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Parliament’s chamber is in flux once again following the departure of Slovenian MEP Tanja Fajon, who was elected to the Slovenian national parliament in the 24 April general election. Slovenia’s incoming government led by Robert Golob has finalised the coalition agreement and unveiled most of the names in the cabinet, with Fajon nominated to lead the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Slovenian government has confirmed the appointment of Matjaž Nemec to her vacated seat in the European Parliament.
Tanja Fajon. Photo: European Parliament Multimedia Centre
Elsewhere in Parliament, Greek MEP Georgios Kyrtsos has left the European People’s Party to join Renew Europe. Kyrtsos was expelled from Greece’s ruling centre-right New Democracy party in February as he criticised the government over the handling of the pandemic and their stance on media freedom.
Georgios Kyrtsos. Photo: European Parliament Multimedia Centre
In the last edition, we reported that two out of the three new committees had elected their bureaus. This month, the Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation (INGE 2), announced that Raphaël Glucksmann, the chair of INGE 1, will continue to lead the new committee in its aim to “evaluate the implementation of the recommendations of its predecessor, continue to analyse the threats and ensure that the 2024 European elections are shielded from these types of attacks.” Subsequently, the vice-chairs, Javier Zarzalejos, Morten Løkkegaard, Dace Melbārde and Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz have also been re-elected.
Raphaël Glucksmann. Photo: Alamy
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The cabinets of Mariya Gabriel, Janez Lenarčič and Jutta Urpilainen have welcomed new members. Lauriane Bertrand has replaced Guglielmo di Cola in Gabriel’s cabinet where she will take over his responsibilities which include the cultural and creative sectors, the digital single market and industrial policy. Joachime Nason has joined Lenarčič’s cabinet and will oversee international organisations (UN, World Bank), the efficiency of aid, the Middle East and Turkey while Suvi Leinonen is now a member of Urpilainen’s cabinet where her responsibilities include the European Green Deal, forests and agriculture and cohesion policy/regional funding.
In national news, Élisabeth Borne, Minister of Labour, Employment and Integration, has been appointed as France’s first female Prime Minister in 30 years. In Austria, Margarete Schramböck, Federal Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs, and Elisabeth Köstinger, Federal Minister for Agriculture, Regions and Tourism, have resigned.
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