Today’s Movers & Shakers are about: Plenary week highlights, Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee welcomes its new chair, the latest committee and delegation composition changes, Commissioners-designate make headway in choosing their future cabinets, Spanish voters head back to the ballot boxes.
European Parliament
Plenary highlights
On Tuesday, Christine LAGARDE received Parliament’s support to become the next president of the European Central Bank. Parliament also recommended Yves MERSCH become vice-chair of the Central Bank’s Supervisory Board. Both LAGARDE and MERSCH now just need final support from the Council at October’s summit.
On Wednesday, MEPs voted in favour of granting an additional €80 million for research program Horizon2020 and an extra €20 million for youth mobility initiative Erasmus+.
Thursday saw MEPs reaffirm their support for an “orderly Brexit” as they pledged to reject any Withdrawal Agreement without a backstop, with 544 MEPs voting in favour, 126 against and 38 abstentions. On the same day, MEPs urged the Commission to do its utmost to convince the European Patent office not to grant patents on plants and seeds obtained from conventional breeding, such as crossing.
Committees
Agriculture and Rural Development Committee (AGRI)
Isabel CARVALHAIS (S&D, PT) joins as a member.
Budgets Committee (BUDG)
Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS (GUE/NGL) joins as a member, replacing Younous OMARJEE (GUE/NGL) who becomes a substitute.
Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON)
On Monday evening, Irene TINAGLI (S&D, IT) was elected Chair by acclamation. She replaces Roberto GUALTIERI who has become finance minister in the new Italian government.
Employment and Social Affairs Committee (EMPL)
Niels FUGLSANG (S&D, DK), who was previously a member, leaves the committee.
International Trade Committee (INTA)
Emmanouil FRAGKOS (ECR, EL) joins as a member.
Irene TINAGLI (S&D, IT), who was previously a member, has left the committee and is replaced by Nicola DANTI (S&D, IT).
Fisheries Committee (PECH)
Isabel CARVALHAIS (S&D, PT) joins as a substitute, replacing Manuel PIZARRO (S&D, PT) who becomes a member.
Petitions Committee (PETI)
Emmanouil FRAGKOS (ECR, EL) joins as a member.
Security and Defence Sub-committee (SEDE)
Kris PEETERS (EPP, BE) joins as a member, replacing Michael GAHLER (EPP, DE).
Delegations
ACP-EU Delegation (D-ACP)
Tanja FAJON (S&D, SI) joins as a substitute.
Maxette PIRBAKAS (ID, FR) joins as a member.
Kathleen VAN BREMPT (S&D, BE), who was previously a member, leaves the committee and is replaced by Dan NICA (S&D, RO).
Albania Delegation (D-AL)
Kathleen VAN BREMPT (S&D, BE) joins as a member, replacing Tudor CIUHODARU (S&D, RO).
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia Delegation (D-SCA)
Roman HAIDER (ID, AT) joins as a member, replacing Joachim KUHS (ID, DE).
Belarus Delegation (D-BY)
Juozas OLEKAS (S&D, LT) joins as a substitute.
Canada Delegation (D-CA)
Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS (EPP, ES) joins as a substitute replacing Mircea-Gheorghe HAVA (EPP, RO) who moves from substitute to member.
Francisco José MILLÁN MON (EPP, ES), who was previously a member, leaves the committee.
Euronest Delegation (D-EPA)
Thierry MARIANI (ID, FR) joins as a member.
Viola VON CRAMON-TAUBADEL (Greens/EFA, DE) joins as a member.
Simona BALDASSARRE (ID, IT) joins as a member replacing Rosanna CONTE (ID, IT).
Juozas OLEKAS (S&D, LT) joins as a member, replacing Sven MIKSER (S&D, EE).
Federative Republic of Brazil Delegation (D-BR)
Nicola DANTI (S&D, IT) joins as a member.
India Delegation (D-IN)
France JAMET (ID, FR) joins as a member, replacing Nicolas BAY (ID, FR).
Katarina BARLEY (S&D, DE) joins as a member.
Tudor CIUHODARU (S&D, RO) joins as a member.
Jackie JONES (S&D, UK), who was previously a member, has left the committee.
Iran Delegation (D-IR)
Jude KIRTON-DARLING (S&D, UK) joins as a member.
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Mongolia Delegation (D-CAS)
Ivo HRISTOV (S&D, BG) joins as a member.
