Oostenrijkse minister van buitenlandse zaken kandidaat voor Commissie (en)

Benita Ferrero-Waldner has been nominated as her country's next European Commissioner.

Her nomination was formally announced by Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel on Tuesday afternoon (27 July).

The Austrian foreign minister told Austrian radio that she is delighted to accept her country's nomination to join the new Commission in the Autumn.

Her nomination brings the prospective number of women in the new Commission to six, two short of President-elect José Manuel Durao Barroso's target.

It has been reported that the Austrian government would like to take up the development portfolio in the Commission - a post also coveted by former Belgian foreign minister Louis Michel.