EU justice chief Didier Reynders on Tuesday (5 September) said he had been assigned the European Commission’s competition portfolio following outgoing Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager’s announcement that she is officially a candidate for the presidency of the European Investment Bank.
“I have been assigned the portfolio responsibility for Competition. I will continue to ensure that EU competition policy & rules are vigorously enforced,” he said in a statement on his X account, adding that he thanked European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for her trust.
Reynders and Vestager are from the same liberal pro-European party group Renew Europe, which said on its X account that it fully supports Vestager’s EIB candidacy.
“She embodies the European general interest and the forward- looking mindset that our institutions need more than ever,” it said.
Vestager, known for her crackdown and hefty fines meted out to Big Tech for anti-competitive practices, on X said that as of Tuesday she officially is a candidate for the EIB presidency and that she would take unpaid leave from the commission to focus on her candidacy to a post that has never been held by a woman.
Departure of EU's Vestager triggers game of musical chairs for her posts
The departure of Margrethe Vestager, one of the European Commission’s heavyweights, could trigger a chain reaction and an early reshuffle less than a year from the finish line.
A Commission statement on Tuesday confirms the assignment of the competition portfolio to Reynders, adding that during the period of the temporary withdrawal of Vestager from the work of the Commission, von der Leyen has decided to assign the steering and coordination responsibility for ‘A Europe Fit for the digital age’ to Vice-President Vera Jourová.
The Spanish government in early August put forward their own candidate for the presidency, its finance minister Nadia Calviño.
Spain's finance minister to compete with Vestager for EIB top job
The Spanish government has put forward its finance minister, Nadia Calviño, as a candidate to lead the European Union’s lending arm, the European Investment Bank (EIB), a Spanish government official told Reuters on Friday (11 August).
Vestager, who has been in her post at the European Commission since 2014, is scheduled to finish her second five-year term late next year.
The last weeks for Vestager have been rocked by a spat over the planned appointment of a US economist for a senior EU antitrust position.
Fiona Scott Morton, chief economist at the Department of Justice during the Obama administration, had been due to take up the post as chief competition economist at the European Commission on 1 September, but had to pull out in mid-July after her appointment triggered criticism from the president of France and some EU lawmakers.
EU’s Vestager defends appointment of American economist to top job
EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager backed on Tuesday (18 July) American Fiona Scott Morton as the most qualified candidate to be the chief economist of the Directorate-General for Competition, after her appointment stirred controversy and drew criticism, especially from France.
French foreign ministry spokesperson Anne-Claire Legendre told reporters that Paris had been against Scott Morton’s appointment because it potentially impacted the bloc’s sovereignty and may hurt European businesses and consumers.
If Vestager gets the EIB job, it will be up to von der Leyen to assign her important portfolio to the Danish commissioner due to replace her, or to assign him or her other tasks.
(Edited by Georgi Gotev)
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