EU commissioner nominee emphasizes people

"People are ultimately what Europe is about, and we forget this at our peril," said nominee Laszlo Andor from Hungary, who told the hearings panel, "Europe has undergone the greatest crisis since depression, with the weakest bearing the brunt."

"Even in boom periods, unemployment in some countries reached a level of 10 percent or more and we have to find ways to reduce this level," he said, stressing the need for coordination among member states, the EUobserver reported Thursday.

Andor's performance was called "smooth."

German deputy Thomas Mann, the social policy spokesman for the European People's Party, said Andor was "very smooth in general questions, (but) insecure and devoid of ideas in detail."

Others took a liking to the nominee. "There were lots of noises that we liked. I think he will be a popular commissioner," Irish representative Proinsias De Rossa said.

Copyright 2010 by United Press International.