Romanian candidate for new EU executive faces hurdle

BRUSSELS – A legal committee vetting candidates for jobs in the European Union’s powerful executive arm is refusing to recommend that Romania’s nominee be allowed take part in official hearings.

The EU Parliament committee was verifying behind closed doors Thursday the financial declaration of Romania’s Rovana Plumb, who was in line to become the bloc’s top transport official. The exact reason for its decision was not immediately clear.

EU Parliament spokesman Jaume Duch Guillot said that “what is clear is that the hearing cannot take place.”

Candidates to be commissioners must pass a conflict of interest test before they can be formally grilled by EU lawmakers. The hearing process starts Monday. The new European Commission, to be led by incoming president Ursula von der Leyen, takes office on Nov. 1.