Today's Movers & Shakers are about: the latest on the Parliament's presidency, the nomination of EU Commission Vice-President Kristalina Georgieva for the UN Secretary General post, the week's latest appointments in public affairs and more.
European Parliament:
Presidency:
A call to limit the European Parliament Presidents’ mandate to two terms in office has received cross-party support among MEPs. The amendment, submitted by the leader of the Conservatives Ashley FOX (UK), and was supported by all political groups, except for S&D and ENF. The amendment will be discussed in the Constitutional affairs committee, before being voted in the plenary session probably in December. Read more.
Brexit:
Parliament’s Chief Negotiator and President of ALDE group Guy VERHOFSTADT (BE) launched a withering attack on the three MPs chosen by Theresa MAY to navigate the UK’s exit from the EU. Read more.
Substitutes of Committees, Subcommittees and the Delegations:
Angelo CIOCCA (EFN, IT) joined the Delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia (D-SAS).
Plenary session:
MEPs are in Strasbourg from Monday 3 to Thursday 6 October.
Events:
Protecting Dog and Cat Welfare in Breeding and Trade: On Tuesday 27 September the EU Dog & Cat Alliance and The Parliament Magazine held a reception on Protecting Dog and Cat Welfare in Breeding and Trade. Speakers included European Commissioner for Health & Food Safety Vytenis ANDRIUKAITIS, MEP and Vice-President of the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS and Second Secretary, Animal Health, Food Hygiene, Animal Welfare, Codex Alimentarius, Food Security, Permanent Representation of Slovakia to the EU, Martin CHUDÝ. Read more.
New Fertilizer Regulation: On 28 September MEP Elisabetta GARDINI (S&D, IT) and MEP Dariusz ROSATI (EPP, PL) hosted a breakfast debate at the European Parliament in coordination with Fertilizers Europe and the Parliament Magazine, to discuss European Commission’s proposal on the new Fertilizer Regulation. Read more.
MEP Awards 2017: The Parliament Magazine’s annual MEP awards will return in spring 2017. Nominations will be open from Monday 26 September to Friday 18 November. See the categories and nominate now.
European Commission:
Commissioners:
Vice-President Kristalina GEORGIEVA, Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources, was nominated by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko BORISSOV to run as the country’s candidate for the role of UN Secretary-General. She will take unpaid leave during October to campaign for the post. Her responsibilities in the Commission will be looked after by Gunther OETTINGER, Commissioner for Digital Economy.
In his first mission as Commissioner for Security Union, Julian KING visited Europol to discuss resources and the operational capacities of its teams and offices. In his recent meeting with the Parliament, Commissioner KING came out in support of improving the role of EU agencies to support national authorities in the fight against terrorism and organised crime.
Cabinet of Julian King: the following have been appointed to positions within the new cabinet:
- Head of Cabinet: James MORRISON. He was Director of ‘Policy Coordination II’ in the Secretariat General of the Commission.
- Deputy Head of Cabinet: Ingrid BELLANDER-TODINO. She joins the cabinet from DG Justice and Consumers where she was a Deputy Head of Unit.
- Adviser and Communication Adviser: Chantal HUGHES. She was the Communication Adviser in Jonathan HILL’s cabinet, and briefly joined the cabinet of Vice President GEORGIEVA after Mr HILL resigned.
- Members of Cabinet: Joanna DEKA, Julian SIEGL, Silvio MASCAGNA, Severine WERNERTN.
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Representations in Member States:
Ireland: Gerard KIELY was appointed as Head of Representation in Dublin. He will begin his new role on 1 October 2016 and will replace current Head of Representation Barbara Nolan. Mr KIELY is currently Head of Unit, ‘Pre-accession assistance for agriculture’, in the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI).
Task Forces:
Strategic Issues related to the UK Referendum (UKTF): the Task Force that was set up to handle negotiations pre-Brexit was dissolved on 30 September. Head of the Task Force, Jonathan FAULL, announced his retirement from the Commission.
Preparation and Conduct of the Negotiations with the UK: the newly established Task Force to monitor proceedings post-Brexit will be officially operational from 1 October. UKTF staff are expected to join this new Task Force.
Directorates-General:
Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE):
Maja BAKRAN MARCICH has been appointed as Deputy Director-General as of 1 December 2016. Ms BAKRAN MARCICH is currently an Adviser to the Minister for Foreign and European Affairs in Croatia. She will fill the vacant role that is currently responsible for Directorate B.
