The Bulgarian politician wasnominatedfor the job on Tuesday.
Alongside startups, her brief will also coverresearch and innovation.
But first, her appointment needs approval from the European Parliament.
Her critics hope that confirmation never comes.
Here are three big reasons for their opposition.
In the world of tech, however, her experience is slim.
Her resume contains scant evidence of experience withstartups.
Nor does she have a background in research or innovation.
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Draghi said the bloc was failing to translate innovation into commercialisation.
To solve the problem, he wants to create an EU agencymodelled on DARPA the Pentagons mad science unit.
The European Innovation Agency, he said, should be reformed to become this new body.
Its mission: supporting high-risk projects that could deliver breakthrough technological advances.
This bold concept, however, has not been mentioned in themission lettertoZaharieva.
Shes been embroiled in a scandal
Tech issues arent the only concerns swirling around Zaharieva.
She was also once entangled in the illegal sale of Bulgarian passports.
In 2018, a whistleblower accused Zaharieva and two other politicians of running the scam,Euractiv reported.
As a result, Politico namedZaharieva asone of fivecommissioner nominees that the European Parliament is most likely to reject.
The hearings will be held over the next few weeks.
Story byThomas Macaulay
Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he e(show all)Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he enjoys playing chess (badly) and the guitar (even worse).
