European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen Tuesday announced that the Commission’s Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis will be the EU’s new trade commissionerآ following the resignation of Phil Hogan. She also announced that Mairead McGuinness will be the new Irish commissioner with responsibility for financial services. “Yesterday I interviewed the candidates put forward by the Irish government for the post of Commissioner, Ms Mairead McGuinness and Mr Andrew McDowell,” she said in a brief televised statement this morning.
“Following these interviews, I have decided to propose to the Council and the European Parliament the appointment of Ms McGuinness to the post of Commissioner. She will be in charge of financial services, financial stability and the Capital Markets Union,” she said.
“Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis will assume responsibility for the trade portfolio, and he will remain the Commission’s representative on the Eurogroup,” added von der Leyen. McGuinness has significant political experience on EU issues, having been a Member of European Parliament since 2004 and currently holding the post of first Vice-President of the European Parliament, she noted.
The post of EU Trade Commissioner had become vacant following the resignation of Irish politician Phil Hogan on 22 August after he came under severe criticism for not following the Coronavirus guidelines during a visit to Ireland. Dombrovsksis, a former Latvian prime minister, is a highly-respected European Commission official.
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