Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev has signed a decree dismissing EU-Affairs Minister Meglena Kuneva, who will step in as the country's first EU commissioner on January 1.

Her successor still remains unknown, but reports point at Deputy Foreign Minister Gergana Grancharova as possible runner-up for the EU seat in the cabinet. Centrist coalition partner Simeon II National Movement (SIINM) insists on Grancharova's nomination to stick to the ruling formula 8:5:3 within the coalition.

The other rumoured candidacy is that of leftist Andriana Sukova - Tosheva, executive director at the Bulgarian International Business Association (BIBA), who was formerly deputy agriculture minister in the cabinet of Ivan Kostov.

The odds are that the two parties will not manage to settle the score themselves. As usual, the "Great Troika", made up of ruling coalition leaders, will have the final say.

Meglena Kuneva, 49, who has served as Bulgaria's EU affairs minister in the two successive governments, was approved last week by the European Parliament.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!