Romania to push for its candidate to retain top EU agriculture post

Romania has indicated that it will push for the present EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Dacian Ciolos, to run for a second term.

While political opinion in Dublin remains strong that Environment Minister Phil Hogan would make a good candidate, sources in Brussels reveal that the EU has been very impressed with Mr Ciolos, whose candidature for the portfolio will also receive strong support from other member states.

Both the centre-right Romanian president Traian Basescu and the Socialist prime minister Victor Ponta announced their official support for Mr Ciolos running for a second term.

Romanian government officials yesterday told the EU news service Euractiv that they would expect their push for Mr Ciolos to be successful unless a political decision is taken at EU level, similar to the one taken in 2009, that the EU Commissioners should change their portfolios in the case of taking a second mandate.

The Romanian officials told Euractiv that their government has no “plan B” for the moment, in case the Ciolos option failed.

Prime minister Ponta told Romanian media that the justice portfolio was also an option for the Romanian commissioner. However, sources suggested that, given that Romania is still under the co-operation and verification mechanism monitoring its deficient justice system, this option was not an option.

“The EU Commissioner for Justice is also co-ordinating the co-operation and verification mechanism, so it could raise suspicions of not being impartial in this respect,” the Romanian officials explained. Bulgaria is in the same situation.

Romanian political science lecturer, Valentin Naumescu, said that there was a small chance that Romania could get a portfolio of the same importance as agriculture.

“The president Traian Basescu should get support from the EPP group, which it most probably will get, and the prime minister should promote the idea within the S&D group,” said Mr Naumescu, a former secretary of state in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He added that if Romania loses agriculture, the alternative would be, without any doubt, a less significant portfolio.