Office for the Administration and Payments of Individual Entitlements (PMO):
Veronica GAFFEY has been appointed as Director of PMO as of 1 October. Ms GAFFEY is currently Director, ‘Budget and General Affairs’, in DG Regional and Urban Policy (REGIO). She will replace Giuseppe SCOGNAMIGLIO who was acting in the role.
Missions to the EU:
The following presented their letters of credentials to Donald TUSK and will become Heads of Mission:
Montenegro: Bojan ŠARKIĆ will replace Ivan LEKOVIĆ
Switzerland: Urs BUCHER will replace Roberto BALZARETTI
Japan: Kazuo KODAMA will replace Keiichi KATAKAMI
European Investment Bank:
Board of Directors:
Bulgaria: Matinela PETROVA became a Full Member of the Board for Bulgaria following the resignation of Karina KARAIVANOVA. Ms PETROVA’s term will run until 2018.
France: Arnaud DELAUNAY was appointed as an Alternate Member of the Board for France succeeding Alice TERRACOL who tendered her resignation. Mr DELAUNAY’s term will expire in 2018.
Italy: Francesca MERCUSA became an Alternate Member of the Board filling a vacant position.
Portugal: Luís SARAMAGO replaced Carla DÍAZ ÁLVAREZ DE TOLEDO as an Alternate Member of the Board for Portugal.
European Chemicals Agency (ECHA):
Sharon MCGUINNESS was elected as Chair of the Management Board replacing Nina CROMNIER. Ms MCGUINNESS will serve a two year term with the option of a renewal. Karel BLAHA was re-elected as Deputy Chair for another term of two years.
European Court of Auditors:
Leo BRINCAT, the Maltese candidate who failed to receive support from the European Parliament, was approved to join the ECA by the EU Competitiveness Council. The Council of Ministers had the final say and passed the nomination. Mr BRINCAT will begin his term on 1 October 2016.
Public affairs:
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Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA): Simon LORNE, took over from Kathleen CASEY as Chair.
Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging (APEAL): Stéphane TONDO was appointed as President as of 1 October. TONDO was previously Chief Marketing Officer for the Packaging and Energy segments at ArcelorMittal Europe.
Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER): Rüdiger GRUBE, CEO of Deutsche Bahn AG was elected as the new Chairman on 19 September. His mandate will expire in the end of 2017. GRUBE succeeds Christian KERN who stepped down from the role to become the Austrian Chancellor. Andreas MEYER was acting the role since May 2016.
European Alliance of Companies for Energy Efficiency in Buildings (EuroACE): Alix CHAMBRIS has now taken up her post as President following her official appointment in July. In her new role Ms CHAMBRIS will be supported by Vice-Presidents Céline CARRÉ and Ulrich BANG. The Board also launched the new version of the EuroACE website during its General Assembly that took place on 16 September.
European Competitive Telecommunications Association (ECTA): Luc HINDRYCKX became the new Executive Director.
Volkswagen: has named former European Climate Commissioner Connie HEDEGAARD as a member of its new ‘Sustainability Council’. Read more.
News in a nutshell:
Bulgaria: National Assembly Chair Tsetska TSACHEVA was nominated as the ruling GERB party’s presidential candidate. The presidential election will be held on 6 November.
Estonia: Kersti KALJULAID was elected as President from the first round. She will be sworn in on 10 October. KALJULAID is currently a member of the Court of Auditors. Her successor has yet to be officially named.
Hungary: held a referendum on Sunday 2 October on whether to accept any future EU quota system on resettling migrants. The vast majority of the voters rejected the European quotas, however the turnout was too low to make the vote valid.
Poland: Prime Minister Beata SZYDŁO sacked the Finance Minister Paweł SZAŁAMACHA in a reshuffle that took place on Wednesday 28 September. He was replaced by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Economy Mateusz MORAWIECKI.
Spain: The Leader of the Socialist Party, Pedro SÁNCHEZ stepped down on 1 October after losing a vote during a meeting with the party’s federal committee, rising hope that the nine-month political deadlock will come to an end. SÁNCHEZ was blocking acting Prime Minister Mariano RAJOY from forming a government. The party is now under an interim management until its conference. Meanwhile, President of Catalonia Carles PUIGDEMONT said that an independence referendum will be held next year with or without the consent of the central government.
