• EP_News_No._437_of_12_March_2010_of_the_UK_Office_of_the_European_Parliament

• Consumers_should_act_now_on_new_mobile_phone_rights

• European Parliament News

• CISI_Survey_Says_Eurozone_Will_Survive_Despite_Greek_Financial_Crisis

• The_Commissioners’_“Chefs_de_Cabinets”_and_first_indications_of_new_policy_priorities
• “Farage_not_fit_to _represent_South_East”_
• P.Skinner_New_Year Newsletter
• EU_Commission_must_deliver _for_ordinary_people

EP News No. 437 of 12 March 2010 of the UK Office of the European Parliament

MEPs return to Brussels for a week of meetings in committee from 15-18 March.


Highlights include:

• Security of gas supply - 1st reading Regulation - vote in Industry Committee (Thursday)
• Food labelling - 1st reading Directive - vote in Environment Committee (Tuesday)
• Organ transplants (safety and quality) - 1st reading Directive - vote in Environment and Public Health Committee (Tuesday)
• Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive - discussion of amendments - Economic Committee (Wednesday)
• Working Time Directive (lorry drivers) - discussion of amendments - Employment Committee (Wednesday)


Among issues being led by UK MEPs:

• North West Labour MEP Arlene McCarthy - draft report on Capital Requirements Directive/Bank bonuses - Economic Committee (Wednesday)
• South East Lib Dem MEP Sharon Bowles chairs meeting with national parliaments on global financial architecture - Economic Committee (Tuesday-Wednesday)
• South East Conservative MEP Richard Ashworth - adoption report on CAP simplification - Agriculture Committee (Tuesday)
• North West Lib Dem MEP Chris Davies - oral question on End-of-Life-Vehicles Directive - Environment Committee (Monday)
• Scottish Lib Dem MEP George Lyon introduces hearing on future of CAP - Agriculture Committee (Wednesday)


Public Hearings with UK experts/evidence

• Peter Kendall of National Farmers Union speaks on future of CAP - Agriculture Committee (Wednesday)
• Prof. Francis Jacobs of King's College, London, speaks on European Convention on Human Rights - Constitutional Affairs Committee (Thursday)
• Fadi Hakura of Chatham House, London speaks on relations with Turkey - International Trade Committee (Tuesday)
• Lt General David Leakey - Director General of EU military staff exchange of views with SubCommittee on Security & Defence (Wednesday)


Other public hearings

• Banking sector - cross-border crisis management - Economic Committee (Tuesday)
• Prevention of mass human rights abuses/atrocities - SubCommittee on Human Rights (Thursday)
• Youth in the EU - Employment Committee (Wednesday)
• Violence against women - Women's Rights Committee (Tuesday)
• Fisheries - conservation and fleet management - Fisheries Committee (Tuesday)
• EEA-Switzerland - Internal Market Committee - chaired by West Midlands Conservative MEP Malcolm Harbour (Thursday)
• European economic governance - tools for economic & social recovery - Crisis Committee (Thursday)


Latest news

Highlights from this week in Strasbourg

• Pet passports: 18-month extension to current UK regime
• Key debate on consumer policy
• Baroness Ashton appears before MEPs


Pet passports: 18-month extension to current UK regime

MEPs today adopted an extension to the UK's current pet passport rules, which allows for special health checks to prevent the spread of rabies, tapeworm and ticks. Ireland, Malta, Finland and Sweden will also be able to maintain temporary national measures until December 2011, but after this date a new regime will apply EU-wide.

The pet passport rules have been in place since 2003 and allow people to take their cats, dogs and pet ferrets with them to other EU Member States. Today's vote was overwhelming (618 votes to 17, with 5 abstentions) and was necessary so that the current scheme could continue beyond its expiry date of June 2010.

Below are extracts from Monday's debate in Strasbourg (European Commission + UK MEPs - nb: the rapporteur, Sinn Fein MEP Bairbre de Brún spoke in Irish and we do not yet have an English version of the speech).

John Dalli, Member of the Commission – Before a vote is taken on the compromise text, I am pleased to confirm that the Commission does not intend to propose a further prolongation of the transitional regime, which will come to an end on 31 December 2011. This means that fully harmonised rules will be in place from 1 January 2012. However, the Commission does intend to propose a revision of the regulation in its entirety before 30 June 2011 and, in particular, the aspects of delegated and implementing acts.

