 Italian Minister of Agriculture Luca Zaia and French President Nicolas Sarkozy likewise congratulated Cioloș.German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur and British newspaper "The Independent" both criticised the nomination due to the funds mismanagement issue, with French daily "Ouest-France" alleging that the cause of British indignation was the perception that Cioloș would be akin to a second French EU Commissioner, given his close ties to that country.After winning approval from the European Parliament in February 2010, Cioloș set forth his priority