EP wijst voormalig eurocommissaris Orban af als lid van Europese Rekenkamer (en)

Parliament rejected Leonard Orban, Romania's nominee for the European Court of Auditors, on Tuesday by 25 votes (269 votes in favour of the appointment, 294 against and 80 abstentions). Mr Orban had previously declared that he would withdraw if rejected by MEPs.

Mr Orban was Romania's first member of the European Commission, from 2007 to 2010. The intention was that he would replace Ovidiu Ispir, Romania's current representative at the Court of Auditors, when his mandate expires at the end of this year. Mr Orban was nominated after the Romanian authorities withdrew the candidacy of Mr Mircea Vasile Popescu.

Mr Orban had told the budgetary control committee, before appearing before it for a hearing on 26 September, that he would withdraw his candidacy if Parliament opposed his appointment.

Procedure

Members of the Court of Auditors are appointed for six years. They are nominated by the member states and appointed by the Council after consulting the European Parliament.

Candidates have to attend hearings in Parliament. To prepare for them, they answer a questionnaire prepared by the budgetary control committee. They may make a five-minute opening statement at their hearing, followed by a 25-minute question and answer session with committee members.

Procedure: Non legislative resolution