Following his decision to be a candidate in the next general election campaign in the Netherlands, Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans has tendered his resignation as a Member of the European Commission.
Following his decision to be a candidate in the next general election campaign in the Netherlands, Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans has tendered his resignation as a Member of the European Commission. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her gratitude to Executive Vice-President Timmermans for his many years of fruitful work serving the Commission and European citizens and accepted his resignation with immediate effect.
President von der Leyen has decided to entrust the role of Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal to Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič. It also decided to temporarily assign responsibility for climate action policy to Vice-President Šefčovič, until the appointment of a new Member of the Commission of Dutch nationality.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “I thank Frans Timmermans for the work he has done with passion and determination to make the European Green Deal a reality. He was a key member of my College of Commissioners. Thanks to the excellence of his contribution and his strong personal commitment, we have made great progress towards achieving the objectives of making the Union the first climate-neutral continent and of meeting, at the global level, the level of climate ambitions. Frans Timmermans’ contribution to the work of the Commission and to the European project goes beyond the European Green Deal. He has helped shape many of the Commission’s initiatives, in a truly collegial style.”
Executive Vice-President Timmermans first served in the European Commission from 2014 to 2019, serving as First Vice-President for Better Regulation, Inter-Institutional Relations, Rule of Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights, before taking on the responsibilities of the European Green Deal under the mandate of the current Commission.
In this capacity, he coordinated the European Commission’s ambitious legislative program aimed at making Europe, by 2050, the first continent to achieve climate neutrality and represented the Union in international negotiations on the climate change.
He also coordinated the work of the European Commission on the EU biodiversity strategy, on a pollution-free future and on the circular economy.
President von der Leyen informed the President of the European Parliament and the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the arrangements made following the resignation of Mr. Frans Timmermans, in order to facilitate the smooth continuation of all ongoing processes. President von der Leyen also sent an official letter to the Prime Minister of the Netherlands asking him for a new candidate for the post of Commissioner of Dutch nationality.
President von der Leyen wishes Vice-President Šefčovič every success in his new task. She expects Vice-President Šefčovič to push forward climate protection and the European Green Deal with all the ambition that is required.
Now that the essential legislative framework for the European Green Deal is in place and an unprecedented mobilization of funds for decarbonisation has been secured, the time has come to take the European Green Deal to the higher level and shifting the focus away from rule-making to deployment.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said:
“Building on the success with which he has successfully dealt with the most difficult cases in the past, Maroš Šefčovič is one of the strongest and most experienced members of my college. As Executive Vice-President, he will be responsible for giving equal priority to advancing the European Green Deal. After a successful legislative phase, Executive Vice-President Šefčovič will focus on the smooth roll-out of the European Green Deal as a growth strategy for Europe. Our priority will be to strengthen clean industrial innovation as well as to modernize our networks and infrastructures with a view to the energy transition and access to critical raw materials. Implementing the European Green Deal requires an even more intense dialogue with industry, key stakeholders, such as forest owners and farmers, and citizens. Finally, we will continue efforts to provide the European Green Deal with a strengthened international strategy, in line with our economic and geopolitical interests.
This article is originally published on france.representation.ec.europa.eu
