January 21 (SeeNews) - Former Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and ambassador to Berlin Meglena Plugchieva said on Thursday she applied for the position of a Vice President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Bulgarian state-run news agency BTA reported.
Plugchieva, a member of Bulgarian parliament from opposition Socialist Party, said her application was a personal act, rather than a nomination by a political party or the government.
She informed Prime Minister Boyko Borisov of her decision to run for EBRD Vice President and thanked for the support she is receiving on national level, BTA quoted Plugchieva as telling journalists in the Bulgarian parliament on Thursday.
Borisov, head of ruling right-of-centre GERB party, said he supported Plugchieva's candidacy in a letter to the EBRD, defying opposition accusations of purging political opponents.
“On the opposite, if someone has the qualifications, we stand by him and help his carreer development ”, Borisov said, adding he would back Plugchieva again on January 29, when EBRD President Thomas Mirow would visit Sofia.
The powers of the EBRD are vested in the Board of Governors to which each of the 61 member countries and the two intergovernmental institutions (the European Community and European Investment Bank) appoints a governor, generally the minister of finance.
The Board of Governors delegates most powers to the Board of Directors, which is responsible for the EBRD's strategic direction. The President is elected by the Board of Governors and is the legal representative of the EBRD. Under the guidance of the Board of Directors, the President manages the work of the Bank.
Currently EBRD has one First Vice President and three Vice Presidents.