RIGA 's Press reports questioning the integrity of Ingrida Udre, Latvia's candidate for European commissioner, have appeared with increasing frequency in recent weeks in Europe, throwing an element of intrigue on the European Commission's upcoming confirmation hearing.
The German daily Frankfurter Allgemaine Zeitung ran an article titled "Much Hated" on Udre in its Thursday issue, suggesting that out 25 commissioners there was no other who has sparked as much controversy as Latvia's. The paper listed the accusations often directed at Udre, Latvia's outgoing speaker of Parliament, including accepting money of unknown sources in the treasury of the Greens and Farmers Union, close ties to the oil transit business in Latvia, Euroskeptism and her wish to travel the world together with a personal stylist.The paper also recounts the controversy that her nomination by Prime Minister Indulis Emsis caused, particularly after the previous nominee, the popular Sandra Kalniete, had already begun to get accustomed to the job.The FAZ report follows similar critical articles that appeared in Transitions Online and The Wall Street Journal Europe.
