The European Parliament, which validates candidates for the European Commission, on Thursday definitively rejected French commissioner-designate Sylvie Goulard.
Goulard had been proposed for the Domestic Market and Defence Industry portfolio, but 82 of the legislators voted to reject her candidature, while 29 voted in favour and one abstained, the French news agency, AFP, learned from parliamentary sources.
On Thursday morning, Goulard appeared once again before members of two parliamentary commissions in a bid to convince them of her ability to take up a post in the executive of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (Germany).
The weight of the portfolio and questions about her integrity again dominated the hearing.
Goulard is the subject of two investigations, one by the French justice authorities and the other by the EU’s anti-fraud office, into her participation in a system of fictitious jobs for her party, the MoDem (Centrist).
Many legislators also queried her about the activities for which she received considerable emoluments between 2013 and 2016 from the Berggruen Institute, founded by German-American millionaire Nicolas Berggruen.
The Brussels Times
