Karina Karaivanova appointed head of Bulgaria’s Financial Supervision Commission
Bulgaria’s Parliament appointed Karina Karaivanova as chairperson of the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) on July 28, with 139 votes in favour, 24 opposed and 11 abstentions.
Karaivanova was previously Deputy Finance Minister with a portfolio overseeing EU funds, government debt and relations with international financial institutions. She joined the ministry in 2003 and rose to deputy minister in 2012, in the previous administration of Prime Minister Boiko Borissov.
Speaking to reporters after the vote, Karaivanova said that she did not plan to carry out an audit of the regulator’s activities under her predecessor, Stoyan Mavrodiev, but intended to delegate more authority strengthen the independence of FSC deputy heads, whose powers were curtailed by Mavrodiev, news website Mediapool.bg reported.
Karaivanova’s appointment could still be overturned by the Constitutional Court, which is due to hear on July 29 a complaint filed by 48 MPs, protesting the short nominating period – five days, instead of 14 stipulated in Parliament’s rulebook. The first hearing is to decide whether the complaint is admissible and even if the court decides to take on the case, it would be months before a ruling is issued.
The short nominating period – which resulted in Karaivanova being the only nominee for the job – was criticised during the debate on the House floor by several parties, including the opposition Movement for Rights and Freedoms and the nationalist Patriotic Front, which backs the government. Both parliamentary groups voted in favour of Karaivanova’s appointment.
Karaivanova will be replaced as deputy minister by Marinela Petrova, who is promoted from head of the Finance Ministry’s directorate on economic and financial policy.
(Karina Karaivanova. Screengrab from Bulgarian National Television)