Linda McAvan MEP (Labour, Yorkshire & Humber) – It is an important piece of legislation for lots of citizens, being about moving their pet freely around the EU. When we first adopted this legislation a few years ago there was a lot of support for it, but we have this transitional period...which is important to prevent diseases spreading to states that do not have those diseases.

I welcome the Commission’s support for extending the transitional period so that, when we do have the new legislation, all countries will have the same legislation. We will by that point have much higher levels of animal health and animal welfare across the EU.

Jim Nicholson MEP (UUP, Northern Ireland) – In my opinion this is a small but vital piece of legislation which will protect those areas and those countries that are concerned by the threat of rabies; the disease continues to occur in some parts of the EU, and hopefully by the end of 2011 vaccination programmes will have proved successful in eradicating the disease once and for all.

Until then, however, we have found a way which allows us to continue to enforce our own stricter requirements under the transitional period before we move, in line with other EU Member States, to the general regime.

Chris Davies MEP (LibDem, North West) – Mr President, I just wanted to say a few words in praise of the legislation we have. I understand it was based upon the United Kingdom’s pet travel scheme, which was introduced about a decade ago. That helped us reduce dramatically the quarantine regulations we had in our country which had caused much distress to both pets and their owners...Hundreds of thousands of animals now travel with their owners each year across Europe.

The reality is that rabies has been kept very firmly under control – 2 700 cases 20 years ago down to less than 300 cases last year, and not one single case associated with the movement of domestic animals under this scheme.

When this legislation was first discussed, many ferret owners in the United Kingdom came to me and asked why this legislation could not include their animals too. They wanted to take them to ferret exhibitions across Europe...Eventually we decided that the incidence of rabies in domestic ferrets was so small that we could include them, but apparently, I am told, there have been relatively few movements.

I can now look to my constituents and, when they ask me what the European Union has done for them, I can say that we have made it possible for you to take your pet on holiday – your cat, your dog or your ferret.

Stuart Agnew MEP (UKIP, Eastern) – Mr President, I understand that the original idea for the creation of pet passports came from the Official Monster Raving Loony Party in the UK, which probably best sums up this dangerous scheme.

I understand there is no standardisation of enforcement of the scheme. Some countries require the formal passport while others will take documentation in any form; still others will not accept the passport as proof of vaccination. Many airlines are unable to provide details of the formal procedures and staff are poorly trained.



Key debate on consumer policy

Extracts from Tuesday morning's debate on consumer policy

Malcolm Harbour MEP (Conservative, West Midlands) – Mr President, as chairman of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, it gives me great pleasure first of all to say how much we all appreciate the fact that Commissioner Barnier and Commissioner Dalli are both here today, as a number of my colleagues have observed, and secondly also to remark that I think this is a remarkable occasion for Parliament.

We have one committee that has put together three own-initiative reports focusing on monitoring and implementation of key legislative instruments and, as you, Commissioner Barnier, have said, part of your success will be judged not just in the number of legislative proposals you bring forward but how well they are working.

I think it is significant – if we look at the EU 2020 proposal – that the completion of the single market is now relegated to a paragraph that says missing links and completing networks. Well I hope all my colleagues agree this is absolutely not acceptable.

Trevor Colman MEP (UKIP, South West) – One of the main recommendations is the establishing of a Consumer Markets Scoreboard concerning topics such as complaints, prices, satisfaction, switching and safety, plus a whole host of additional long-term indicators. The Commission intends to carry out in-depth analysis of all so-called problematic sectors identified in the Consumer Markets Scoreboard.

This bureaucratic web of interconnecting enforcements and self-perpetuating regulation will do for the small-business retail trade in Britain what the common fisheries policy has done for the British fishing industry: it will kill it.

Catherine Stihler MEP (Labour, Scotland) – SOLVIT is a great concept and I think Commissioner Dalli summed it up by saying it is all about people. It is citizen-centred, and it tries to help those who come up against barriers and problems created by the EU and to solve the problem in 10 weeks.

I would like to put on record and pay tribute to all those who work in Member State SOLVIT centres. Just last year I met with the small-staffed team who run the SOLVIT centre in the United Kingdom. The way the SOLVIT centre works in the UK is a model of best practice because it tries and uses a SOLVIT+ model, going further in helping businesses and individuals who contact them with a problem. The team are integrated into the European Regulatory Division within the Department for Business and Industry...

