MEP Siegfried Mureșan (EPP) is the political figure that the new centre-right government led by Ludovic Orban would like to nominate as a candidate for Commissioner.
This was stated by Reuters on Tuesday 5 November, citing two anonymous sources close to the government who reported a letter of confirmation from the Romanian authorities to be sent to the European Commission on the same or the following day. This information had not been confirmed at the time of going to press.
On Monday, Mr Mureșan congratulated the Romanian Parliament on its vote of confidence in approving the formation of the Orban government, which he described as "pro-European" on Twitter.
But the appointment of the EPP Group's Vice-President in the European Parliament, if supported by countries such as Germany, would further increase the presence of men in the future 'von der Leyen' team after the approval of the candidatures of the Frenchman Thierry Breton and the Hungarian Olivér Várhelyi (see EUROPE 12359/1) by the President-elect of the Commission.
Some have reported discussions on the possible appointment of Adina-Ioana Vălean, also a Christian Democrat, who chairs the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) in the European Parliament. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)