Today’s Movers & Shakers are about: Third vice-chair of Parliament’s CULT Committee elected, three judges and an advocate-general appointed at the ECJ, several senior appointments in the Committee of Permanent Representatives, Ireland’s new minister for agriculture, the latest Commission, institutional appointments, and much more!
European Parliament
Committees and Delegations
Culture and Education Committee (CULT)
Victor Negrescu (S&D, RO) was elected third vice-chair on Monday, replacing British MEP Julie Ward, who had to step down in January due to Brexit. Negrescu first became a member of the Parliament from 2014 until 2017 and returned earlier this year following the departure of UK MEPs after Brexit. In response to his election, Negrescu tweeted “Education must become a priority at EU level, as the foundation of Europe’s future. We need major investment in education, youth, culture, sports and media policies to strengthen our common European identity.”
European Commission
Commissioner cabinets
Cabinet of Janusz Wojciechowski
Former deputy head of cabinet, Catherine Geslain-Laneelle has assumed a new role in the Council’s General Secretariat as Director of Veterinary and Plant Health Questions, Food and Forestry in DG LIFE (Agriculture, Fisheries, Social Affairs, Health). She leaves a vacant position in the cabinet.
Cabinet of Nicolas Schmit
Siobhán Millbright joins the team as communication adviser replacing Patrick McCullough. Millbright previously worked in the Commission’s Spokeperson’s Service as a press officer for employment and social rights.
Directorates-General
Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (GROW)
Panayotis Stamatopoulos leaves his role as Adviser in Directorate H (SME Policy) leaving a vacant tenure.
European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)
Georg Roebling has replaced Beatriz Sanz Redrado as Head of Unit D3 (Document Management Centre) in an acting capacity. Sanz Redrado had been performing the role in an acting capacity.
Research and Innovation (RTD)
Philippe Froissard replaces Jean-François Aguinaga as Head of Unit D2 (Future Urban and Mobility Systems) in an acting capacity.
Alexandros Iatrou replaces Mila Bas Sanchez as Head of Unit I4 (Financial Management and Program Support II) in an acting capacity.
Spokesperson’s Service
Daniel Rosario leaves his role as spokesperson for Agriculture and Trade. He is replaced by Miriam García Ferrer as he moves to a role at the Commission’s Portuguese representation.
Council of the European Union
Permanent Representations
Estonia
Aivo Orav has been appointed Permanent Representative and participated in his first Coreper meeting earlier in the week. Orav, who replaces outgoing Rein Tammsaar, was previously head of the EU delegation in Montenegro and the Republic of North Macedonia.
Latvia
Ivars Lasis is the new representative to the Political and Security Committee replacing Andžejs Viļumsons. Lasis was previously deputy permanent representative in the Latvian delegation to NATO between 2016 and 2020 and before that held several roles in the Latvian foreign affairs ministry including as director of the security policy department.
Netherlands
Delphine Pronk replaces Joanneke Balfoort as the Dutch representative to the Political and Security Committee after the latter took on the role of Director of Security and Defence Policy at the EEAS in June. Pronk has worked in the Dutch ministry of foreign affairs for more than two decades, most recently as head of international enterprise.
Other EU Institutions and Agencies
Court of Justice of the European Union
Three judges and an advocate-general have been appointed to the Court of Justice. Amongst them, president Koen Lenaerts has been reappointed as a judge until 2027 as part of the partial renewal of the composition of the court. Following the resignation of Egils Levits, Ineta Ziemele (LT) has been appointed judge from 7 September 2020 to 6 October 2024. Jan Passer (CZ) will replace Jiří Malenovský as judge for the period 6 October 2020 to 6 October 2024. Finally, Athanasios Rantos (EL) has been appointed advocate-general from 7 September 2020 to 6 October 2021 following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU.
European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
President of the employers’ group Jacek Krawczyk, has refused to step down from his post even after members of the Bureau formally requested that he do so in June amidst bullying allegations. Krawczyk has been accused of psychologically harassing his subordinates.
European External Action Service (EEAS)
Ranieri Sabatucci has been appointed ambassador-designate of the European Union to Myanmar to succeed Kristian Schmidt. Since 2016, Sabatucci has been serving as EU Ambassador to the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
European Investment Bank (EIB)
Christian Kettel Thomsen (DK) has been appointed as new vice-president of the management committee for a four-year term, replacing Ireland’s Andrew McDowell, whose mandate ended at the end of August. Prior to this appointment, Thomsen was the Permanent Secretary of State in the Danish prime minister’s office, as well as a secretary to the Queen in Council, positions he has held since 2010.
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)
Following an open selection process, three candidates have been selected for the new Central Counterparties Supervisory Committee (CCP). Current Head of the Oversight Division at the European Central Bank (ECB), Klaus Löber, has been selected as chair while Nicoletta Giusto, currently Senior Director and Head of International Relations at Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) and Froukelien Wendt, currently Senior Financial Sector Expert at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have been selected as independent members. The candidates have been submitted to the European Parliament for approval. Parliament’s vote on Löber’s nomination is expected on 10 September.
European Space Agency (ESA)
The call for applications for the post of Director General to replace Jan Wörner has officially closed as of Monday 31 August. Two candidates - Pedro Duque (ES) and Eric Morel de Westgaver (BE) - are currently in the running and a decision is expected by the end of the year.
Public Affairs
Centre for European Reform (CER)
Daniel Keohane joins CER as an associate fellow, working on Brexit, the future of the EU, and European security and defence policies (national, EU, NATO, UN). Keohane previously worked at the Centre for Security Studies at ETH Zürich, the Foundation for International Relations (FRIDE) in Brussels and Madrid, the European Union Institute for Security Studies in Paris and the Aspen Institute in Berlin.
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National News
Ireland
Charlie McConalogue has been appointed minister for agriculture, replacing Dara Calleary who resigned two weeks ago in the wake of the golfing scandal which also resulted in the resignation of Commissioner Phil Hogan. McConalogue, who belongs to the Fianna Fáil (ALDE) party, has been a TD since 2016 and previously served as Minister of State for Law Reform from July.
Sweden
The government has proposed former EU Commissioner Cecilia Malmström for the post of Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The current Secretary-General, Angel Gurria, will step down from his post on 1 June 2021 after three terms in office. Malmström served first as Commissioner for Home Affairs between 2010 and 2014 and then as Commissioner for Trade between 2014 and 2019.
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