Spain's pick for the next European Commission has come under fire from MEPs for his alleged links to the oil industry.
Miguel Arias Cañete said he had no financial interests in the energy sector.
"I sold my shares and my son resigned from the board. and neither my wife, neither my son, nor myself have positions in that company and in no other company related to this," he told MEPs.
Some parliamentarians say the Spaniard is unfit to shape the EU's climate and energy policy in the next commission.
76 MEPs have signed a petition calling for Cañete's appointment to be blocked, most of them from the Greens and the left.
They want the Spanish government to put forward another name.
The civil society organisation also protested against the 64-year-old outside the European Parliament in Brussels.
"The personal and financial interests of Cañete and his faimly in the oil industry and his actions in favour of drilling in Spain when he was environment ministers make him totally inadequate for the job," said Luis Morago of Avaaz.
Cañete repeatedly refused to answer questions over whether his brother-in-law still had links to the sector.
Source:EuroNews
Photo source: TheDrum, Moroccoworldnews
