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Helping European regions

From the World Bank to the European Commission via a spell at home to help prepare Slovakia for EU membership. This is the career path of Katarina, who took over as director in the Commission’s department for regional policy in early 2005.

Katarina was born in Bratislava, Slovakia, in 1964. She is one of the Commission's Directors for regional policy. At the moment, she is negotiating the next generation of regional policy programmes for 2007-2013, which will see the largest amount of EU resources ever allocated to helping Europe's regions.

Katarína is responsible for the way EU-funded development programmes and projects for European regions are programmed, selected, funded and implemented in eight countries. She runs four units: one for Spain, the second for Ireland, Finland and Estonia, the third for Belgium, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic and the fourth for France. Although this may seem like a curious mix of countries, Katarína explains; "The initial idea put old and new Member States together was important. It helped staff from the newer EU Member States to integrate more quickly with their Commission colleagues. Of course, there are also things new countries can learn from old ones and ideas the old can pick up from the new."

With a first law degree from the Comenius University in Bratislava and a post-graduate degree from the University of Michigan, Katarína joined the World Bank in Washington in 1993. She took time out to return to Slovakia from 1999 to 2002, where she was involved in the economic restructuring policy and preparing for EU membership. "I was very involved as special advisor to the deputy prime minister in the accession negotiations. This gave me a taste for the EU. I believe in the process of European integration." She then returned to the World Bank and came back two years later to join the Commission.

"I am keen to contribute to the thorough integration of the 12 New Member States in all EU institutions". Katarína was also drawn by the international working environment in the Commission, which she had already encountered at the World Bank. In addition to working on regional development programmes in several EU Member States, she will soon also have a direct influence on the future of the EU's regional policy. She will become the deputy director general responsible for regional policy in the same DG REGIO at the beginning of September 2007