Korean Peninsula Delegation (D-KOR)
Niels FUGLSANG (S&D, DK), who was previously a member, leaves the committee.
Csaba MOLNÁR (S&D, HU) joins the committee, replacing Marianne VIND (S&D, DK).
Latin American Delegation (D-LAT)
Georg MAYER (ID, AT) moves from substitute to member, replacing Roman HAIDER, who leaves the committee.
Nicolas BAY (ID, FR) joins as a member, replacing Hélène LAPORTE (ID, FR) who becomes a substitute.
Nikos ANDROULAKIS (S&D, EL) joins as a member.
Marco ZULLO (NI, IT) joins as a member, replacing Tiziana BEGHIN (NI, IT).
Simona BALDASSARRE (ID, IT), who was previously a member, has left the committee. She is replaced by Rosanna CONTE (ID, IT).
Paolo DE CASTRO (S&D, IT) joins as a member.
Demetris PAPADAKIS (S&D, CY) joins as a substitute.
Mashreq Delegatio (D-MAS)
Elena LIZZI (ID, IT) joins as a member, replacing France JAMET (ID, FR).
Mercosur Delegation (D-MER)
Nicola DANTI (S&D, IT) joins as a member, replacing Paolo DE CASTRO (S&D, IT) who moves from member to substitute.
Montenegro Delegation (D-ME)
Evelyn REGNER (S&D, AT), who was previously a member, has left the committee and is replaced by Demetris PAPADAKIS (S&D, CY).
Robert HAJŠEL (S&D, SK) moves from member to substitute.
NATO Delegation (D-NAT)
Lars Patrick BERG (ID, DE) who was previously a member, has left the committee. He is replaced by Anna BONFRISCO (ID, IT).
North Macedonia Delegation (D-MK)
Sergei STANISHEV (S&D, BG) joins as a member.
Palestine Delegation (D-PAL)
Susanna CECCARDI (ID, IT), who was previously was a member, has left the committee.
Evin INCIR (S&D, SE) moves from substitute to member.
Pan-African Parliament Delegation (D-PAP)
Juozas OLEKAS (S&D, LT) joins as a member.
Simona BONAFÈ (S&D, IT) joins as a member.
People’s Republic of China Delegation (D-CN)
Lars Patrick BERG (ID, DE) joins as a substitute.
Russia Delegation (D-RU)
Miroslav Číž (S&D, SK) moves from substitute to member, replacing Eric ANDRIEU (S&D, FR) who becomes a substitute.
Gunnar BECK (ID, DE) joins as a member, replacing Nicolaus FEST (ID, DE).
Serbia Delegation (D-RS)
Julie LECHANTEUX (ID, FR) moves from substitute to member.
Southeast Asia and ASEAN Delegation (D-ASE)
Mathilde ANDROUËT (ID, FR) joins as a member, replacing Thierry MARIANI (ID, FR).
Susanna CECCARDI (ID, IT) joins as a member, replacing Christine ANDERSON (ID, DE) who leaves the committee.
Marianne VIND (S&D, DK) moves from substitute to member, replacing Csaba MOLNÁR (S&D, HU).
South Asia Delegation (D-SAS)
Hélène LAPORTE (ID, FR) joins as a member.
Mircea-Gheorghe HAVA (EPP, RO), who was previously a member, leaves the committee, he is replaced by Francisco José MILLÁN MON (EPP, ES).
Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and EEA Delegation (D-EEA)
Łukasz KOHUT (S&D, PL) joins as a member.
Jude KIRTON-DARLING (S&D, UK), who was previously a member, has left the committee.
Union for the Mediterranen Delegation (D-MED)
Joëlle MÉLIN (ID, FR), who was previously a member, has left the committee. She is replaced by Gilbert COLLARD (ID, FR).
Tiziana BEGHIN (NI, IT) joins as a member.
Rosa D’AMATO (NI, IT) moves from substitute to member.
Costas MAVRIDES (S&D, CY) joins as a member replacing Paolo DE CASTRO (S&D, IT) who moves from member to substitute.
United States Delegation (D-US)
Isabel CARVALHAIS (S&D, PT) joins as a member.
Jackie JONES (S&D, UK) moves from substitute to member, replacing Rory PALMER (S&D, UK) who moves from member to substitute.
