Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on Thursday that he proposed Victor Negrescu in Brussels for the position of European Commissioner from Romania, following a meeting with Ursula von der Leyen.
Marcel Ciolacu meets Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels PHOTO Facebook
UPDATE
Ciolacu was asked, in a press conference in Brussels, what proposal he made for the position of European commissioner, according to Agerpres.
“As for the commissioner, it’s not the first time I’ve said it, we went with a name. He is the current vice-president of the European Parliament, Mr. Victor Negrescu. Naturally, we also made a calendar, I hope that by Monday at the latest we submit the proposal from the Romanian Government. This attribute is exclusively for the Prime Minister, but, as is normal, and I have already established with Mr. Nicolae Ciucă, we will have a discussion in the next few days. Also, institutionally, if we want one certain normality, I will also have a discussion with the president of Romania, because he is Romania’s representative in the European Council”Ciolacu said.
He mentioned that before Thursday’s visit to Brussels, he had no discussions with President Klaus Iohannis on the subject of the European Commissioner.
“It remains to have a discussion after I have the discussion with the lady president (the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen – no), normal thing. But we also had with Mr. Ciucă, and before his posting and after his posting we had the discussion that I will not put forward a name until we meet and we have this discussion also within the coalition”said the prime minister.
Marcel Ciolacu said he wanted to “a portfolio as relevant as possible, taking into account that we are the sixth largest country in the European Union”.
“There are several options. We also talked about the economy, Mr. President also talked about the expansion, we will see. The portfolio about the expansion is more political, I would like it, and I think that the next years are very much about the economy, I am about the economy, I would like something in this area”concluded Ciolacu.
Initial news
On Thursday, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu met with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, as part of his working visit to Brussels.
The Head of the Executive announced on Wednesday that among the topics to be discussed are the state of PNRR implementation and Romania’s portfolio in the future European Executive.
“I will leave for Brussels in the afternoon for tomorrow’s meeting with the President of the European Commission, Ms. Ursula von der Leyen. We will discuss the status of PNRR fulfillment, together with the Minister of European Investments and Projects and the Minister of Finance. We will also analyze the latest developments regarding Payment Request 3, specifically the situations related to the management of state energy and transport companies. Obviously, I will also talk with the president about Romania’s portfolio in the future European Commission”said Marcel Ciolacu, on Wednesday, in the Government meeting.
During Marcel Ciolacu’s meeting with Ursula von der Leyen, the two will also discuss the positions of European commissioners, and the leader of the Romanian state would propose Victor Negrescu for this position, according to government sources consulted by Antena 3 CNN.
Also, the same sources confirm the fact that the choice of Ciolacu for the position of European Commissioner, Victor Negrescu, “is also approved by her”.
At this moment, however, it is not clear which portfolio Victor Negrescu will occupy. According to government sources, the prime minister would ask the head of the European Commission for the Romanian to take care of a portfolio with an economic component, taking into account that Negrescu is also the European Union’s rapporteur for the EU budget.
According to the cited sources, the portfolio that Victor Negrescu will handle would not be discussed in today’s meeting.
Until this moment, Romania has had two female European Commissioners, namely Adină Vălean, who handled the transport portfolio and Corina Crețu, who handled the regional policy portfolio. Regarding the nomination of another woman, Marcel Ciolacu stated that: “After two proposed ladies, I think we will propose a man. I repeat, twice Romania came up with two commissioner proposals, ladies. I think that this time, Romania can make a gentleman’s proposal”.
The Head of the Executive is accompanied to Brussels by the Minister of Finance, Marcel Boloş, and the Minister of European Investments and Projects, Adrian Câciu.
