Brussels, 21 February (BTA) - The European Commission (EC) announced on Wednesday its decision on a number of appointments concerning its top management level. Two Bulgarian women are among the high-level appointees - Mariana Kotzeva and Andriana Sukova, who are respectively appointed as head of Eurostat and deputy head of DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.

Kotzeva will be the new Director-General of DG Eurostat: a Bulgarian national who since July 2012 has served as the Deputy Director-General of Eurostat in Luxembourg, the EC press release said. Ms Kotzeva is the first Bulgarian national to be appointed to the position of Director-General. She is also the first woman to head the European statistical office Eurostat. With almost six years of working experience in Eurostat and over ten years as the Secretary-General and then President of Bulgaria's National Statistical Institute, Ms Kotzeva has all the necessary skills and experience for her new position.

Sukova will be the new Deputy Director-General of DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion: a Bulgarian national who has since August 2010 served as Director in DG Employment, the Commission said. Ms Sukova has been working in DG Employment for over seven years, notably dealing with the monitoring and execution of programmes under the European Social Fund - a competence that will be crucial for the upcoming negotiations of the new Multiannual Financial Framework that the Commission will propose in May. As former Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Bulgaria and member of Cabinet of the former Commissioner for Consumer Protection, Meglena Kuneva, Ms Sukova can also draw on useful political experience for her new position.