The candidacy of Bulgarian Commissioner-designate Rumiana Jeleva has been withdrawn according to the European People's Party Group in the European Parliament. A letter was sent to Joseph Daul this morning by Rumiana Jeleva. Jeleva has resigned from her position as Commissioner-designate and her position as Foreign Minister

Sources from the European Parliament Press Unit had announced the news minutes earlier.

The withdrawal, comes after national and European pressure on Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov, but may also be to the serious health condition of Jeleva. The Development Committee of the European Parliament was gearing up to vote against the acceptance of Jeleva in a vote scheduled for 6pm today, with this withdrawal seen as a pre-emptive solution, but sources from within the Bulgarian government told New Europe that Jeleva has been hospitalised and is in serious condition for days. Borisov hinted at this yesterday but failed to give details on the extent of her health situation to deter from media storming the hospital. He was quoted in the press saying that “I’m worried about the health of Rumiana Jeleva”…“I’m worried that extremely bad pressure on her having adverse affects on her health. This attack simply acts on all of us as it is planned and unjustified.”Joseph Daul said that "on behalf of the EPP Group... I am very sorry to hear that... All the accusations made against her have been proven false."

Borisov hinted at her exit yesterday, when he was quoted in the press saying that “I’m worried about the health of Rumiana Jeleva”…“I’m worried that extremely bad pressure on her having adverse affects on her health. This attack simply acts on all of us as it is planned and unjustified.

 Contenders for Jeleva’s spot

To highlight the endless possibilities of candidates to fill the position, one source affiliated with the Bulgarian government told NE that “anything is possible, except Meglena Kuneva”.

Defense Minister Nikolay Mladenov is one likely candidate for the position, whose solid track record and the fact that he is a member of GERB add to his appeal for Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. The only factor that may inhibit his nomination outside the fact that he heads-up an important ministry in Bulgaria already, is that from the EU side, a woman is expected to fill the position. Furthermore, the withdrawal of Jeleva and a drafting of Mladenov for the post would leave Borisov with upto two top ministries without leadership.

It is interesting to note that the European People’s Party does have a second Bulgarian nomination from EPP party member Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) in the face of MEP, and former Foreign Minister, Nadezhda Mihaylova.

Another possible candidate, who has the strong backing of the financial lobby in Bulgaria is Vice President of the World Bank, Kristalina Georgieva, however, according to our information from Washington DC, it is highly unlikely for her to accept such a nomination. Over the summer of 2009, various reports claimed that Kristalina Georgieva was going to quit her job at the WB in order to become a Deputy Prime Minister in the Bulgarian government of PM Boyko Borisov, a position that she reportedly refused.