France’s nominee to the new European Commission has publicly declared he will try to influence the Romanian proposed as the new Agriculture Commissioner.
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Speaking at a press conference in Paris, Michel Barnier, who has been allotted the powerful internal market brief, said: “He will be independent but I will give him my opinion.”
This is a potentially undiplomatic statement, given the concerns aired about French influence over nominee Dacian Ciolos.
Barnier, a former French agriculture minister and European regional policy commissoner, went further, insisting on the need to “preserve farm regulations because feeding people is not a service like any other”.
He then added: “It is a duty to participate and be interested in what others do.”
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By GlobalDataThe comments are sure to fan concerns amongst liberalisers that France – usually favouring tougher regulations on the food industry, subsidies and protection – will influence Francophile Ciolos, to try and reverse recent reforms to the Common Agriculture Policy.
European Commission president José Manuel Barroso has already had to defend his nomination of Ciolos. At a Brussels press conference, Barroso rebutted a question about Ciolos’ suitability as “an insult to a country and an insult to a person”.
Romania remains mired in an anti-corruption investigation by the Commission, which remains open despite the country joining the EU in 2007. Barroso argued Ciolos was “committed to a modern concept of agriculture.”
Barnier and Ciolos will appear before approval hearings at the European Parliament from 11-19 January.
