The Romanian candidate to become an EU Commissioner doesn't know what exactly he is to do. Josep Borrell, president of the Parliament of Europe, said yesterday afternoon that, although there was positive feedback for Leonard Orban, there was need to make his tasks within the European Commission clear. Orban managed to get all the political groups in the Parliament of Europe to like him and he got no tough critique. MEPs are to vote for or against him in December 12. The conference of Presidents in the Parliament of Europe took place yesterday evening. The heads of the political groups represented in the Parliament of Europe had a 2-hour debate on the field Leonard Orban would see to. The European Socialists insisted that his portfolio should also include national minorities, but the outcome of such insistence is still unclear. Jan Marinus Wiersma, a vice president of the Socialist group there, mentioned yesterday that his group wanted multiculturalism to be included in Orban's future portfolio so that the issue of the Roma people in Europe would be part of it too. On the other hand the other parliamentary groups would like national minorities to be a matter up to the EU states. In yesterday's conference it was decided that a message should reach Manuel Durao Barroso, president of the European Commission, to ask him to define the tasks for Leonard Orban, therefore this is now up to the Commission. The President of the Parliament of Europe would provide no more explanations, as he mentioned he was waiting for the European Commission to reply.

George Damian, Brussels