So who is Dach-ian Chee-oh-losh?

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There's been a lot of chat in the office in the past few days about how the new agriculture commissioner-designate in Brussels, Dacian Ciolos, pronounces his name.

Instinctively we reckoned it was something like Dace-ian See-oh-loss. At least that was how we referred to him before the weekend.

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for dacian ciolos.jpgBut further investigation with key contacts on Monday unearthed a range of alternatives, the most reliable of which came from a Romanian source in Brussels. The correct pronunciation, apparently, is Dach-ian Chee-oh-losh.

We have also discovered that he is 40 years old, looks like a Bond villain, is fluent in French, having worked in Brittany for a number of years, and was Romanian agriculture minister in 2007/08.

But more important than this is what his appointment will mean for agriculture, and in particular the direction of the CAP post-2013.

It is no secret that his candidature was eagerly supported by France and Poland, and on that basis alone there is a strong suspicion that he will be less pro-CAP reform that the outgoing Mariann Fischer Boel...

The speculation in Brussels is that, given the importance of agriculture in his native Romania, Mr Ciolos will want to slow down progress towards market liberalisation, retain a large budget for the CAP and maintain supports for family farmers.

This is not supported by any evidence, of course, and what is known about Mr Ciolos suggests he is actually quite pro-reform.

He will be keen to see more funds transferred from Pilar 1 to Pillar 2, and will probably want to see Single Farm Payments moved onto an area basis, as currently applies in the new member states. And he will no doubt want equal direct payments for farmers in the east as those in the west.

The exact policy preferences should all become clearer when the EU Commission publishes its "communication" on CAP reform next autumn.

But before that, Mr Ciolos has one major hurdle to clear - and that is to have his nomination accepted by the European parliament's agriculture committee when it cross-examines him in January.

There is bound to be a lot of resentment that such an important portfolio as agriculture is being given to someone from the newest member state. And tough questions will certainly be raised about Romania's poor track record of handling EU money, both before and since accession.

Commissioners-designate have been rejected by the European parliament in the past. It could easily happen again.

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This page contains a single entry by Philip Clarke published on December 1, 2009 11:56 AM.

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