Prime minister Marcel Ciolacu on Wednesday said that negotiations regarding the European commissioner from Romania continue for another week.

Ciolacu was asked what is happening with the negotiation regarding the European commissioner, after the nominations were postponed.

„It was delayed for a week because of Slovakia. I spoke with the president of the European Commission, we are continuing the negotiations (…) The structure of each portfolio is very important. It is really tempting to have a portfolio with more social impact, focusing on social housing, with two general directions within the Commission, where that Commissioner will be the decision-maker. It is very tempting to have a commissioner within the Commission. We will weigh these things. The president of the Commission said that she will send me all the information, because there is an ongoing negotiation process within the Commission right now,” said the PM.

The presentation of the new team of European commissioners, which was expected on Wednesday in Brussels, will finally take place next Tuesday in Strasbourg, a sign that the negotiations are being prolonged, reports AFP.

The distribution of the future EU Executive will be presented to the leaders of the political groups in the European Parliament on Tuesday morning, on the sidelines of the MEPs’ plenary session in Strasbourg, a Commission spokesman announced.

The delay is related to the change of the commissioner for Slovenia, a country that finally opted for Marta Kos, a former ambassador, whose candidacy is to be approved by the Slovenian parliament on Friday.

With this new candidate, European leaders are trying to mitigate the controversy regarding the absence of a sufficient number of women in the team being formed.

At this stage, the new college could have approximately ten women out of a total of 27 commissioners, without achieving parity.

AGERPRES