The government of Romania today (4 September) confirmed that it has nominated Corina Creţu, a centre-left member of the European Parliament, to be the country’s European commissioner. She will replace Dacian Cioloş, the current commissioner, who had initially been put forward for a second term.

Jean-Claude Juncker, the president-elect of the European Commission, met Creţu today in Brussels to discuss her suitability for the college. In succumbing to Juncker’s request for women nominees, Victor Ponta, the prime minister of Romania, will be hoping that Creţu is rewarded with a strong portfolio. Creţu’s nomination, together with that of Marianne Thyssen by Belgium, takes the number of female commissioners in the college to nine – the same number as in the 2009-14 college.

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Creţu has been an MEP since Romania joined the EU in 2007. She is a member of the Social Democratic Party, which is affiliated to the S&D group.

She previously worked as spokesperson for centre-left president Ion Iliescu (in 1992-96 and in 2000-04). Iliescu was Romania’s first democratically-elected president and had a leading role in the revolution against communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu. He remained controversial, however, as many believed that he wanted to continue the communist regime.

In 2000, Creţu was appointed presidential adviser and spokesperson, as well as head of the communications department. In 2004 she was elected to the Romanian senate, where she took up a seat in the committee on foreign affairs.

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When Ponta disclosed before the summer that his government had nominated Dacian Cioloş, the current commissioner for agriculture, he let it be known that he was hoping that Cioloş would retain the portfolio of agriculture and rural development. Juncker’s refusal to promise Romania that dossier apparently reduced Cioloş’s chances of staying on in Brussels.