MEPs approve changes in the European Commission
Parliament approved the appointment of Mairead McGuinness as Commissioner and Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis’s change of portfolio, on Wednesday.
Mairead McGuinness (Ireland), currently Vice-President of the European Parliament, will be Commissioner in charge of Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets. Her appointment was approved with 583 in favour, 75 against and 37 abstentions.
The change of portfolio for Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis (Latvia) was approved with 515 in favour, 110 against and 70 abstentions. He is now in charge of Trade.
The reshuffle at the European Commission comes after Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan resigned at the end of August.
Both candidates had to undergo three-hour public hearings in the European Parliament on 2 October so that MEPs could evaluate their competencies with regard to their respective portfolios.