Ioan Mircea Paşcu: confirmed interim European Commissioner

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told the European Parliament that he had the opportunity to assess the capacity to serve as interim European Commissioner for candidates from Estonia and Romania, Kadri Simson and Ioan Mircea Paşcu, one of European Commission spokespersons said on Friday.

Jean-Claude Juncker interviewed the two candidates proposed by Romanian and Estonian Governments and, following the interviews, he confirmed their competences in accordance with the requirements of Article 17, paragraph 3, of the Treaty on European Union, spokesperson said.

At the same time, Juncker decided not to allocate specific portfolios to the two designated interim commissioners, given the short duration of their mandate, but they will be able to take part in the activities of the College of Commissioners and project teams.

Juncker has sent letters to the two designated commissioners, reminding them of their responsibilities as members of the European Commission, including obligation to respect the highest professional and ethical standards.

In another letter, Juncker informed the European Parliament President, David Sassoli, about the decision, and also informed Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne, whose country now holds the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union, as well as the Estonian and Romanian Prime Ministers, Juri Ratas and Viorica Dăncilă.

As a procedure, new members of the European Commission are appointed by the EU Council in agreement with the President of the Commission, following consultation with the European Parliament, and since the Council has already formally consulted the European Parliament, Estonian candidate Kadri Simson and Romanian candidate Ioan Mircea Paşcu are at the moment designated commissioners.

They are to meet EP Committees’ presidents next Wednesday, with a plenary vote in the Parliament being scheduled for Thursday.

Simson and Paşcu were proposed by the Romanian and Estonian Governments to replace the two European Commissioners who resigned in order to take over their mandates of MEP, Corina Creţu and Andrus Ansip. They will replace Creţu and Ansip until the end of the mandate of the current European Commission, on 31 October.

On Monday, the Council of the European Union rejected Jean-Claude Juncker's proposal to take over the portfolios of these two commissioners by two other EU Commissioners already in office.

Last Wednesday, European Commission said that, following decision of Jean-Claude Juncker, Corina Crețu's Regional Policy Portfolio was discussed to be taken over by Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Negotiating Enlargement, and Andrus Ansip's portfolio, The Single Digital Market, was to be taken over by Energy Commissioner and European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic.

Source:RRA.Translated by Miruna Matei