Today’s Movers & Shakers are about: Two Dutch MEPs bid farewell to the Parliament, the interim chair of ESM, Slovakia gets a new government, the latest Commission, public affairs appointments, and more!
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European Parliament
Outgoing
Dutch MEP Kati Piri (S&D, NL) bids farewell to the Parliament and will bring her wealth of parliamentary and EU experience to the Hague as she takes up the position of MP in the new Dutch government. Piri has been a member of the Parliament since 2014 and prior to that was a Parliamentary assistant for six years. During this time, she has been vocal about the Turkish Erdogan government and during her first term as MEP was rapporteur on Turkey’s EU membership. In 2020, she also joined the Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union. At the beginning of Parliament’s ninth legislative term, Piri was elected vice-chair of the S&D group and worked closely with chair Iratxe García (S&D, ES).
Similarly, vice-chair of the ECR group Derk Jan Eppink (ECR, NL) is also leaving the Parliament to join the new Dutch government. Eppink first became a MEP in 2009 when he was elected for List Dedecker. Although not re-elected in 2014, he made a come-back in 2019 with Dutch party Forum for Democracy (FvD). He resigned from the party to sit as an independent following a series of controversies within the party, which included FvD leader Thierry Baudet allegedly making antisemitic statements. Eppink was third vice-chair on Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) and a member of the United States Delegation (D-US).
Piri and Eppink’s intended successors are Thijs Reuten and Michiel Hoogeveen respectively.
European Commission
Directorates-General and Services
Competition (COMP)
Julia Brockhoff replaces José Maria Carpi Badia as head of unit A2 (Mergers case support and policy). Brockhoff is replaced in her previous role as head of unit R5 (Communications Policy) by Alexander Winterstein.
Marieke Scholz replaces Anna Colucci as head of unit B1 (Antitrust Energy, Environment). Colucci had been performing the role in an acting capacity.
Council of the European Union
Committee of Permanent Representatives
French Lieutenant General Jean-Philippe Lecouffe has been appointed by national ambassadors of the Member States to the role of deputy director for Europol. Lecouffe has been Major General of the French Gendarmerie for the past 30 years.
Other EU Institutions and Agencies
European Central Bank (ECB)
Guy-Charles Mahric has been appointed as the first-ever representative of the Bank in London. Mahric will liaise with the British government and the Bank of England and provide stakeholders with information about the ECB’s policies. Mahric has worked with the ECB for more than 17 years and was previously Senior Team Lead, Market Operations in Frankfurt.
European External Action Service (EEAS)
Stefano Frumento (IT) has been appointed as the new EU Force Commander of the EunavforMed Irini operation as of 1 April 2021. Frumento will replace Commodore Theodoros Mikropoulos (EL).
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)
Current vice-chair and director-general of the FIN-FSA Anneli Tuominen will act as interim chair effective 1 April and will continue in this capacity until the next chair takes office. She temporarily replaces Steven Maijoor whose second five-year mandate expired on 31 March.
Public Affairs
EuroGeographics
Marcin Grudzień from the head office of Geodesy and Cartography (GUGIK) in Poland has been named the new chair of a European knowledge exchange network for INSPIRE experts - INSPIRE KEN. Marcin takes over the role from Dominique Laurent, National Institute of Geographic and Forest Information, France.
European Financial Reporting Advisory Group
The new composition of the board was unanimously agreed by the General Assembly at its meeting on 25 March. The newly appointed members are Olivier Scherer (accountancy profession se at); Michael Fechner (corporate sector seat); Roman Sauer (insurance sector seat); Serge Pattyn (user seat and vice-president); and Gerhard Prachner (AFRAC – Austrian Standard Setter).
FiscalNote
Two EU-based members have joined the Board of Advisers. Dr. Alan Hardacre, director of public affairs at CropLife Europe and founder of Public Affairs Clinic and Marcel Halma, vice-president public affairs and Government Relations at Nouryon are the new additions to FiscalNote, global technology company that provides software and political intelligence around legislative and regulatory risk.
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National News
Slovakia
Prime minister Igor Matovič of the Ordinary People party resigned on Tuesday following weeks of disputes within the governing alliance sparked by the controversial purchase of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. President Zuzana Čaputová Čaputová has asked finance minister Eduard Heger to form a new cabinet and a new government is expected to be in place before Easter. It is likely that most ministers from Matovič’s government will join the new cabinet and Matovič himself will most probably continue as finance minister.
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