Main news from Brussels this week
date: 23/02/2018
European Commission senior management changes
On 21 February, the Commission appointed Martin Selmayr, the current Head of Cabinet of President Jean-Claude Juncker, as the new Secretary-General of the Commission upon the retirement of Alexander Italianer. This decision will take effect on 1 March 2018. At the same time, the President's Deputy Head of Cabinet, Clara Martinez Alberola, will become his new Head of Cabinet – the first woman ever to hold this position. President Juncker's current Diplomatic Adviser, Richard Szostak, will become his new Deputy Head of Cabinet.
The European Commission also made a number of senior management appointments which significantly boost the number of women in senior posts as Directors-General and Deputy Directors-General from just 11% in November 2014 to 36%.
Commission fines maritime car carriers and car parts suppliers a total of €546 million in cartel settlements
In three separate decisions, the European Commission fined four maritime car carriers €395 million, two suppliers of spark plugs €76 million and two suppliers of braking systems €75 million, for taking part in cartels in breach of EU antitrust rules. All companies acknowledged their involvement in the cartels and agreed to settle the cases.
EU statement on the humanitarian situation in Eastern Ghouta and Idlib, Syria
EU High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini and Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides issued a statement on the humanitarian situation in Syria: "Unhindered humanitarian access to civilians inside Syria and the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure is a matter of urgency to prevent further loss of lives. […] The international community should unite to stop this human suffering. The European Union calls on all parties to the conflict, as well as the guarantors of the four de-escalation areas, to take all necessary measures to ensure the decrease of violence, the protection of the Syrian people by respecting international humanitarian law, and urgent humanitarian access. There is no military solution to the conflict, we call on all parties to seriously engage in the UN-led political process."
Informal European Council
The EU-27 Heads of State and Government are meeting informally in Brussels today (23 February) to discuss institutional issues, including the composition of the European Parliament after 2019 and the nomination of the president of the European Commission. Leaders will also discuss the next EU long-term budget, the multi-annual financial framework (MFF), after 2020.
There will be a press conference currently scheduled for 17.00 GMT, with Presidents Juncker and Tusk, which can be followed here.
All this week's key European Commission announcements can be found here