The European Commissioner-designate of Romania, Roxana Minzatu, was asked on Tuesday, during the hearing in the European Parliament, what she thinks about the title of the portfolio she will hold if she is validated, how she can strengthen the Erasmus program and she also had to provide explanations about the legality of the extension of the house in Brasov where she grew up and which she purchased in 2009.
The issue of the title of the future portfolio of Roxana Minzatu, proposed for the position of executive vice-president of the European Commission for “People, Skills and Preparedness”, was raised by the chair of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) of the European Parliament, Li Anderson, who lamented the fact that this does not include the term jobs.
An MEP from the European People’s Party (EPP), the Polish Bogdan Zdrojewski, also drew attention to the fact that education is not part of the portfolio’s title, although this would have been required. Also, MEP Leila Chaibi, from the Left group, asked Roxana Minzatu whether she would like social rights and employment to be included in the portfolio.
Roxana Minzatu said that she is open to any change in the title of the portfolio, but she cannot decide on her own in this regard. On the other hand, she said, “I would like the work to speak for me.”
During the hearings, Roxana Minzatu promised to make the Erasmus program more accessible, recalling that she was among the students who won a scholarship and could not afford accommodation. “I want to make Erasmus stronger through the objectives we propose. Erasmus will be more solid in the future multiannual financial framework, I promise you this,” she said.
The designated European Commissioner of Romania promised to do more for the recognition of diplomas and professional qualifications at the European level. “My intention is to work with each bilateral state to obtain their commitment to the objective of a Union of Skills”, communicated Roxana Minzatu.
Asked by the Spanish MEP Dina Riba i Giner, originally from Catalonia and a member of the Green group, how multilingualism can be promoted at the European level, Roxana Minzatu emphasized that she is a supporter of multilingualism and, from her perspective, we need to use technology to learn new foreign languages.
At the same time, the commissioner-designate pleaded for the stimulation of workers’ mobility and said that an initiative in this sense is among her priorities.
In her opinion, at the European level, it is necessary to communicate more clearly in terms of skills. “I can tell you that I want professional training at the European level to be consolidated, to have a European dimension and the diplomas to be recognized. It is important to state that we can better stimulate enrollment in professional training not only through Erasmus, but also through the funds of cohesion”, she pointed out during the hearings.
Another issue that Roxana Minzatu was asked about was what she intends to do to make the careers of teaching staff more attractive.
“Everything starts with teachers. And the next Commission will emphasize this topic. We must cooperate with the member states to improve the working conditions of teachers. We have a staffing crisis among teachers in 24 member states”, she drew attention, committing to use tools such as the European Semester in this sense.
The German MEP Sabine Yerheyen asked Roxana Minzatu if she had bought a house and doubled its area without the authorization of the Ministry of Culture and how she sees the fact that she wants to be validated for this portfolio under the conditions in which she does not even protect the cultural heritage of her own country.
Minzatu explained that she bought the 60 square meter house in which she lived until 17 years old in the old center of Brasov in 2009 in order to modernize it, as it was in a strong state of degradation. She told the MEPs including the fact that she slept with her mother in the same bed until the age of 17 in this building, which had a roof through which water dripped.
She admitted that the house now has an area of 120 square meters and three bedrooms, but she claims that the building is not a historical monument and that she has a document from the Ministry of Culture attesting to this. “In two documents, one from 2011 and one from yesterday [Monday] issued by the Ministry of Culture, it is mentioned that this house where I lived all my life is not a historical monument”, Roxana Mînzatu told the MEPs.
The problem of the legality of the extension of the house in Brasov was also addressed by the Danish MEP Hanne Dahl who asked her if she is committed to supporting the rule of law.
“I have always been a supporter of the rule of law”, assured Roxana Minzatu, who at the same time affirmed that she is not responsible for the measures against the rule of law taken at one point by a PSD government, although she was member of that party at that time moment.