Mariya Gabriel, Bulgaria`s pick to join the European Commission, will be given the digital economy and society portfolio, the Commission said Tuesday, according to Politico.
She was interviewed for the job Tuesday morning by Jean-Claude Juncker, the Commission president. She still needs to be confirmed by the European Parliament, Politico wrote.
A hearing in front of committees dealing with tech — such as the internal market and consumer protection committee and the industry, research and energy committee — is likely to take place in the coming weeks.
If confirmed, Gabriel would work under vice presidents Andrus Ansip and Jyrki Katainen.
She would fill the shoes of Gunther Oettinger who took over the budget portfolio from Bulgarian Kristalina Georgieva, who rejoined the World Bank. Oettinger`s responsibilities had been handed over to Ansip since January.
She has little-known experience of the tech sector but is serving her second term as a member of parliament. She is best-known for her work on visa policies and foreign affairs. Most recently, she has been a rapporteur on two reports, which gave Ukrainians and Georgians the right to travel to the Schengen area without visas for up to 90 days.
