McGuinness, Dombrovskis Have New Commission Roles Approved By EP

The European Parliament plenary has approved the appointment of Mairead McGuinness as the new Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union, while Executive Vice President of the European Commission for An Economy that Works for People Valdis Dombrovskis will take over the trade portfolio.

• McGuinness's appointment required following the resignation of Ireland's previous EU Commissioner Phil Hogan, who lost the trade portfolio after it emerged he had broken Ireland's COVID-19 restrictions.
• Dombrovskis takes over the high-profile trade portfolio at a crucial time, with the EU negotiating an FTA with the UK as well as assessing the future outlook for trade with major global markets in the US and China.
• There had been some concern about giving McGuinness, hailing from Ireland, the financial services portfolio given Dublin's so-called 'sweetheart' tax deals with large multinationals. In her hearings for the Commissioner's position, McGuinness stated that she would 'take her national hat off at the door' when it came to issues such as taxation.