Adina Valean, the new European Commissioner for Transport
It's certain: Romanian Liberal MEP Adina Valean will be the new European Commissioner for Transport
Bogdan Matei, 15.11.2019, 13:55
Romanias nomination for the position of European Transport Commissioner, Liberal MEP Adina Valean, on Thursday got the go-ahead of the European Parliament specialized committee. This was the last procedural step completed by the Romanian. If Hungarys nomination for the portfolio of Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy, Oliver Varhelyi, who initially failed the interview in the committee, will eventually succeeded in convincing MEPs in writing of his worth, Parliament is next to approve the structure of the new European Commission, led by German Christian-Democrat Ursula von der Leyen.
According to Radio Romanias Brussels correspondent, Mrs. Valean told the members of Parliaments special committee that her priorities include achieving eco-friendly and equitable transport, as well as reducing road traffic accidents, something on which Romania fairs very poorly at EU level. “Mobility and transport represent the spine of the EUs internal market, fostering the free movement of citizens and goods. They interconnect people and help achieve cohesion inside the EU”, the future European Commissioner pointed out. A math teacher and MEP since 2007, the year Romania joined the EU, 51-year-old Adina Valean was vice-president of the European Parliament and has led the Environment Committee. At present she is the chair of the Industry Committee. In 2009 Adina Valean helped introduce a slash on tariffs for Internet traffic in roaming. In April, a VoteWatch Europe study placed Valean among the top 4 most influential MEPs in the last tenure.
When he nominated Valean on behalf of Romania, Liberal Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said he consulted President Iohannis on this matter. This became a compulsory step, after the European Commission spokesperson, Mina Andreeva, said there were “reasonable doubts” over the legitimacy of the nomination made by the outgoing Social-Democrat Government, since Prime Minister Viorica Dancila hadnt consulted the president. At the time Dancila had nominated the former Minister Delegate for European Affairs, Victor Negrescu. The Social-Democrats other two nominations had failed: Rovana Plumbs candidacy was rejected by the legal affairs committee, which signaled an integrity issue, while in the case of Dan Nica procedures werent even started, given that on October 10 the Government collapsed after losing a no-confidence motion in Parliament. Adina Valean will be the fourth Romanian to become EU Commissioner. Previously Leonard Orban served as Commissioner for Multilingualism, Dacian Ciolos held the Agriculture portfolio while Corina Cretu was Commissioner for Regional Policy in the Junker Commission.
(Translated by V. Palcu)
