Dacian Ciolos is a bit of a dark horse. Romanian but very French-trained. A specialist in rural development, worked on organic farms... But is a member of the very British and Eurosceptic Bruges Group...

Dacian Cioloş - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

He was born in Zalău and after graduating from the agro-industrial high school in Şimleu Silvaniei in 1987, attended the Horticulture faculty of the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca from 1989 to 1994, graduating as a horticultural engineer. He also holds degrees in the economy of agricultural development from the École nationale supérieure agronomique de Rennes and from the University of Montpellier 1, where he earned a master's in 1997 and a doctorate in 2006. He has belonged to the Bruges Group since 2000, and he is married.^[1] Cioloş is a political independent.^[2][3]

From 1991 to 1996, Cioloş completed thirteen months' worth of internships on organic farms in the French region of Brittany. In the summer of 1995, he prepared a rural development project between Savoie and Argeş County, while working at the Aveyron agricultural chamber of commerce in Rodez during 1997, studying agricultural and rural development in the northern part of that department. In 1997 and 1999, he interned as an agro-economist at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development in Brussels, helping prepare the Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (SAPARD). In 1998-1999, he directed a local rural development programme in Argeş County, again cooperating with Savoie. From 1999 to 2001, he worked at two agricultural development agencies in France, coordinating joint programmes with Romania in that field. From 2002 to 2003, as part of the European Commission's delegation to Romania, he helped manage SAPARD's implementation in his native country. From January 2005 to May 2007, he was an adviser to Romania's Agriculture Minister, and a representative in the European Council's Special Committee on Agriculture. From May to October 2007, he was undersecretary of state for European affairs at the ministry.^[1] Following the resignation of Decebal Traian Remeş due to a corruption scandal,^[4] he was appointed Agriculture Minister in October 2007, serving until the following December, when Tăriceanu's National Liberal Party-led government left office after a parliamentary election.^[5] Early in 2009, he returned to work at the Agriculture and Rural Development DG.^[6]

In October 2009, the Emil Boc government, which hopes to secure the Agriculture portfolio in the second Barroso Commission, nominated Cioloş as Romania's EU Commissioner.^[7] The proposal was criticised by the opposition Liberals and Social Democrats, who saw it as a last-ditch maneuver by a government on the brink of collapse, as well as by the Party of European Socialists, who believe the position ought to go to a Social Democrat.^[3] Boc's cabinet did indeed resign the day after nominating Cioloş, when it lost a motion of no confidence.^[8] At the end of November, Barroso nominated Cioloş to the Agriculture position, observing that his was "the most competent name" of those submitted for consideration, and lauding his "modern vision" of agriculture and rural development.^[9]

Oh, the northern part of the Aveyron is José Bové's parish.