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World Bank CEO Emerges as Contender to Lead Next EU Commission

  • Leaders spoke in favor of Bulgaria’s Georgieva at summit
  • Race to succeed Juncker and fill other EU jobs is under way
Kristalina Georgieva, chief executive officer of the World Bank, at the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in April 2019

Kristalina Georgieva, chief executive officer of the World Bank, at the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in April 2019

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
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European Union leaders raised the possibility of making Bulgaria’s Kristalina Georgieva, the chief executive officer of the World Bank, the next president of the EU Commission, two people familiar with the discussions said.

The position is one of three top roles up for grabs in the coming months, alongside the presidencies of the European Central Bank and the European Council. With governments engaged in intense horsetrading to fill the positions, leaders discussed potential names at a summit in Sibiu, Romania last week, with Georgieva emerging as a strong contender for the commission role, the people said.