Barroso defends Romania’s new ‘multilingualism’ job

His comment came as a reaction to an earlier statement by the leader of the socialist group in the European Parliament – Martin Schultz – who argued that the portfolio given to Leonard Orban – the new Romanian commissioner-in-waiting – “is not worthy of a commissioner.”

Instead of multilingualism, the socialist group suggested that Mr Orban should become a “commissioner for minorities,” as it would “flesh out” his job.

“With xenophobia and racism on the increase in the EU, minorities need protection through having their own commissioner,” said Mr Schultz.

The Roma minority has been highlighted in connection with the Romanian commissioner-designate, as his country will bring with it the largest Roma community into the EU – larger even than the whole populations of some current member states.

But the socialist request has raised eyebrows in Brussels, according to commission sources.

“We have no particular policies exclusively focusing on minorities or concrete administrative structures only dealing with this issue,” one official told EUobserver.

“With this kind of portfolio, it would be even more problematic to say what exactly the new commissioner should do or which DGs he should chair. Minority rights issues are spread around different sections, not put together under one title like this.”

The issue of Romania's member of the soon-to-be 27-strong EU executive has been surrounded by controversy.

Before accepting Mr Orban to join the team, president Barroso first turned down an earlier nominee from Bucharest due to his links with big business, which also faced criticism from socialist MEPs who said he was too right-wing.

Multi-what?
With one hurdle overcome, the commission's “multilingualism” brief then sparked surprise among commentators in Europe, with some Romanian journalists wondering if it was a form of EU “sanctions” against Bucharest for delays in combatting corruption.

Pawel Swieboda, head of Warsaw-based think tank Demos Europa, remarked “If Barroso had wanted to show that the number of commissioners' portfolios must be reduced [as stipulated in the failed EU constitution], then he did that by giving multilingualism to Romania.”

But Mr Barroso insists that with 23 official languages in the EU, multilingualism should be regarded as a new “resource” and “opportunity.”

'Interculturalism' as well
“We need to make more effective communication between different countries and different cultures,” commission chief told journalists on Tuesday, adding that Mr Orban's job will not be merely administrative – as he will chair three DGs with the largest number of staff and also deal with “interculturalism.”

Slovak commissioner Jan Figel, who currently holds the language portfolio, has also defended its relevance, saying that the area has been enhanced by the EU's latest decisions to form special expert groups and organise ministerial gatherings on language skills as an instrument for boosting labour mobility.

Mr Orban, along with his Bulgarian colleague Meglena Kuneva – to chair the consumer protection portfolio – will be questioned by the European Parliament on 27 and 28 November 2006, with the vote on their nomination planned for 12 or 13 December.