In conclusion, why is there not a SOLVIT day in the European Parliament? Why do we not have a poster in all our constituency office windows advertising SOLVIT?



Baroness Ashton before MEPs on EU Foreign & Security Policy

The following UK MEPs spoke in Wednesday morning's debate:

Charles Tannock (Conservative, London); Andrew Duff (LibDem, Eastern), Geoffrey Van Orden (Conservative, Eastern), Paul Nuttall (UKIP, North West), Richard Howitt (Labour, Eastern), Struan Stevenson (Conservative, Scotland), Andrew Brons (BNP, Yorkshire & Humber)
 

Wednesday, 03 March 2010

Consumers should act now on new mobile phone rights

Local Euro-MP Peter Skinner is calling on people in his South East Constituency to take control of their mobile phone bill after new EU rules came into force this week.

Consumers now have additional rights to help them avoid the shock of a massive bill when they return from trips abroad.

Rules introduced this week give people new powers to control how much they spend on accessing the internet with their mobile when travelling in other EU countries.

They will benefit both holiday makers and business people who use mobile devices to access their email or websites.

The cost of downloading data over mobile networks can be hugely expensive and many customers return from their holidays to face unexpectedly high bills. In some cases customers have racked up thousands of pounds in charges without being aware of the costs.

The new rules mean people can now set a limit on how much they are willing to spend on mobile internet while they're abroad. They will be warned if they approach that limit and it will be impossible to go beyond it without agreement by the customer.

Skinner said: "These changes don't just affect tech-savvy teenagers. Most new phones now include email as standard and sites such as Facebook are increasingly important for staying in touch.

"The cost of mobile internet access abroad can also be a nasty shock for businesses whose staff use their phone to stay on top of their email while travelling abroad.

"These rules will give customers the ability to take greater control of their bills."

The changes were agreed by the European institutions last year and this element of the regulations came into force on Monday (1 March). The package has already led to cheaper text messages and voice calls for people travelling to other EU countries.
 

EP News No. 436 of 5 March 2010 of the UK Office of the European Parliament

MEPs meet in plenary session in Strasbourg on 8-11 March 2010.

Among the highlights of the agenda:

• Baroness Ashton on foreign & security policy; the Arctic
• Question Time with President Barroso - Fundamental rights
• Pet passports scheme - renewal of rules

President Van Rompuy - first time before MEPs

Baroness Ashton, the EU's Foreign Policy High Representative, will appear before MEPs on Wednesday. She will take part in the general debate on foreign and security policy on Wednesday morning and respond to an oral question on the 2010 Non-Proliferation Treaty conference review.

Among the key issues likely to be raised in the first debate is the setting up and funding of the new EU External Action Service.

She will also make statements to kick off Wednesday afternoon's debates on Arctic issues and on Cuba.

Question Time with President Barroso

Tuesday afternoon (2.00pm-3.00pm UK time) sees the return of the regular Question Hour with the President of the European Commission.

The first half hour sees questions to President Barroso on any topic from the leaders of the Parliament's political groups.

The second part is open to any backbench MEP, but on a specific theme. For this session, the subject is respect for fundamental rights and the new Lisbon Treaty.

Pet passports

Sinn Feín MEP Bairbre de Brún will present her report to MEPs on the renewal of the EU's pet passport regime. Under this scheme, dogs, cats and ferrets meeting the necessary requirements may move between EU Member States if they are accompanied by an EU pet passport. All Member States recognise this document.

The UK (along with Sweden, Ireland and Malta) were able, under the Regulation, to impose more stringent controls than other EU Member States. The UK government department responsible - DEFRA - has guidelines on how the scheme works in the UK.

This renewal of the scheme, if approved by MEPs, will allow the existing regime to stay in place until December 2011.

Legislation

Micro-enterprises: Europe's smallest businesses may be exempted from having to draw up annual accounts if MEPs give the go-ahead to a proposal to amend a 1978 directive on company accounts. The decision on whether to grant such an exemption remains with each EU Member State. To be eligible, a company must meet two of three criteria:  balance sheet under €500,000; net turnover under €1m; average 10 employees or less over the financial year. Amendments adopted at committee stage make it clear that such micro-entities would still be obliged to keep records of business transactions and basic financial situation. Debate Monday; vote Wednesday.

