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| Incoming European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has suffered a blow to her choice of team with two candidates being disqualified (AFP Photo/ FREDERICK FLORIN) |
Brussels (AFP) - European lawmakers vetting candidates for the new European Commission on Monday declared two of the 26 unfit to take office due to conflicts of interest.
The
nominees put forward by Hungary and Romania were rejected by the European
Parliament's legal affairs committee just ahead of confirmation hearings for
the team picked by incoming Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
A German
member of the committee, Tiemo Woelken, tweeted that members had decided that
Romania's Rovana Plumb and Hungary's Laszlo Trocsanyi are "unfit to become
commissioners".
French
member Manon Aubry told journalists a vote confirmed the committee's finding
last week that the two commissioners "cannot take office because of
conflicts of interest".
The
decision weakens von der Leyen's hand as the European Parliament holds
confirmation hearings for the remaining commissioner candidates, running from
Monday to October 8.
It also
obliges Hungary and Romania to put forward new candidates.
Most of the
rest of the team chosen by von der Leyen -- who is already confirmed -- are
expected to get through the grilling, forming a near gender-balanced executive
drawn from across the European bloc's member states.
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Members of
the new European Commission with their portfolios (AFP Photo/
Patricio ARANA)
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But the
legal affairs committee pre-empted the wider parliament's hearings by using a
new power to scrutinise candidates.
Trocsanyi,
meant to take charge of EU enlargement issues, was tripped up over government
contracts awarded to his law firm.
In a statement,
Trocsanyi slammed the "blatant injustice" of his disqualification and
vowed to fight it "before the responsible court of justice".
Hungarian
Prime Minister Viktor Orban had claimed the committee's move was motivated by
Trocsanyi -- his former justice minister -- helping "to stop
migration".
Plumb, a
former Romanian labour minister, was stymied over two problematic loans that
raised suspicions of corruption.
A vice
chairman on the legal affairs committee, Sergey Lagodinsky, tweeted that the
disqualifications were "a victory for parliamentary democracy".
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Hungarian
Prime Minister Viktor Orban claimed his candidate ran into trouble
for helping
to 'stop migration' (AFP Photo/ATTILA KISBENEDEK)
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Uncomfortable questions
Hungary and
Romania, while initially standing by their candidates, have said they have no
lack of replacement names if necessary.
A
spokeswoman for the European Commission said that von der Leyen would decide
whether or not to ask for new nominees after she is officially informed by the
parliamentary speaker of the committee's decision.
Some of the
other designated commissioners also have clouds hanging over them.
But, while
they were likely to have uncomfortable questions thrown at them in the public
hearings, they were seen as being under less pressure.
The EU's
anti-fraud office OLAF declined to recommend charges against Poland's candidate
commissioner, Janusz Wojciechowski, after he reimbursed 11,250 euros ($12,300)
for travel expenses improperly claimed while he was an MEP.
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Ireland's
Phil Hogan -- named to be EU commissioner for trade -- will be one
of the first
to appear in the hearings (AFP Photo/EMMANUEL DUNAND)
|
A similar
OLAF probe into France's Sylvie Goulard remains open, but she too has already
paid back 45,000 euros.
Belgium's
Didier Reynders had a corruption probe against him set aside on Friday, while
Spain's Josep Borrell -- named to become the EU's foreign policy chief -- was
fined 30,000 euros last year for insider trading.
No
British candidate
The
European Parliamentary hearings were expected to also touch on a controversy
over von der Leyen's decision to give the title of "Protecting our
European Way of Life" to the commissioner in charge of migration.
Three
commissioners-designate were to appear for hearings on Monday: Slovakia's Maros
Sefkovic, to handle interinstitutional relations; Ireland's Phil Hogan, for
trade; and Bulgaria's Mariya Gabriel, for innovation and youth.
The
hearings end with von der Leyen's three executive vice presidents being
quizzed.
Britain is
the one EU member state without a future commissioner in the mix as its
government is intent on it leaving the bloc on October 31, the day before the
new European Commission takes office.
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