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European Commission
On Thursday, the Conference of Presidents decided on a detailed calendar of hearings of the Commissioners-designate. The hearings will start on 30 September and last until 8 October and will be followed by meetings in which the chair and group coordinators of the various committees will evaluate the performance on the Commissioners-designate. After this, the Conference of Committee Chairs will assess the outcome of all hearings and forward its conclusions to the Conference of Presidents who will conduct a final evaluation on 17 October. A plenary vote will then take place on 23 October.
Directorates-General
Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN)
Florence FRANCOIS-PONCET has been appointed Head of Unit R1 (HR business correspondent, business continuity and control) replacing former Acting Head of Unit John SHEEHY.
Energy (DG ENER)
A new Unit ENER.01 (HR Business Correspondent and Internal Communication) under the Director General has been created; with former HR Business Correspondent Marco COPPOLA being appointed Acting Head of Unit.
The former Unit C3 (Energy Efficiency) has been divided into two new units. The new Unit C3 (Energy Efficiency: Policy and Financing) will be led by previous Acting Head of Unit Claudia CANEVARI while Unit C4 (Energy Efficiency: Buildings and Products) will have Robert NUIJ as its Acting Head of Unit.
Renatas MAZEIKA has been appointed Head of Unit D4 (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)) replacing Jan PANEK.
Human Resources and Security (DG HR)
Maria KLIMATHIANAKI is the new Head of Unit D4 (Medical Service Luxembourg) replacing Acting Head of Unit Italo LOMBARDI.
Justice and Consumers (DG JUST)
Jan PANEK has been appointed Head of Unit E1 (Consumer policy) replacing Renatas MAZEIKA.
Commissioners-designate Cabinets
A number of Commissioners-designate have made announcements on top level Cabinet appointments in preparation for starting their terms on 1 November.
Executive Vice-President Margrethe VESTAGER (A Europe fit for Digital Age and Competition)
Kim JØRGENSEN will become Head of VESTAGER’s cabinet.
Vice-President Margaritis SCHINAS (Protecting our European Way of Life)
Natasha BERTAUD will become the Deputy Head of SCHINAS’ cabinet; with no Head of Cabinet yet being named.
Sylvie GOULARD (Internal Market)
Stéphanie RISO will become the Head of the cabinet of GOULARD.
Nicolas SCHMIT (Jobs)
Antoine KASEL will become the Head of of SCHMIT’s cabinet.
Ylva JOHANSSON (Home Affairs)
Åsa WEBBER has been appointed as Head of the Transition Team, and will likely be the Head of JOHANSSON’s cabiet.
Helena DALLI (Equalities)
Neil KERR will become the Head of DALLI’s cabinet.
Stella KYRIAKIDES (Health)
Georgios ROSSIDES is leading the transition team of KYRIAKIDES and is likely to become the Head of Cabinet for her.
Want to know more? Click here for more information on our Dods People EU service.
Committee of the Regions
Lars-Ingvar LJUNGMAN (EPP, SE) joins as an alternate, replacing Carl Johan SONESSON.
Florian HERRMANN (EPP, DE) joins as member, replacing Georg EISENREICH.
European Council
European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Romania’s former anti-corruption chief, Laura CODRUȚA KÖVESI looks set to become the EU’s top prosecutor, despite opposition from her own government. On Thursday, 17 EU ambassadors votes for KÖVESI who needed support of twelve out of twenty-two member states participating in the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
European Banking Authority
Adam FARKAS has announced his resignation from his post as Executive Director, which will be effective on 31 January 2020.
Public Affairs
World Health Organisation (WHO)
Hans KLUGE has been nominated as the next regional director for Europe. KLUGE who is expected to take up the new role in February 2020, will take over from incumbent Zsuzsanna JAKAB.
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National News
Brexit
The Supreme Court will rule early next week on both cases looking at whether the government acted unlawfully when it prorogued Parliament. This follows an extraordinary session of the Court where both the English case, which concluded that the Court had no place in considering the matter, and the Scottish case, which ruled that the government had acted unlawfully, were collectively considered.
Italy
Former Prime Minister Matteo RENZI has departed from the Democratic Party (PES) in order to form his own Centrist parliamentary group called ‘Italia Viva’. RENZI has promised that the group, modelled after French President MACRON’s ‘La Republique En Marche’, will continue to support the new government led by Prime Minister Giuseppe CONTE.
Spain
Spain is set to hold its fourth election in as many years as voters are set to head back to the ballot boxes on 10 November, just seven months after the last election. Acting prime minister Pedro SÁNCHEZ made the announcement late on Tuesday after having failed to secure enough support in parliament to form a government.