Long-stay visas: Only countries within the Schengen area are directly affected by legislation on long-term visas set to be debated on Tuesday morning. The idea behind this proposal is to assist non-EU citizens on long-term visas who currently have difficulties travelling elsewhere in the EU: a Moroccan student studying in France, for example, is not able at the moment to go on a field trip to Barcelona, or to transit through Spain to go home. The proposal before MEPs would give anyone on a long-stay visa (ie up to 12 months) the right to circulate within the Schengen area and spend up to three months out of any six-month period in another Member State. Debate & vote: Tuesday.

Other issues

International Women's Day: The President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, will make a statement at the opening of the session on Monday to mark International Women's Day on 8 March.

Package Travel Directive: The European Commission will make a statement to MEPs on Monday outlining its plans for revising the 1990 Package Travel Directive. The narrow definition of what constitutes a 'package holiday' means that many holidays fall outside the scope of the Directive, leaving consumers vulnerable. Any revision of the Directive would look to address that and MEPs have in the past called passengers also to be protected in the event of airline insolvency, given the recent series of bankruptcies in the low-cost sector. Statement: Monday.

Roma Summit: London Labour MEP Claude Moraes is among the signatories of an oral question on Roma communities addressed to the European Commission and Council. At issue is how to make better use of European funding aimed at improving the socio-economic situation of Roma people. A European Roma summit will be held in Spain on 8 April 2010.

Railways liberalisation: North West Labour MEP Brian Simpson, as chair of the Parliament's Transport Committee, will be tabling a question to the European Commission on what action it intends to take against Member States who have failed to open up their railway markets to competition. Belgium, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and 16 other EU countries still do not comply with the existing rules on free competition, separation of networks from railway operators, and the use of cross-border safety technologies. Debate: Tuesday evening.

Single European Payments Area: The Single European Payments Area has been in place for over two years now, with a new direct debit facility also available since November 2009.

South East LibDem MEP Sharon Bowles, who chairs the Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, has tabled an oral question asking when the Commission will announce a legally binding end-date for migration to SEPA.

Another question from Sharon Bowles MEP relates to international financial transaction taxes and whether the EU should go it alone if no global agreement can be reached. Debate also on Monday.

Anti-counterfeiting: London Conservative MEP Syed Kamall is among the signatories of an oral question to the European Commission asking for an update on negotiations aimed at achieving an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement internationally. The question also asks the Commission what impact such an agreement might have on e-trade across the EU. Debate: Tuesday evening.

Tariff preferences/GSP: Eastern Region Conservative MEP Robert Sturdy is one of the signatories to an oral question covering many aspects of the general system of tariff preferences, including: monitoring systems, impact assessments, and the timing for a proposed revision of the scheme. Debate: Tuesday.

Low carbon technologies: Investment in low carbon technologies comes to the fore in Thursday's debate based on oral questions to the European Commission and Council. MEPs want to discuss how to target EU funds at low carbon technology development quickly, in advance of any new funding stream under the EU's research programme after 2013. Low carbon technologies include carbon storage techniques and renewable heating and cooling platforms.

Gaza: The European Parliament will adopt its formal position on the Goldstone Report on the Gaza conflict. A debate was held at the plenary in Brussels on 24 February 2010, during which the following UK MEPs spoke: Caroline Lucas (Greens, South East); Richard Howitt (Labour, Eastern); Charles Tannock (Conservative, London); Geoffrey Van Orden (Conservative, Eastern); Sir Robert Atkins (Conservative, North West). The vote will take place on Wednesday.

2020 strategy: MEPs will adopt a resolution on the EU's 2020 strategy for jobs and growth, as a follow-up to the debate held in the Brussels plenary session on 24 February 2010. The following UK MEPs spoke in that debate: Stephen Hughes (Labour, North East); Timothy Kirkhope (Conservative, Yorkshire & Humber); Nigel Farage (UKIP, South East); Kay Swinburne (Conservative, Wales); Jean Lambert (Greens, London); Andrew Duff (Lib Dem, Eastern). The full text of that debate - in the original language of the speakers can be seen on the European Parliament's main website. The vote will take place on Wednesday.

