Romania’s outgoing Prime Minister Viorica Dancila made a third nomination for the country’s representative in the new European Commission on October 29, after her first two picks were rejected by European Parliament committees. 

Dancila put forward former European affairs minister Victor Negrescu for the position of commissioner for transport in the new European Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen. However, it is unclear whether von der Leyen will consider Dancila’s proposal seriously after the Romanian prime minister lost a no-confidence vote in the parliament on October 10. 

She currently remains in charge pending the formation of a new government, which could happen as soon as November 4, if prime minister-designate Ludovic Orban manages to get the support of enough MPs to install his cabinet. 

Dancila says she has the right to propose another candidate in the meantime, posting a letter from von der Leyen on her Facebook page in which the Commission president-elect asks her for a new nomination. 

Sources in Brussels contacted by Romanian daily Adevarul commented on the letter, saying that it might be a sign of the tense situation created by the tight deadline. Hearings for the three states that have not yet had their nominations approved by the committees — France, Romania and Hungary — are due to take place on November 11-14. 

On October 29, von der Leyden approved French businessman Thierry Breton and Hungarian diplomat Oliver Varhelyi as the two countries’ new nominees after previous suggestions were vetoed by MEPs. 

This left only the Romanian representative still outstanding. Unlike Romania’s previous two candidates, Negrescu, who also served as a member in the European Parliament since 2014, is a credible choice is highly likely to get the endorsement of the European Parliament committees.

However, Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis spoke out against Dancila’s move, saying she has no right to propose a candidate after her government was ousted by the parliament, and called her proposal an “irresponsible gesture”. 

“The dismissed prime minister, Mrs Viorica Dancila, refuses to understand that, with the loss of the prime minister, she has lost any legitimacy to make any proposal for the position of European commissioner, which belongs to Romania,” Iohannis said on October 29. 

“I again warn Mrs Dancila to cease any action regarding the nomination of a candidate for this position and not to submit any proposal to the president-elect of the European Commission, Mrs Ursula von der Leyen.”

Iohannis and von der Leyen are both affiliated with the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP).

However, unless Orban receives lawmakers’ approval for his cabinet quickly on November 4, von der Leyen could in principle consider the candidate sent by Dancila. 

The statement issued by a European Commission spokesperson leaves the door open for any scenario, but also highlights Brussels’ desire to move forward quickly with installing a new Commission. 

"The president-elect received a letter this afternoon. We understand that the new proposal made by the interim government is not supported by the president of Romania. Given the challenges and opportunities that await us, it is in our common interest for Europe to move forward without further delay. Regardless of who will be the candidate of Romania, he or she will have to be acceptable to the president-elect and be able to gather the necessary support in the European Parliament. Europe needs to move on,” a Commission spokesperson said, quoted by G4Media.ro.

The support expected by Orban in parliament is fragile and he might not get his cabinet endorsed on November 4. Further developments depend on the outcome of the first round of Romania’s presidential elections on November 10. A second round pitting Dancila against Iohannis would almost certainly result in a win for the incumbent and consolidate support behind a new parliamentary majority under Orban. On the other hand, if USR candidate Dan Barna (whose support is needed to form a new government) makes it to the second round, the situation will become more volatile over the following two weeks and the endorsement of the new government will see further delays.