The European parliament approved Tuesday Bulgaria's and Romania's EU Commissioner designates - Meglena Kuneva and Leonard Orban.

Both new EU Commissioners were praised for their efforts in bringing Bulgaria and Romania to the EU.

Meglena Kuneva had 583 votes in favor while Orban had a better score of 593 from a total of 640 votes.

Following the Parliament's vote, the two Commissioners will be formally appointed by the Council. After their appointment, the Commissioners will take an oath before the Court of Justice.

The new Commissioners' mandates will expire at the end of October 2009, at the same time as the Commissioners already in office.

The green light for the candidacy of Meglena Kuneva (consumer protection) and Leonard Orban (multilingualism) was expected, although Orban's slight portfolio had given rise to criticism of commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso among some MEPs.

At the end of November the internal market and consumer protection committee with the European Parliament assessed positively Bulgaria's Commissioner-designate Meglena Kuneva.

The statement came after Kuneva, slated to take over the consumer protection portfolio, passed the first hurdle in EP with a three-hour test. Kuneva answered a number of questions by MEPs and observers in a hearing to assess her suitability for the role of European commissioner for consumer protection. She vowed to strengthen communications with the European parliament and national governments and to act as consumers' "advocate".

Meglena Kuneva, 49, was Bulgaria's European affairs minister. She has led Bulgaria's entry talks since 2001.

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