Finally, the outgoing President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, will win his case: after Estonia, Romania decided, on Tuesday 10 September at the end of the day, to withdraw the candidature of Ioan Mircea Pașcu, who had been appointed by Bucharest to replace the Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Creţu, until the end of the Juncker Commission's mandate.
The decision was taken at the last minute, on the eve of an exchange of views with the Conference of Committee Chairs of the European Parliament, which was to be held on Wednesday 11 September at around 15h00 (see EUROPE 12321/4). Thus, the two candidates to replace the elected European Parliament Commissioners, Estonian Andrus Ansip, and the Romanian Commissioner, have been withdrawn.
Their appointment was widely debated in the Parliament: according to the Commission's projections, their appointment would have cost around €1 million for a period of less than a month and for a post without a portfolio.
Thus, the situation is back to the one Jean-Claude Juncker wanted following the results of the European elections. The latter had quickly indicated to the Member States that he did not want to replace the two outgoing Commissioners, particularly because of budget costs (see EUROPE 12295/4). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)