Bucharest hopes to secure an economic portfolio in the new executive in Brussels. The main candidate is MEP Victor Negrescu.
Like other leaders of member states, such as Italy and the Czech Republic, Marcel Ciolacu said his commissioner should have a portfolio related to economic policies, speaking to the press after the meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“I want a portfolio that is as relevant as possible, given that we are the sixth largest country in the European Union. The Romanian president also spoke about enlargement, but this is a more political portfolio. I believe that the next few years will have a lot to do with the economy… I would like to have something in this area.”he explained.
Mr Ciolacu’s choice for the post of Commissioner is one of the Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament, the socialist Victor Negrescu. In an interview with Euronews, the Romanian MEP also gave arguments in favour of an economic portfolio.
“Romania is a large country and has experienced one of the strongest economic growths in Europe in recent years. We have economic sectors that have developed a lot in recent years: digital, energy and industrial production. Therefore, Romania, as a pro-European country with a pro-European government, can contribute to the Commission’s policies in this area.”he said.
After two women, a young man?
The Bucharest government also did not submit a female name, as Ms von der Leyen had requested of all member states.
Mr Negrescu pointed out that the last two members of the European executive sent by Romania were women (Adina-Ioana Vălean, for transport, and Corina Crețu, for cohesion), and he preferred to emphasise the youth aspect, given that he is 39 years old.
“I think what is important for the Commission is to have someone who is involved at European level, who has the necessary experience to be part of the European Commission. I am also young and I think we also need young people in the Commission, because we want to appeal to the young citizens from all over Europe who turned out in large numbers for the European elections.”he said.
The Romanian prime minister will not make the official announcement until August 26, after a final debate with the two other parties in the government coalition, which have also proposed candidates.
Victor Negrescu has been a member of the European Parliament for almost ten years, a period only briefly interrupted to become Minister for European Affairs (2017-2018), during which he helped prepare his country’s rotating presidency of the Council of the EU.
As an MEP, he sat on the EU Committees on Culture, Education, Industry, Constitutional Affairs and Budget.
All candidates chosen by the President of the European Commission will have to undergo auditions in the European Parliament. Mr Negrescu is very optimistic about this step, if he is chosen, because the Parliament is well aware of his CV and his political performance.
“I have just been elected Vice-President of the European Parliament with a large number of votes. When you take part in this kind of internal election, you are scrutinised, you have to fill in a lot of forms and, of course, be very transparent. But I am ready to provide all the additional information requested by my colleagues, because I believe that the European Parliament must be involved in the nominations and elections of the members of the Commission.”he said.
Portfolio balance
President Ursula von der Leyen hopes to receive the names of all candidates by the end of August. So far, 21 of the 27 member states have nominated candidates, who are mostly men.
The allocation of portfolios is the responsibility of the President, who must strike a balance between the characteristics of the Member States (population size, geographical location, economic weight) and the qualifications of the candidates.