Slovenian commission candidate rejected
October 9, 2014
Members of the European Parliament on Wednesday blocked a bid by the former Slovenian Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek to hold the post of vice president for energy matters in the Brussels executive body.
Bratusek came under fire from parliamentarians for giving vague answers when she was grilled by members of the legislative assembly, part of the standard process for approving commission members.
"Bratusek has not any knowledge and did not show any commitment," conservative German parliamentarian Peter Liese said in a statement that followed a 112-13 vote in the European Parliament's environmental and energy committees.
The ex-premier had been criticized for effectively putting herself forward as the country's commissioner while she was on the way out as prime minister, as well as allegedly being caught singing a communist song.
Bratusek, who is also currently being investigated by her country's anti-corruption watchdog, said the probe had found no sign of corruption, although the results are yet to be made public.
Slovenia mulls replacements
The rejection is seen as something of a setback for incoming European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who picked her from three Slovenian candidates. However, he has managed to surmount most of the late hurdles that had faced him in building a team.
Slovenia's new prime minister, Miro Cerar, said his government planned to suggest another nominee within the next few days. European Parliament lawmaker Tanja Fajon is speculated to be an option.
Spain's Miguel Arias Canete was approved for the role of energy and climate commissioner, despite concerns over past links to the oil industry. Parliamentary committees also gave their blessing to two other contentious appointments - Britain's Jonathan Hill as financial services commissioner and France's Pierre Moscovici as economics commissioner.
The commission serves as the European Union's executive branch of government, proposing laws and plays a major role in ensuring they are applied. Arguably the most powerful institution in Brussels, it is made up of 28 commissioners - one from each member state - who draft EU-wide laws and policy for a five-year period.
rc/kms (AFP, dpa, Reuters)