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Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, announced her new team, setting the stage for the next five years. She asserted that the diverse group of individuals will work towards a stronger, more secure, and more competitive Europe.
The new team includes six Executive Vice Presidents: four women, two men -- Teresa Ribera Rodriguez, Executive Vice President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition; Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy; Kaja Kallas, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission; Roxana Minzatu, Executive Vice President for People, Skills and Preparedness; Raffaele Fitto, Executive Vice President for Cohesion and Reforms; and Stephane Sejourne, Executive Vice President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy. While announcing the new members, Leyen highlighted the disparity in gender representation among the candidates proposed by EU nations. She said that initially, only 22 per cent of the candidates were women. "When I received the first set of nominations and candidates, we were on track for around 22 per cent women and 78 per cent men. That was unacceptable. So I worked with the Member States and we were able to improve the balance to 40 per cent women and 60 per cent men. And it shows that - as much as we have achieved - there is still so much more work to do. And with this in mind I assigned six Executive Vice-presidents," von der Leyen said. Sharing a post on X, Leyen wrote, "Today, I'm presenting my team for the next five years. A team of competent and motivated women and men ready to work together. For a stronger Union; for a more secure Europe; for a more competitive Europe." https://x.com/vonderleyen/status/1835959480040743314 The EU President emphasised that her team will work tirelessly towards the goal of strengthening Europe. "Every member of my team will bring in their own experience and perspectives on Europe. Together, we will be one team, working towards one common goal, to make Europe stronger," Leyen wrote on X. The other members include Maros Sefcovic, Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security; Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency; Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner for Economy and Productivity; Implementation and Simplification; Dubravka Suica, Commissioner for Mediterranean; Oliver Varhelyi, Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare; Wopke Hoekstra, Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth; Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner for Defence and Space; Marta Kos (nomination procedure ongoing), Commissioner for Enlargement; Jozef Sikela, Commissioner for International Partnerships; Costas Kadis, Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans; Maria Luis Albuquerque, Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union; Hadja Lahbib, Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management and Equality; Magnus Brunner, Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration; Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy; Piotr Serafin, Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration; Dan Jorgensen, Commissioner for Energy and Housing; Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation; Michael McGrath, Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, and the Rule of Law; Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism; Christophe Hansen, Commissioner for Agriculture and Food; and Glenn Micallef, Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport. (ANI)
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