15/12/2020 (Agence Europe) – The European Parliament decided, on Tuesday 15 December, to give a negative opinion on the proposal by the Council of the European Union to appoint Marek Opioła as a member of the European Court of Auditors and calls on the EU Council to withdraw its proposal and submit a new one to Parliament. In a secret ballot, 536 votes were cast against the nomination, 156 in favour and three abstentions. After a hearing with the Polish candidate on 7 December, the European Parliament Committee on Budgetary Control recommended that Parliament should not support his candidacy. Mr Opioła is currently Vice-President of the Polish Supreme Audit Office. The EU Council is not required to follow this recommendation. In 2016, the European Parliament had voted against the candidature of Janusz Wojciechowski, who had nevertheless been appointed to the Court by the EU Council. (LC)