Romania gets regional policy portfolio in the Juncker Commission

Romania’s Corina Cretu was appointed European Commissioner for Regional Policy in the new European Commission which is led by Jean-Claude Juncker. The ceremony to present the members of the Juncker Commission took place in Brussels on Wednesday, September 10. From this position, she will manage a total budget of about EUR 350 billion for the period 2014-2020, which makes this portfolio one of the most important in the structure of the commission. “I’m honored to have been nominated by the president of the European Commission, Mr. Jean-Claude Juncker, for the position of European Commissioner, and also to have been supported for this by Romania’s Government,” Corina Cretu said on her Facebook page. “Regional Development is the most important investment policy in Europe and I am very happy that Romania got such an important portfolio, once again demonstrating the trust that our country benefits from in Brussels. I am ready to take on the responsibility of this portfolio,” she added. Corina Cretu, 47, became a member of the European Parliament in January 2007, following Romania’s accession to the EU. She was reelected for a new mandate in May this year and was appointed vice-president of the European Parliament. Previously to becoming a member of the European Parliament, Corina Cretu was a senator in Romania’s Parliament, for the Social Democratic Party (PSD). Before that she worked as spokesman for Romania’s President Ion Iliescu, from 2000 to 2004. She graduated the Planning and Economic Cybernetics Faculty of the Economic Studies Academy (ASE) in Bucharest, in 1989, and from 1990 to 1992 she worked as a journalist. She then worked for the communication team of president Ion Iliescu, during his second mandate, from 1992 to 1996. Her nomination by Romania’s Government for a portfolio in the new European Commission came as a surprise and stirred another dispute between Prime Minister Victor Ponta and President Traian Basescu. Ponta first announced officially that he will support former commissioner Dacian Ciolos for a new mandate as Agriculture Commissioner, which was also agreed by President Basescu. But then news emerged that Ponta had sent two nominations to President Juncker, Dacian Ciolos for Agriculture or Corina Cretu. In the end, Juncker went with Corina Cretu, as one of his main goals was to have more women in key positions in his commission. editor@romania-insider.com