Financiarul

European Commission (EC) President Jose Manuel Durao Barroso on Friday said that Dacian Ciolos, Romania’s nominee for European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, is by far the most competent for this portfolio on the list of Commissioners-designate of the 27 Member States.

Answering a question that suggested that this position should not be assigned to a Romanian, Barroso said that suggesting that ‘one should not hold a portfolio because he comes from a particular country is an insult that runs counter to our values, and I cannot accept this. “I spoke to Mr Dacian Ciolos, he is a good professional and if you read his CV you will see that he is by far the most competent for this job,” said the EC President.

Agriculture, initially considered a portfolio of medium importance in the EU executive body, will significantly gain in substance in the next five years, following a major revision of the European Union’s budget and of the Common Agricultural Policy which will take place next year. Ciolos will be in charge of one of the most important portfolios, which has 50 billion euros, that is almost one third of the EU budget, assigned for 2010.
Barroso announced on Friday the distribution of the portfolios among in the new European executive body, after the list if the 27 Member States’ Commissioners-designate was announced on Wednesday morning.