Corina Creţu defends herself on Facebook

Commissioner Corina Creţu defended herself on Facebook after an investigation by POLITICO into the departure of more than a third of a staff because of the Romanian politician’s work habits.

Writing in Romanian on her Facebook page, the EU regional policy commissioner echoed comments she had already made to POLITICO after both a detailed inquiry and an interview but she did not directly challenge any of the allegations in the report.

Creţu said that she’s proud of her accomplishments, plans to maintain the pace of her work and that she has always conducted her activities with “honesty and integrity.”

Margaritis Schinas, the European Commission spokesman, defended Creţu’s work at the midday press briefing, saying, “she’s a very solid member of the Juncker team.”

“I’m not going to convert the Commission press room into a gossip house,” he said, declining to comment on allegations that Creţu used administrative staff for personal tasks.

Below is an English translation of Creţu’s post in full:

“Since this morning I am getting phone calls from people on my team, shocked by the unprecedented attack and without any real basis that appeared in Politico.

Out of respect for truth, for my team and I mean both my office and colleagues from DG Regio and, last but not least, out of respect for those who follow my work constantly, I decided to do the following clarifications:

First year was characterized by a highly charged agenda, with very many meetings and work assignments in member states. For example: so far, I visited 24 countries, I had official meetings with over 40 Regional Presidents, I participated in over 10 debates in the European Parliament, in specialized committees or in plenary sessions, in Strasbourg and I attended 6 Council meetings. My public agenda reflects the intensity of my engagements.

As I promised at the beginning of my mandate, all operational programs of the ERDF for 2014-2020 were adopted. Throughout this year, me and my team focused on this goal and today I’m proud of what we have achieved. We now have solid investment packages, based on performance, to help regions and cities to achieve the EU objectives of economic growth and create jobs.

This good start makes me hope that the years to come will be at least as good, if not better, because these programs will certainly have a substantial impact in the life of everyday people.

I intend to maintain this pace of work next year too to ensure the implementation of these programs, on the ground, as soon as possible. 

I’m proud to have a team of professionals with experience and impressive accomplishments. Together, we managed to have great results this year. Personnel changes in commissioners’  cabinets are not exceptional, especially in the first year of mandate, when many realize that the pace of activity is much more alert than they imagined when they accepted this challenge.

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But I want to assure you all that honesty and integrity were the basis for my entire activity in the last 25 years and that I will never abdicate from these principles.

Thank you!”