Commission President-elect appoints Frans Timmermans as Executive Vice President for an EU Green Deal
Incoming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has today unveiled a new structure for running the EU's central branch of government which puts tackling climate change at its core.
Von der Leyen revealed plans to appoint Frans Timmermans as Executive Vice President of the EU Green Deal, one of just three new Executive Vice Presidents (EVPs) responsible for the "core topics" in von der Leyen's agenda.
The other two EVPs will work on Europe's digital capability, and on building a fairer economy across the trading bloc. Each will also act as Commissioners.
It's a major boost in profile for climate matters within the European Commission, which is usually led by 28 Commissioners including one President and a series of Vice Presidents.
Timmermans will be responsible for co-ordinating work on the European Green Deal, which is set to contains plans for a massive programme of green investment across the bloc in order to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. He will also manage climate action policy.
Dutch politician Timmermans was former EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's first deputy, and unsuccessfully campaigned for the Commission Presidency himself.
Von der Leyen, who made climate action central to her pitch for the Commission top job, said she wants the European Green Deal to become "Europe's hallmark". "At the heart of it is our commitment to becoming the world's first climate-neutral continent," she said. "It is also a long-term economic imperative: those who act first and fastest will be the ones who grasp the opportunities from the ecological transition. I want Europe to be the front-runner. I want Europe to be the exporter of knowledge, technologies and best practice."
Working below the EVPs will be five other Vice Presidents and a series of Commissioners. Kadri Simson, Estonian Minister for Economic Affairs and Infrastructure, will take the energy portfolio, while Virginijus Sinkevičius, Lithuanian Minister for Economy and Innovation, will be responsible for 'Environment and Oceans'.
Von der Leyen said the new structure will help create a well-balanced, agile and modern Commission. "This will be a Commission that walks the talk," she said. "We have a structure that focuses on tasks not hierarchies. We need to be able to deliver on the issues that matter the most rapidly and with determination."
Her picks for the Commission must now be approved by the European Parliament before the European Council can formally appoint the European Commission.