Languages: Français | DeutschIliana Ivanova, Bulgaria’s commissioner-designate for innovation, research, culture, education and youth, successfully sailed through an almost three-hour European Parliament hearing on Tuesday (5 September), winning applause from MEPs. In a similar vein, when MEP Izaskun Bilbao Barandica (Renew, Spain) asked for minority languages such as Basque and Catalan to be included in the EU programmes under her remit, Ivanova replied that there were 60 minority languages in the EU and that the EU was making efforts for the preservation of this cultural heritage, but could hardly do more. Bulgaria is currently facing an acute demographic problem and brain drain – an issue Ivanova pledges to help solve at the EU level