Ursula von der Leyen presented her new six Executive Vice-Presidents

USPA NEWS - The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, met on Tuesday with the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament's political groups. At that meeting she presented to Parliament the planned structure of the new college, based on her political guidelines and on which they have worked together during intensive weeks of negotiations with the Member States.

“Together, we have defined key priorities. They are based on prosperity, security and democracy. The backdrop is: competitiveness in the double transition, and they are very intertwined and cross-cutting. The entire college is committed to competitiveness! We have dispelled the old, rigid, stagnant barriers,” said Von der Leyen.

The latest Draghi report already spoke of strengthening Europe's technological sovereignty, its security and democracy. Building a competitive, decarbonised and circular economy, with a fair transition for all. Designing a bold industrial strategy with innovation and investment at its heart. Boosting European cohesion and regions. Supporting people, skills and the European social model. Ensuring that Europe can assert its interests and lead the world. And this, said the Commission President, “is reflected in the titles of the six Executive Vice-Presidents.”

The College proposed by Von der Leyen has eleven women, 40 % of the total. “When I received the first set of nominations and candidates, we were on track to have around 22 % women and 78 % men. That was unacceptable. I worked with the Member States and we were able to improve the balance to 40 % women and 60 % men. This shows that, as much as we have achieved, there is still a lot of work to be done. And with this in mind, I appointed six Executive Vice-Presidents,” explained the Commission President.

The Executive Vice-Presidents are the Spanish Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge of Spain, Teresa Ribera, responsible for a clean, fair and competitive transition. She will also be responsible for competition policy. She will lead work to ensure that Europe stays on track towards the goals set out in the European Green Deal and that the European economy is decarbonised and industrialised.

Henna Virkkunen will be Executive Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy. She will also be responsible for the portfolio for Digital and Cutting-Edge Technologies. And Stéphane Séjourné will be Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy. He will also be responsible for the portfolio for Industry, SMEs and the Single Market.

Kaja Kallas will be High Representative and Vice-President. Roxana Mînzatu will be Executive Vice-President for People, Skills and Readiness. And Raffaele Fitto will be Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms.

Von der Leyen also introduced the 20 new European Commissioners. “The key message is that, wherever we come from and whatever our position, we must all work together,” she said. “We will have open discussions. We will all be independent in thought and action. And we will all follow through on what has been agreed. This is the team I am presenting,” she added.

On this basis, once the European Parliament has received the official letter of agreement from the Council with the President of the Commission, it will be able to proceed with the formal procedures for the designation of the new college. Always in accordance with its internal rules of procedure.