Brussels, 27/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 26 September, the nomination by Romania of Leonard Orban to the European Court of Auditors was rejected by the budgetary control committee of the European Parliament. The vote, by secret ballot, was 12 votes for and 14 votes against the nomination of the candidate. However Orban's candidature will be put to the vote of the plenary in October. Orban was nominated after the Romanian authorities withdrew the candidature of Mircea Vasile Popescu.
It seems that Orban, who is the former European commissioner for multilingualism, may have failed to make a good impression with some members of the budgetary control committee at his hearing. His lack of experience in the field is also likely to have been noted.
Members of the Court of Auditors are appointed for six years. The Council, after consulting the European Parliament, decides on the proposals made by each member state. To prepare for a hearing in the Parliament, a candidate is asked to respond to a questionnaire prepared by the budgetary control committee. At the hearing, they may make a five-minute opening statement, followed by a 25-minute question and answer session with members of the committee. The committee then votes on the nomination by secret ballot. (LC/transl.fl)