Romania to propose Victor Negrescu as EU commissioner

BRUSSELS — Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said he will put forward Social Democrat MEP Victor Negrescu as the country’s next European commissioner.
“I hope that on Monday at the latest we will submit the proposal from the Romanian government,” Ciolacu told journalists in Brussels after a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Negrescu, a 39-year-old MEP who last month became a vice president of the European Parliament, told POLITICO: “I think I have both the experience but also I’m a young individual that can maybe help the Commission communicate more with young people that support the European project.”
Negrescu, who went to school in Paris and Brussels and began his career as a journalist, first became an MEP in 2014, and has worked on EU budget, digital and cultural files.
Romania, like several other countries, is vying for an economic portfolio for Negrescu, who said: “We strongly support what President von der Leyen said, that she wants to lead a mandate that will be focused on investment.”
The imminent nomination of Negrescu means yet another EU country is refusing to heed a request by von der Leyen to give her a choice between a male and female commissioner in order to build a gender-balanced team. With Negrescu, 15 men have been put forward, compared with six women, including von der Leyen herself.
“We already designated two women commissioners,” Negrescu said. “We’d love to see more countries making those efforts. It would be good to give young people the opportunity to be part of the Commission. This is also very important for equal opportunities.”
Asked why the Commission has refused to comment on countries’ refusal to send in female nominees, European Commission chief spokesperson Eric Mamer said: “We are not sports commentators that have to describe every move that’s taking place in the game. It is an ongoing process.”