Former minister for finance Michael McGrath has been announced as the European Union’s next commissioner for justice and the rule of law.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen revealed the portfolios she handed out to her team of commissioners, who are put forward by each EU country, on Tuesday. It is understood the Government had been briefed beforehand that Mr McGrath was to be handed the commissioner role covering justice.
The commissioner for justice is responsible for leading the EU’s efforts to tackle breaches of the rule of law by member states, such as Hungary and previously Poland under its populist former government. The commissioner is also responsible for enforcing legislation such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The role is currently held by Didier Reynders, a Belgian politician.
Dr von der Leyen spoke with Taoiseach Simon Harris on the phone on Monday evening, as part of a series of calls placed to national capitals.
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During the call the German politician briefed the Fine Gael leader on the “emerging composition” of the team of commissioners, as the process of deciding on the allocation of roles “comes to the closing stages,”, a Government spokesman said.
Mr McGrath had been linked with the justice role in the last week, as Dr von der Leyen was finalising the various portfolios she planned to hand to each commissioner.
The Government has always stated it would push for Mr McGrath to be given a finance-related commission portfolio. Ireland’s current EU commissioner, Mairead McGuinness, holds the role responsible for financial services, so the justice job would represent a sideways move.
A number of factors had been working against Ireland securing a prominent finance-related portfolio. The Government ignored a request from Dr von der Leyen for countries to propose two names, with at least one being a woman, so she could build a gender-balanced team of commissioners. Fianna Fáil’s four MEPs also voted against Dr von der Leyen in a European Parliament vote that confirmed her reappointment as president of the EU’s executive arm for another five years.
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Mr McGrath stepped down as minister for finance in late June after the Cabinet agreed to nominate him as Ireland’s pick for its next EU commissioner.
Dr von der Leyen detailed the portfolios she allocated to each commissioner on Tuesday morning, after she briefed the leaders of the eight political groupings in the European Parliament, during a meeting in Strasbourg.
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