National Liberal Party (PNL) MEP Siegfried Muresan said on Tuesday that Romania’s portfolio in the European Commission is „devoid of content” and has „zero concrete competences”, and Romania „did not need a commissioner with an honorary position.”

Roxana Minzatu, Romania’s candidate for European commissioner, has been appointed executive vice-president for people, skills and preparedness, as announced in Brussels by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

„The portfolio obtained by Prime Minister Ciolacu is empty of content, he has zero concrete competences and is the opposite of what he promised to get. At the beginning of the summer, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said that Romania could get the portfolio of European commissioner for economy – currently held by the former Prime Minister of Italy, Paolo Gentiloni – and has publicly pledged to get that position. At that time, I said that our country was unlikely to get the economy portfolio because Romania had been in an excessive deficit procedure since 2017, under the Social Democratic Party (PSD) rule, and the Ciolacu Government is widening the deficit, instead of narrowing it. As such, the EU will not leave the wolf to watch the sheep when it comes to the economy commissioner in charge with fiscal discipline,” the Liberal wrote in a social media post.

In his opinion, Marcel Ciolacu has obtained for Romania a „portfolio with a pompous title”, but which does not have an economic component.

According to him, as a result, the portfolio won by Marcel Ciolacu „is not a victory, but a failure.”

„Romania did not need a commissioner with an honorary position, but a commissioner who can influence decisions on the areas that matter most to Romania,” he wrote.

AGERPRES