start-ups.
Jean-Claude Juncker nominated Mariya Gabriel to serve as European Commissioner under a proposal made by the Bulgarian government in May. The seat of Bulgaria's member of the European Commission had been vacant since Kristalina Georgieva, Vice President for Budget and Human Resources, stepped down to take the position of Chief Executive Officer for the World Bank from the start of 2017.
Gabriel, a member of Bulgaria’s governing conservative GERB party, has been a member of the European Parliament in the group of the European People’s Party (EPP) since 2009. As of 2014 she is EPP group vice-president in the European Parliament and head of the Bulgarian delegation in the EPP group.