After being turned down by the budgetary control committee, Leonad Orban, Romania's nominee for a place on the European Court of Auditors  was also rejected by the European Parliament.

Yesterday (October 23 ), MEPs in the European Parliament rejected the Romanian nominee by 25 votes (269 votes in favor of the appointment, 294 against and 80 abstentions). Orban said previously he would withdraw his candidacy if MEPs opposed his appointment.

The mandate of Romania's current Court of Auditors representative Ovidiu Ispir expires at the end of this year. Originally, Mircea Vasile Popescu was Romania's nomination to replace Ispir, however, during the year's political shenanigans, the Romanian authorities withdrew his candidacy, replacing him with Leonard Orban, the current European Affairs Minister in Romania and former European Commissioner.

This doesn't appear to have been a popular move in Brussels. Members of the Court of Auditors serve six year terms. EU member states put forward candidates, which are appointed after consulting the European Parliament.

Liam Lever, liam@romania-insider.com

(photo source: European Commission)