Brussels, 06/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, has clarified and adapted the representation roles - but not the portfolios - of the Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs and Taxation, Pierre Moscovici, and of the Commissioner for the Euro and Social Dialogue, Valdis Dombrovskis.
In a letter he sent to the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, on Monday 4 July, and of which EUROPE has had sight (see Twitter @AgencEurope), Juncker answers the questions asked by the Social Democrat family when the entire portfolio of the Commissioner for Financial Services, Jonathan Hill, was allocated to Dombrovskis after the former stepped down in the wake of the victory of those in favour of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union (EUROPE 11587).
Our aim is to ensure that the Commission can continue to act “consistently, effectively and collegially” in economic, financial and budgetary matters, said the Commission President. Moscovici becomes the only member of the European institution with capacity regarding the implementation of the third Greek bailout plan, with an envelope of €86 billion from the European Stability Mechanism. He will be alone in representing the Commission within the Eurogroup, whilst Dombrovskis will continue to attend the meetings of the Governing Council of the Eurozone. At the international level, Moscovici will attend the meetings of the Finance Ministers of the G7 and the G20 and the spring and annual meetings of the IMF on his own, and Dombrovskis will take part in the talks of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, the body responsible for advising the Governing Council of the IMF.
Keen to preserve the collegiality of the Commission's work, Juncker asked Moscovici and Dombrovskis to work with the other competent Commissioners to draft the annual socio-economic policy recommendations for the whole of the eurozone, to be presented to the European Parliament by Moscovici. As for the deepening of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), the Commission President has asked them, together with the other competent Commissioners, to support him in European work aiming to reinforce economic governance and, in particular, in preparations for a specific White Paper scheduled for spring 2017. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)