20 September 2024
On Tuesday 17 September 2024, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, announced the structure and the distribution of the portfolios for the new College of Commissioners (for the mandate 2024-2029).
Under the leadership of President von der Leyen, the new College of Commissioners (for the mandate 2024-2029) will be coordinated by six Executive Vice-Presidents, each responsible for a key area: Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy; Prosperity and Industrial Strategy; Clean, Just and Competitive Transition; Cohesion and Reforms; People, Skills and Preparedness; and Foreign and Security Policy. These Vice-Presidents will work in tandem with 20 Commissioners, forming a cohesive team.
On top of this communication on the structure and names of the European Commission, the mission letters, prepared by President von der Leyen and intended to guide the actions of the Commissioners-designate and their short biographies, were published on the following webpage.
Beyond the focus on the issues related to the competitiveness of the EU, which is at the core of the proposed structure, the structure proposes a significant change. It aims to remove the layer of ‘Vice-Presidents’ featured during the 2019-2024 mandate, a move that should help to have leaner, more interactive and interlinked activities for the College.
In the immediate future, the JURI Committee of the European Parliament will review the declarations of interests of the Commissioners-designate. Following this, dedicated hearings with the relevant committees of the European Parliament will be organised to scrutinise the appointees further.
Contact: Benoît Cassorla
SGI Europe’s activities on the Single Market and the EU competitiveness will be focused on the portfolios of four of the six Executive Vice-Presidents proposed by President von der Leyen.
Amongst them, and essentially taking over the portfolios and responsibilities of Thierry Breton, Stéphane Séjourné will be the Executive Vice-President-designate for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy. He will be tasked with developing a Clean Industrial Deal in the first 100 days of the mandate, along with an Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act.
Raffaele Fitto is the proposed Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms. He will develop a strengthened, modernised cohesion and growth policy. Its mission letter explicitly highlights, in line with the proposals from the Letta Report, that the EU should preserve citizens’ right to stay and contribute to the economy in their home region. This right to stay is to be ensured by ‘strengthening public services and private activities, education and skills, health, transport and digital connectivity’.
Teresa Ribera Rodríguez is the candidate Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition (more below). She will also be tasked with modernising the EU’s competition policy, including developing a new state aid framework that will build on the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework while preserving cohesion objectives.
Henna Virkkunen is the proposed Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy. Her objectives include developing a Single EU-wide cloud policy for public administrations and public procurement and deploying digital public infrastructure.
Finally, Veteran Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis will oversee Implementation and Simplification. His overall objective is to reduce administrative and reporting burdens. He will work closely with Séjourné to achieve this, who will develop an SME passport to reduce administrative burden and create a new legislative category of ‘small midcaps’. Dombrovskis will also develop a new Competitiveness Coordination Tool (as proposed in the Draghi report), translating EU-wide competitiveness objectives into coordinated national policies.
Contact: Ruben Sansom
Regarding the priority files for SGI Europe’s activities on social affairs, Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President, nominated Roxana Mînzatu as Executive Vice-President for People, Skills and Preparedness, assuming the responsibilities previously held by the Commissioner for Social Affairs. Several new proposals can be identified in the mission letter of EVP Mînzatu as highly relevant to SGI Europe.
Amongst others, Roxana Mînzatu will be responsible for strengthening Europe’s human capital. She will, in that context, develop a new action plan for the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights (expected in 2025) and create, jointly with the EU social partners, a “quality jobs roadmap” to ensure a just transition for all. Mrs Mînzatu will also lead the development of a new Pact for European Social dialogue as a follow-up to the Val Duchesse process. She will be the main interlocutor for social partners, with social dialogue as an integral and explicit part of her portfolio.
Among the many further dossiers mentioned in her mission letter, Mrs Mînzatu will be tasked with introducing a right to disconnect at the EU level and propose a new initiative on algorithmic management. She will also be responsible for developing the Union of Skills, with several new proposals likely to come under this chapter. The Union of Skills should include, among others, a Skill Portability initiative, a new European degree and a new initiative on basic skills.
Another Commissioner with an essential portfolio for social affairs is Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner-designate for economy and productivity. Mr Dombrovskis will be responsible for the Stability and Growth Pact (in the context of the new economic governance framework), the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the European Semester, which are frameworks of tremendous transversal importance for growth and productivity in Europe.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
Successfully implementing the Green Deal and ensuring the success of the EU in the transition will be at the heart of the portfolios of Teresa Ribera, who will serve as Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive transition and will be tasked with one of the Commission's most significant challenges: to lead Europe’s green transition while ensuring the continent's economic competitiveness.
The European Commission's agenda for the upcoming period strongly emphasises the continued implementation of the EU Green Deal. Key priorities include reducing high energy prices through technology-neutral approaches and investments in renewable energies, enhancing water resilience, promoting sustainable transportation, and advancing a more efficient circular economy plan.
Next to Ms Ribera, SGI Europe will closely monitor the work of Wopke Hoekstra, Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth; Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy; Dan Jørgensen, Commissioner for Energy and Housing, as well as Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism.
A vital aspect outlined in the mission letters to the new Commissioners is the introduction of dedicated “Implementation Dialogues”. These dialogues will bring together stakeholders, citizens, and social partners to discuss the progress of the Commission's initiatives. This participatory approach has been well received by SGI Europe, which praised the continuation of the dialogue established in the previous mandate by Maroš Šefčovič, EVP for the Green Deal.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
Regarding the migration and integration portfolios, President von der Leyen announced the appointment of Mr Magnus Brunner, former Austrian Federal Minister of Finance, as Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration.
As proposed by von der Leyen, and despite the agreement found earlier this year on the Pact for Migration, the issue remains a challenge in the constantly evolving European landscape, and delivering on it remains a priority. In this sense, SGI Europe welcomes and values the request to the new Commissioner to work closely with Member States and stakeholders, "meet with representatives from regional or local areas, and give more visibility to EU projects making a difference to people's lives on the ground".
If confirmed, Mr Brunner will deal with a challenging portfolio and oversee issues related to internal security and migration management within the European Union. However, in his mission letter, significant synergies are also linked with the EU-funded project LABOUR INT III's ongoing activities, coordinated by SGI Europe and the social and economic partners. Both the mission letter and the project focus on integrating third-country nationals into the European labour market, preventing the exploitation of irregular workers, ensuring their protection, and fostering legal migration to match labour market needs.
The LABOUR INT III project, which supports multi-stakeholder approaches to migrant integration, can provide valuable insights into Mr Brunner's mission and an opportunity to exchange and align.
Contact: Cecilia Martin
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