FT: Bulgaria's Georgieva Plausible as EU Foreign Policy Chief

Kristalina Georgieva, Bulgaria's EU Commissioner in charge of humanitarian aid, could take over as head of the bloc's foreign policy, the Financial Times wrote Sunday.

This development could be a result of an "eleventh-hour" campaign by Eastern European countries such as Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland, which are seeking to thwart attempts of Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini to become the next EU foreign policy chief, authors Peter Spiegel and Hugh Carnegy explain.

In an article titled "Fresh Fight Breaks Out over Top Eu Roles", Spiegel and Carnegy argue Mogherini's opponents slam her for not adopting a tough stance against Russia.

In the light of the upcoming Wednesday summit at which a basic agreement on top EU positions is expected to be reached, the two add the Italian candidate's chances are dwindling as some European Parliament members perceive her to be lacking "experience and stature".

"Hardliners on Russia" such as Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and his Swedish counterpart Carl Bildt "are likely to be ruled out as well", the Financial Times quotes diplomats as saying.

That means Georgieva, the EU Commissioner for International Cooperation described in the article as "a World Bank veteran", could become a possible "consensus figure".

Novinite reminds that earlier in July, a French journalist also suggested Georgieva might get one of Europe's top positions as she could be a fine successor to outgoing Catherine Ashton.

Ulrike Lunacek, European Parliament Vice-President from the Greens, echoed his remarks and underlined her "extraordinary role" as a commissioner in charge of humanitarian aid, international cooperation and crisis...