Von der Leyen proposes Ribera as vice-president for ecological transition and commissioner for Competition

Julio García-Aquí Europa The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has proposed the Spanish Teresa Ribera as executive vice-president for the Clean, Fair and Competitive Transition in the new European Commission. During the presentation of the new commissioners in Strasbourg, Von der Leyen explained that Ribera (current third vice-president and minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge in the Spanish Government) will also take charge of the Competition portfolio and that her responsibility will be to “guide the work to ensure that Europe is on the right path” to meet its climate goals and “decarbonise and industrialise” the European economy at the same time. In the area of Competition, Ribera's job will be to monitor the big technology companies and ensure that the new European rules on digital services and markets are applied, while in terms of ecological and social transition her main challenge will be to reconcile the climate ambitions of the European Green Pact with the demands of the agricultural sector. Ribera is called to be the strong piece of the European socialists in a Commission that has turned even further to the right after Von der Leyen gave her one of the most influential positions in the Community Executive. During the presentation of the Commissioners, the President of the Commission stressed that the College's priorities "are based on prosperity, security and democracy. The backdrop is competitiveness in the double transition, and they are very intertwined and transversal." She also recalled the recommendations of the Draghi report: "strengthening our technological sovereignty, our security and our democracy; building a competitive, decarbonised and circular economy, with a fair transition for all; designing a bold industrial strategy focused on innovation and investment; boosting European cohesion and regions; supporting people, skills and our social model; ensuring that Europe can assert its interests and lead the world. And this is reflected in the titles of the six executive vice-presidents." On the issue of gender parity, Von der Leyen stressed that "we now have 11 women in the College that I propose today, that is, 40%. When I received the first set of nominations and candidates, we were on track to reach 22% women and 78% men, which was unacceptable. That is why I worked with the Member States and we were able to improve the balance to 40% women and 60% men, which shows that as much as we have achieved, there is still a lot of work to be done. And with this in mind, I appointed six executive vice-presidents.” The German politician then detailed the names of the six vice-presidents. In addition to Ribera, the following will also hold vice-presidencies: Henna Virkkunen will be the executive vice-president for Technological sovereignty, security and democracy; Stéphane Séjourné, executive vice-president for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy; Kaja Kallas, vice-president in charge of geopolitics and also High Representative; Roxana Mînzatu, executive vice-president for People, Skills and Readiness; and Raffaele Fitto will be the executive vice-president for Cohesion and Reforms. Italian Raffaele Fitto, proposed by the far-right government of Giorgia Meloni, has already been congratulated by Meloni herself, who has said that his proposal as vice-president is an "important recognition" for Italy. On the other hand, Von der Leyen has confirmed as vice-president the Frenchman Stéphane Séjourné, recently proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron, following the resignation of the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, alleging that he had been overruled by President Ursula von der Leyen. After announcing the proposal of the Vice-Presidents, Von der Leyen announced the names of the Commissioners: Maroš Šefčovič, Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Valdis Dombrovski, Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Productivity. He will also be Commissioner for Implementation and Simplification Dubravka Šuica, Commissioner for the Mediterranean. Olivér Várhely, Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare. Wopke Hoekstra, Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero Emissions and Clean Growth. Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner for Defence and Space. Marta Kos, Commissioner for Enlargement. Jozef Síkela, Commissioner for International Partnerships. Costas Kadis, Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans Maria Luís Albuquerque, Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investment Union. Hadja Lahbib, Commissioner for Crisis Preparedness and Management. Magnus Brunner, Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration. Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and the Competitive Circular Economy. Piotr Serafin, Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration. Dan Jørgense, Commissioner for Energy and Housing. He will be the first ever Commissioner for Housing, and will deal with everything from energy efficiency to investment and construction. Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Research and Innovation. Michael McGrath, Commissioner for Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law. Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism. Christophe Hansen, Commissioner for Agriculture and Food. Glenn Micallef, Commissioner for Intergenerational Equity, Culture, Youth and Sport. “The key message is that, regardless of our background and our position, we must all work together. We will have open debates. We will all be independent in thought and action. And we will all take responsibility for what is agreed. This is the team I am presenting today,” concluded Von der Leyen, who explained that “on this basis, once the European Parliament has received the official letter from the Council of agreement with the President of the Commission, it can proceed to the formal procedure for appointing the new College, always in accordance with its rules of procedure.”

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