H&K UPDATE:  The Commissioners’ “Chefs de Cabinets” and first indications of new policy priorities Elaine Cruikshanks CEO Hill & Knowlton, December 11, 2009 The Cabinets The new College of Commissioners and their policy remits are now known. But who are the men and women who will lead their Cabinets – the “Chefs de Cabinets” - and what policy direction can we expect them to take during their five-year term? The Chefs are instrumental in setting their Commissioners’ policy agendas and can wield a powerful influence in the prioritisation of policies. They lead the Commissioners’ Cabinets, which usually consist of about seven personal advisors, supported by administrative staff. The Cabinet’s job is threefold. First, they support their Commissioner on specific policy areas – with each Cabinet member responsible for their own specific portfolio. They also follow policy areas outside their Commissioner’s direct remit and prepare his or her position for the weekly College of Commissioners meeting. Second, they maintain relations with other Cabinets, Parliament, Council, the services of the Directorate-General and other institutional stakeholders. Lastly, and maybe most importantly, they are the political guardians of their Commissioners, making sure that their Commissioner is on the right side of major or contentious issues. Assembling a Cabinet is no easy feat. Hundreds of CVs stream in from the moment the new Commissioners are known. There is intense lobbying for favoured candidates by national governments, industry and civil society groups, political parties and friends. Besides a candidate’s experience and knowledge, Commissioners need to consider a whole range of other attributes, including someone’s political affiliation, gender, language and cultural attributes (north-south split). Nationality also plays a big role - not more than four members of Cabinet can be of the same nationality as the Commissioner, the Chef and Deputy-Chef must have different nationalities, and the spokesman cannot come from the same country as their Commissioner. Chefs de Cabinets are expected to fight their Commissioners’ corner and to defend his or her interests, particularly in the intense lobbying that goes on between different Commissioners on the more controversial issues. A Chef must have standing, experience and sway with his colleagues. The Chefs will spend the coming weeks preparing their Commissioners for the European Parliament hearings set to start on January 11. An analysis of the Chefs’ names below shows that, as in the current Commission, about one third of the Chefs come from the UK, France or Germany. Only three women have been put forward as Chefs de Cabinets. Of the 27 Chefs, 24 return from existing Cabinet positions, and 14 are currently Chefs. In many ways, the high number of returning Chefs, and presumably other returning Cabinet officials, is good for continuity and should help to give Barroso II a flying start, particularly as all Commissioners have been assigned new portfolios. One interesting observation about the new portfolio division between Commissioners is that there are a number of policy areas with possibly overlapping competencies. For example, a number of responsibilities in the energy/environment/climate arena are not well-defined. Another area where this is the case is the digital/technology/ICT sphere. Cynics have suggested that these and other overlapping remits were purposely included, as a means of strengthening the hand of the President – where there are disputes, he can step in to deliver the final say. Who are the new “Chefs de Cabinet”? In this update, we provide an overview of the known Chefs de Cabinets, with an emphasis on the most influential and prominent Commission portfolios. Many of these names, though not all, have been announced internally. Johannes Laitenberger will lead the Cabinet of José Manuel Barroso. Laitenberger assumed this role on November 1, after 4 years as Barroso’s spokesman, and previous to that as a member of his Cabinet. Laitenberger, a German national, is a fluent Portuguese speaker and is said to have a very close relationship with Barroso. Prior to joining the Commission’s Competition Directorate-General in 1999, he practiced as a lawyer, worked in an industry association and at the Council of the European Union. In 1999 he joined the Cabinet of Viviane Reding and became head of Cabinet there in 2003. Barroso set out his policy directions for his new 5 year mandate. He wants a team that "...can generate fresh thinking and new ideas on the biggest challenges we face”. James Morrison will lead the Cabinet of Catherine Ashton, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission.  Prior to coming to Brussels to work with Lady Ashton, he served for 20 years with the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Lady Ashton started her new position on December 1 and she will preside over the Foreign Affairs Council and lead the European External Action Service (EEAS), the embryonic EU diplomat service. Marc Vanheukelen will lead the Cabinet of Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht. Vanheukelen is a Belgian Liberal like De Gucht and is currently his Chef de Cabinet. Prior to that, he held a series of posts in the European Commission and in the Belgian Foreign Service. He was Head of Unit for Relations with the United States in the Commission and Deputy Head of Cabinet to the Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs, dealing with international trade in particular. In terms of political priorities for De Gucht, the conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda negotiations at the end of 2010 and the improvement of economic aspects of EU-USA relations are said to be top priorities. Carlos Martinez-Mongay will lead the Cabinet of Competition Commissioner, Joaquin Almunia. Martinez is currently head of unit in DG Economic and Financial Affairs dealing with Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Cyprus and Portugal. Given that Almunia, Martinez and the EU Competition Director General designate – Dutchman Alexander Italianer – all have backgrounds in economics, some believe the job of Deputy Chef de Cabinet will go to a lawyer. Speculation is rife as to Almunia’s likely position on EU antitrust and regulatory policy - some believe he is likely to take a softer approach than Neelie Kroes on antitrust cases as his trade union background will make him sensitive to the impact of large fines on EU businesses and jobs. Others believe his centre-left political background could make him tougher on big business. Olivier Guersent will lead the Cabinet of Internal Market and Services Commissioner, Michel Barnier. Guersent, a French national, is head of the European Commission’s Cartels Directorate in DG Competition. He was previously an advisor to former Competition Commissioner Karel van Miert, and served as Deputy-Chef in the Cabinet of current Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes. UK national Jonathan Faull was surprisingly and hastily appointed as the new Director-General for Internal Market and Services, some say as a gesture to the City of London, where many fear heavy-handed regulation of the financial sector from the new Commissioner. The expansion and protection of the internal market and financial services regulation are expected to be the main priorities of the new Commissioner. Timo Pesonen will lead the Cabinet of Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner, Olli Rehn. He previously served as Special Advisor on International Affairs for former Finnish Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen. Rehn’s main priority will be how best to generate economic recovery. In addition, the expansion of the eurozone will feature high on the list of priorities. Michael Köhler will lead the Cabinet of Energy Commissioner, Günter Oettinger. Köhler, a German national, is currently head of Cabinet for Commissioner Borg. Köhler has an academic background from the University of Bonn, but also worked in the German Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development. He joined the Commission in 1994, where he has worked in foreign, maritime and other policy areas. The Energy Commissioner will most likely focus on the integration of energy markets, the development of the so-called “smart” electricity transmission grid and security of supply, as well as energy efficiency and the more rapid introduction of low-carbon technologies. Contrary to some indications, the Energy Commissioner will not gain control over funding earmarked for energy research in other Directorates-General. Christopher Jones will lead the Cabinet of Development Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs. He is currently Director of New and Renewable Sources of Energy in Directorate-General TREN. He is the former Deputy Head of Cabinet to Piebalgs where he was responsible for the co-ordination and strategic development of energy policy. Jones’ move is interesting, as he had moved back into the services about a year ago. Jones is credited with some of the more forward-thinking policies in energy efficiency measures from the current Commission. Prior to this, he held a number of positions in the Commission's Directorate General for Energy. John Bell will lead the Cabinet of Research, Innovation and Science Commissioner, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn. Bell is currently Chef de Cabinet to the European Commissioner for Consumer Affairs Kuneva. He joined the Commission in 1993, working on policies related to Central and Eastern Europe, but also trade and other issues. He was a member of the Cabinet of Irish Commissioner David Byrne, Health and Consumer Protection from 1999 to 2004. One of the major policy issues will be how best to redirect research budgets towards green and decarbonising technologies.  Maria (Mia) Åsenius will lead the Cabinet of Home Affairs Commissioner, Cecilia Malmström. Åsenius is currently State Secretary to Cecilia Malmström in her role as Minister for EU Affairs. Åsenius, with an academic background in business and economics, was previously an adviser to European Parliament President Pat Cox, and later became deputy Head of Cabinet for Commissioner Olli Rehn before returning to work with Malmström in Sweden. Upon her nomination, Malmström called for “robust cooperation” throughout Europe in order to effectively tackle the global economic crisis.   