European Commission Spokesperson Daniel Ferrie talks about his new job, what he thinks the main challenges will be, and being involved in the Brexit negotiations.

You have recently taken up your post as new spokesperson for financial services and capital markets union. Tell us a little about your new position, and how you see the first few months. What are you looking forward to? What do you see as the biggest potential challenges?

It is a massive honour to be DG FISMA’s new spokesperson. As you can imagine, the past two months in this new role have been absolutely hectic but they have also been thoroughly enjoyable - and I have no doubt that it will continue to be so throughout 2020! Becoming a spokesperson has been a huge step up for me (excuse the pun!), as it means I can no longer hide behind the camera in the press room but instead have to be ready to answer any questions on the podium at any moment on any topic related to financial services. Of course, this can be challenging – especially when you are still trying to get your head around a whole cosmos of financial regulations, rules, procedures and terminology. But, when you take a step back from the jargon, it is not long before you realise just how important this area is - and this is certainly something that attracted me to the portfolio. The work being done in the DG has such an important, direct relevance for people and businesses throughout the European Union – from our work on sustainable finance to fighting against money laundering or from protecting savers’ deposits to helping small businesses get the funding they need. Keeping on top of this rather technical, detailed portfolio and explaining it in simple, correct terms will be a massive challenge in and of itself. But it is such an interesting and important area, so it’s a challenge I’m looking forward to! And of course, none of this would be possible without my excellent colleague and teammate, Press Officer Aikaterini Apostola. 

You’re not new to the subject. Tell us a little about what you were doing before?

Indeed, my very first job in the European Commission was as press assistant to the previous spokesperson, Vanessa Mock. So the world of financial services and taxation is not entirely new to me. After a year in that position, I became the Commission’s press officer for Brexit in November 2016, working closely with Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier and the ‘Taskforce 50’. This was a massively challenging task and meant I had to very quickly get my head around every single area and policy affected by the UK’s withdrawal - including, naturally enough, financial services.

This is a new Commission, with a new style and mandate. Do you have an idea of what the main differences could be?

I think every Commission brings with it a new style and mandate - and that’s only right. While only five years have passed, Europe and the world are now in very different places and our priorities have naturally developed as a result. I think that it is clear that the European Green Deal will be one of the key, defining aspects of this Commission and central to our work over the coming years. 

In addition to financial services – as well as taxation – you will also be the spokesperson for the UK Task Force. This will undoubtedly be very interesting.

As I have been involved in the negotiations since day one - and given that I come from the country right next door to the UK (Ireland) - Brexit is of course a particular, albeit sad, interest of mine. At the time of this interview, and after countless rounds of negotiations, speeches and votes, we are now less than 10 days away from the UK’s withdrawal. It is still so hard to believe - but such is life. To quote Mr. Barnier’s play on that most British of slogans: ‘keep calm and negotiate’.