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Brussels/Madrid – The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has requested this Tuesday the executive vice-presidency for Clean, Fair and Competitive Transition, as well as the Competition portfolio for the third vice-president of the Spanish Government and Minister for Ecological Transition, the socialist Teresa Ribera.
The German leader revealed this Tuesday at the headquarters of the European Parliament in Strasbourg (France) the list of members and responsibilities of her new College of Commissioners, who will have to be confirmed, one by one, by the European Parliament and then collectively in a plenary session.
“Also as the person responsible for Competition, she will lead the work to steer Europe towards the goals of the Green Deal and decarbonize and industrialize the economy at the same time,” explained the president of the Commission in a press conference.
In the area of Competition, Ribera‘s job will be to oversee the big tech companies and ensure that the new European rules on digital services and markets are applied, while in the field of ecological and social transition her main challenge will be to reconcile the climate ambitions of the European Green Deal with the demands of the agricultural and livestock sector.
Ribera is set to be the strong piece of the European socialists in a right-leaning Commission after Von der Leyen granted her one of the most influential positions in the EU executive.
In statements to the media in Strasbourg after hearing the news, Ribera celebrated that Von der Leyen had entrusted her with the Executive Vice-Presidency for Clean, Fair and Competitive Transition, as well as the Competition portfolio, a responsibility she takes on “very happily” and as an “honor” she accepts in a “humble and committed” manner.
The current Spanish government minister highlighted that the German conservative’s proposal “well reflects the great challenges” that the EU has ahead and expressed confidence that from the portfolio assigned to her she will be able to “contribute very significantly to European competitiveness, thinking about people and environmental limits, working together with the rest of the members of the College.”
“It is a great opportunity to continue building the European dream,” said Ribera, who expressed herself “very grateful for this invitation to take on this responsibility that addresses the economic and industrial challenges of the European business community, while also considering the importance of placing people at the center of this transformation.”
She also highlighted the “excellent” work of her predecessor as Competition Commissioner, the liberal Dane Margrethe Vestager, from whom she confessed she has “a lot to learn”. “We are in contact and we appreciate each other mutually,” she admitted.
Meanwhile, the president of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, congratulated Ribera through the social network X and emphasized that with her appointment “Spain achieves the highest level of influence it has ever had in Brussels”.
The head of the Spanish Government stressed that the “determination and leadership” of Ribera in the Spanish Government have become “an example for everyone” and indicated that she can now “defend those same values from the heart of Europe.”
“With your appointment, Spain achieves the highest level of influence it has ever had in Brussels, and the EU gains an exceptional leader. We will miss you very much,” he said. (September 17)