The Hungarian and Romanian nominees for the European Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen were rejected today by the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament over possible conflict of interest concerns, Politico reported.
The MEPs rejected the nomination of László Trócsányi (Hungary) as commissioner for neighborhood and enlargement, as well as Rovana Plumb’s (Romania) nomination as commissioner for transport.
The committee questioned the candidates in separate closed-door hearings.
Trócsányi was reportedly rejected related to a law firm he had owned and its connections with the Hungarian government. He was a minister of justice under in the government of Viktor Orbán.
Plumb was rejected over two loans worth EUR 1 million which she failed to declare in her financial declaration.
The EP committee cleared 24 other nominees for the next European Commission.
Mina Andreeva, a spokeswoman for the European Commission said that the proceedings with nominations for these two positions will depend of the EP’s decision in coordination with Ursula von Leyen.