Kurt Vandenberghe will lead the Cabinet of Environment Commissioner, Janez Potočnik. A Belgian national, Vandenberghe has been a member of Cabinet since 1999, first with Commissioner Philippe Busquin and then with Commissioner Potočnik, the former and current Commissioners responsible for the Science and Research remit. Vandenberghe was promoted to Head of Cabinet last year and will move with Commissioner Potočnik to the Environment portfolio. Prior to his time in the Cabinet he worked in DG Transport. The policy areas the Commissioner is expected to focus on include air, land and water management policies in addition to biodiversity negotiations. Joanna Darmanin will lead the Cabinet of Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner, John Dalli. Darmanin was Deputy Head of Cabinet for Joe Borg, the Maltese Fisheries Commissioner. Before joining the Commission, she worked in the Private Secretariats of the Foreign Minister and the President of Malta (where she dealt with European and multilateral affairs) following a diplomatic posting to the Maltese Permanent Mission to the UN. Among the priorities set out by Dalli for his term as Commissioner include ensuring the effectiveness and efficiency of European healthcare systems as well as co-ordinating Member State responses to human and animal pandemics. Antonio Preto will lead the Cabinet of the Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, Antonio Tajani.  Antonio Preto, a lawyer by training, stays on as head of Cabinet, having served in this position in Mr Tajani’s previous posting as Transport Commissioner. Prior to joining the Commissioner’s Cabinet Preto worked in the European Parliament, first as an administrator and lastly in the Cabinet of the former President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering. According to his CV, his experience focuses more on enterprise and industry issues than on transport issues. Among the priorities set out by Tajani following his nomination by Barroso are the strategic framework for an integrated industrial policy and the implementation of the Small Business Act. Peter Vis will lead the Cabinet of Climate Action Commissioner, Connie Hedegaard. A Dutch national, Vis is currently a member of Energy Commissioner Piebalgs’ Cabinet. The overriding aim of the new portfolio is to ensure that the EU meets its 2020 GHG emission reduction and other targets. Hedegaard and Vis will have responsibility for developing and implementing the EU ETS, promoting links with other carbon trading systems, and promoting the development of low-carbon adaptation technologies. The new Climate Action Commissioner will be responsible for the New Entrants' Reserve of the ETS and its use for renewable energy and CCS among others. Antony Whelan returns to lead the Cabinet of Digital Agenda Commissioner, Neelie Kroes. Whelan became known at DG Competition for his rigorous approach to the enforcement of competition policy. A lawyer by training, he previously worked in the European Commission’s legal service where, amongst other things, he headed the Commission team defending the fine against Microsoft before the European Court of First Instance. Whelan studied law at Trinity College Dublin and Cambridge University before qualifying as a barrister in Dublin. Kroes is likely to try and push investment in broadband infrastructure in particular. In her previous role she was keen to make provisions for state aid to ensure people had access to broadband. She will also undoubtedly look into ways of unlocking the digital single market and try to find an economic model to support creative content online and fight piracy, seen as a big challenge of the digital age. Martin Selmayr will lead the Cabinet of Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Commissioner, Viviane Reding. Prior to his job as spokesman for Commissioner Reding, a job he held from late 2004, he worked for the European Central Bank, and for the international media company Bertelsmann, where he also led their Brussels office. Commissioner Reding is widely expected to make privacy one of her main priorities for the next five years. The last Commission did little to address the issue of privacy in the digital age and Reding will undoubtedly want to leave her mark in this area. Behavioural advertising and cloud computing are also likely to be focus areas for the Commissioner. Jochen Richter is expected to lead the Cabinet of International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Commissioner, Rumiana Jeleva. He was deputy head of Multilingualism Commissioner Leonard Orban's Cabinet. A German national, Richter previously worked in the Conciliations and Co-decision Secretariat of the European Parliament. Anabela Gago will lead the Cabinet of the Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Commissioner, László Andor. Gago is currently deputy head of Cabinet for Tax and Customs Union Commissioner Kovacs. Philippe Brunet will continue to lead the Cabinet of Androulla Vassiliou as Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth. Marc Lemaitre will lead the Cabinet of Budget and Financial Programming Commissioner, Janusz Lewandowski.  Lemaitre is the former Head of Cabinet of outgoing Commissioner Samecki. Stephen Quest will continue to lead the Cabinet of Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud Commissioner Algirdas Šemeta. Hubert Gambs will lead the Cabinet of Regional Policy Commissioner Johannes Hahn. Gambs was previously in the Cabinet of Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner. Georgios Markopoulitis will lead the Cabinet of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki. Simon Mordue will lead the Cabinet of Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Commissioner, Štefan Füle. Hendrik Hololei will continue to lead the Cabinet of Transport Commissioner, Siim Kallas. Peter Javorcík will lead the Cabinet of Inter-institutional Relations and Administration Commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič. The Chef de Cabinet of Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner, Dacian Ciolos, is rumored to be former Portuguese Agriculture Minister and former Commission official Jaime Silva, but this is unconfirmed at the time of writing.