by Keith Zahra
New Irish Commissioner appointed
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has appointed Mairead McGuinness as the new Irish commissioner in charge of financial stability and capital markets and handed over the prominent trade portfolio to Latvia’s Valdis Dombrovskis.
Both are with the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), the largest in the European Parliament.
Ireland has therefore lost the important EU trade portfolio after Philip Hogan resigned for failing to obey Covid-19 safety rules.
McGuinness has been an EU lawmaker from Ireland for the Midlands–North-West constituency since July 2004 and has served as the chamber’s deputy head since 2017. She is a member of Fine Gael, part of the EPP.
She will take over financial stability, financial services, and capital markets.
