Romanian MEP Roxana Mînzatu nominated for “relevant” EU commissioner portfolio

MEP Roxana Mînzatu (PSD/S&D) was on Monday (2 September) officially nominated by the Romanian government for the position of European Commissioner with an apparently "relevant" portfolio, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced at a press conference.

Ciolacu revealed that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had already spoken with Roxana Mînzatu on Sunday and that she had "only words of praise" for the Romanian MEP.

He also noted that Mînzatu has "an impressive professional CV, even if her political experience is limited."

The Romanian prime minister added that he believes the Romanian nominee will receive a "relevant" portfolio in the new Commission. Romania is believed to be aiming for an economic portfolio.

Initially, Ciolacu had intended to propose social-democratic MEP Victor Negrescu as his country's candidate.

He presented "his personal recommendation" to Ursula von der Leyen two weeks ago, but the head of the European Commission requested that a woman be nominated.

"President Ursula von der Leyen apparently asked for a female candidate from Romania to maintain gender parity in the European Commission. This was the main criterion," Negrescu said on Monday.

Although he supports his government's decision, Negrescu nevertheless pointed out that even with a female Romanian commissioner, three-quarters of the proposed members of the European Commission are men.

"I don't know why we are in this situation now," he concluded.

Roxana Mînzatu (44) was elected MEP in June this year, having served as a member of the Romanian Parliament from 2016 to 2020.

She studied political science in Bucharest, earned a master's degree in European integration, and has worked in local administration and the Ministry of European Integration.

In 2019, she served as Minister of Investments and European Projects.

[Edited by Owen Morgan]