EU Taps Romanian Commissioner as U.K. Remains the Last Holdout
EU Taps Romanian Commissioner as U.K. Remains the Last Holdout
(Bloomberg) -- European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen selected a new Romanian member of her team, leaving only the U.K. to announce its nominee.
Von der Leyen assigned Adina-Ioana Valean to be European Union transport commissioner when the new leadership of the commission, the 28-nation EU’s executive arm, takes office as soon as Dec. 1. Valean is currently a Romanian member of the European Parliament, where she chairs its industry committee.
The entry into office of von der Leyen has been delayed from the scheduled Nov. 1 date after original commissioner nominees from France, Hungary and Romania were rejected in the EU Parliament, which must approve her whole team. Under EU rules, the Brussels-based commission must have a commissioner from each EU country.
Since its planned departure from the bloc was delayed, the U.K. is required to nominate a commissioner as well. The current British member of the commission is Julian King, whose portfolio is security matters.
Von der Leyen has written to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson asking him to propose a commissioner for her team, an EU spokesperson told reporters on Wednesday.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at jstearns2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Richard Bravo, Caroline Alexander
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