European Commission Daily News 24th Ma
COLLEGE MEETING: The European Commission appoints a new Head of Representation in Ireland
Today, Barbara Nolan has been appointed as Head of the European Commission’s Representation in Dublin. In this function, she will act as the official representative of the European Commission in Ireland under the political authority of President Ursula von der Leyen. She will take office on 16 May 2021. Barbara Nolan, an Irish national, has been working for the European Commission for 30 years, during which she has acquired substantial experience in a broad variety of EU policy areas. She is particularly experienced in a range of fields that are essential for the daily work of a Head of Representation such as performing management functions, undertaking representation tasks and leading negotiation efforts. Furthermore, the field of communication also played a central part in her career given her former role as Commission Spokesperson for Employment, Social Affairs and Justice and Home Affairs, and as Head of the Communication Unit at the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (EMPL). She already served as Head of Representation in Ireland from 2010 to 2016, which allowed her to gain a wide experience in promoting EU policies and interests. She is currently the Head of Unit in the Directorate-General for Justice (JUST), responsible for Fundamental Rights Policy. In this position, she has played an important role in championing key European values, in particular the respect, promotion and protection of fundamental rights as enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. During earlier stages of her career, she held a number of other management positions including at the Directorate for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (EAC) and DG EMPL. At the former, she focused on the coordination of Erasmus+ programme and higher education reform initiatives; at the latter she worked on Antidiscrimination policy and relations with civil society organisations. The press release is available online.
President von der Leyen co-chairs Tripartite Social Summit on a fair and sustainable recovery
Today, President von der Leyen will co-chair the Tripartite Social Summit videoconference together with President of the European Council, Charles Michel. The Commission will also be represented by Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis and Commissioner Schmit. The topic of this summit is ‘How to achieve a fair and sustainable recovery?’. Discussions will focus on three topics. First, managing the health, economic and social crisis while maintaining emergency measures. Second, the contribution of the social partners at EU and national level for an economic and social recovery. Third, the road to the Porto Social Summit, which will be organised by the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU later this year in May. The Tripartite Social Summit takes place twice a year ahead of European Council meetings. It is an opportunity for a constructive exchange of views between the leaders of the European institutions, the Heads of State or Government, and the Employment and Social Affairs Ministers of the current trio of Presidencies of the Council of the EU (Portugal, Slovenia, France), as well as the leaders of European and national employee and employer organisations of these Presidency countries. A press release will be published in the afternoon following the summit.
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