The head of the European Union Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday declared the new line-up of the executive body that serves for five years while addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.
Von der Leyen began by declaring line-up of her deputies to run the 27-member EU Commission, saying her team will group six executive vice-presidents: four women, two men. Three from Member States that joined before the fall of the Iron Curtain. And three from Member States that joined after Europe was reunited. From the Baltics, Nordics and Eastern Europe. Ministers and Prime Ministers. Different backgrounds. But all with one common goal “and that is to make Europe stronger,” she stated.
Teresa Ribera, der Leyen, continued will be Executive Vice-President of a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition. She will also be responsible for Competition policy. She will guide the work to ensure that Europe stays on track for its goals set out in the European Green Deal. And that “we decarbonise and industri
alise our economy at the same time.” Ribera is a Spanish jurist, university professor, and politician who has served as the Minister for the Ecological Transition of Spain since 2018.
Henna Virkkunen, the commission chief stated, will be the Executive Vice-President for Tech-Sovereignty, Security and Democracy. She will also be responsible for the portfolio on digital and frontier technologies. “I will ask Henna to look at the internal and external aspects of security .. to strengthen the foundations of our democracy, such as the rule of law, and protect it wherever it comes under attack.” Virkkunen is a Finnish politician who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2014.
Stephane Sejourne will be the Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy. He will also be responsible for the Industry, SMEs and the Single Market portfolio. He will guide the work to put in place the conditions for “our companies to thrive from investment and innovation to economic stability and
trade and economic security,” der Leyen declared.
Sejourne is a French lawyer and politician of the Renaissance party who has been serving as Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs in the government of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, and now the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier, since 2024.
“As you already know, Kaja Kallas will be our High Representative and Vice-President. We are in an era of geostrategic rivalries and instability. Our foreign and security policy must be designed with this reality in mind and it must be more aligned with our own interests. I know that I can count on her to bring all of this together and be the bridge between our internal and external policies. And to ensure we stay a Geopolitical Commission,” she said.
“I am also very happy to entrust the role of Executive Vice-President for People, Skills and Preparedness to Roxana Minzatu. She will have the responsibility for skills, education and culture, quality jobs and social rights..” der Leyen continued.
Minzatu is a R
omanian politician, local government official and manager of European Union projects in Romania. In 2016, she was elected to the Romanian Chamber of Deputies and in 2019, was appointed as Minister of European Funds.
Raffaele Fitto will be Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms. He will be responsible for the portfolio dealing with cohesion policy, regional development and cities. “We will draw on his extensive experience to help modernise and strengthen our cohesion, investment and growth policies,” der Leyen stated.
She also announced that Maro Svecovic (Slovakia) was named Commissioner of Trade and Economic Security, Valdis Dombrovskis (Lativia) as Commissioner for Economy and Productivity, Dubravka Suica (Croatia) Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Oliver Varhely (Hungary) Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, Wopke Hoekstra (the Netherlands) be the Commissioner for Climate, Andrius Kubilius (Kithuanis) Commissioner for Defence and Space, Marta Kos (Slovenia) will be Commissioner for En
largement, also responsible for our Eastern neighbourhood.
Jozef Sikela (the Czech Republic) will be the Commissioner for International Partnerships, Costas Kadis (Cyprus) will be the Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Maria Luis Albuquerque (Portugal) will be the Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investment Union, Hadja Lahbib (Belgium) is named the Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management, Magnus Brunner (Austria) will be the Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, Jessika Jessika Roswall (Sweden) will be the Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy.
She added that Piotr Serafin (Poland) will be the Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration, Dan Jorgensen (Denmark) will be the Commissioner for Energy and Housing, Ekaterina Zaharieva (Bulgaria) will be Commissioner for Research and Innovation, Michael McGrath (Ireland) will be Commissioner for Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law, Apostolos Tzitziko
stas (Greece) will be Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Christophe Hansen (Luxembourg) will be the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Glenn Micallef (Malta) will be Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Culture, Youth and Sport. Conclusing her address, der Leyyen stated, “The key message is that wherever we come from, whatever our job title: we must all work together. We will have open debates. We will all be independent in thought and action. And we will all take ownership of what is agreed. This is the team that I am putting forward today. On this basis, once the European Parliament has received the official letter of the Council in agreement with the President of the Commission, it may proceed with the formal proceedings for the nomination of the new college. Always in accordance with its rules of procedure.”
Source: Kuwait News Agency
