Financiarul

Agriculture, which was initially regarded as a medium portfolio in the European executive, will significantly grow in the next five years as a consequence of the major revision of the European Union budget and of the Common Agricultural Policy that is to be conducted next year. Ciolos will have to manage one of the most important portfolios, to which about 50 billion euros, almost a third of the budget of the European Union, is allocated for 2010.

Barroso informed on Friday of the distribution of the portfolios in the new European executive, after which, on Wednesday morning, the executive of the European Union published the list of the people designated by the 27 member states to be European commissioners.

Dacian Ciolos was born in Zalau (western Romania) on July 27, 1969. He graduated from the Forestry Faculty of the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Cluj (central Romania) in 1994 and then got the diploma in thorough agronomy, specialization “Systems of Rural Production and Development,” from the Ecole Nationale Superieure Agronomique, ENSA, in Rennes, France.

Between 1996 and 1997 he took courses for a master’s degree with the Ecole Nationale Superieure Agronomique, ENSA, in Montpellier, France, and for a doctor’s degree in the economics of farming, agricultural, food and rural development with the Ecole Nationale Superieure Agronomiqie, ENSA, in Montpellier, France (2000-2006).

He was also on probation in Brussels, the rural development division, and in charge of preparing the SAPARD programme (1997-99), coordinator of the French-Romanian programmes of cooperation in agricultural development (1999-2001), task manager with the delegation of the European Commission to Romania (2002-2003).
He was a counsellor to the Minister of Agriculture (January 2005-May 2007), a representative on the Special Committee on Agriculture of the European Council.

Over May 2007-October 2007 Dacian Ciolos worked as Undersecretary of State for European Affairs with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
He was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tariceanu Government on October 11, 2007 after the resignation of Decebal Traian Remes and held this pos ition till December 22, 2008. He is a member of no political party.
He is the chairman of the presidential commission on drawing up a strategy in agriculture, which was set up on July 6, 2009, through a decree signed by President Traian Basescu. He is married and speaks French and English.