Recently appointed Romanian VP of European Commission to oversee several commissioners

Roxana Mînzatu, the recently-appointed European commissioner representing Romania, has also been named a Vice-President of the European Commission and assigned the portfolio for People, Skills and Preparedness, which means that she will oversee several other commissioners.

Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced that all 26 new commissioners are "equal," with "equal responsibility to fulfill the Union's priorities." However, each of the six Vice-Presidents supervises several portfolios, and each commissioner oversees one or more directorates-general, according to Politico Europe.

Mînzatu will coordinate the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, and Sport, together with commissioner Glenn Micallef, as well as the Directorate-General for Employment and Social Inclusion. She will also oversee the Mediterranean commissioner, Dubravka Suica, the commissioner for Crisis Management and Equality, Hadja Lahbib, the commissioner for Animal Health and Welfare, Oliver Varhelyi, and the Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Culture, Youth, and Sport, Glenn Micallef.

However, the Mediterranean, Crisis Management and Equality, and the Animal Health and Welfare portfolios will be co-managed with other Vice-Presidents of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas and Teresa Ribera Rodriguez.

Roxana Mînzatu told Digi24 that the policies she will manage as part of the new College of Commissioners account for 20% of the EU’s multiannual budget.

"The social portfolio includes managing 20% of the EU's multiannual budget. We are primarily looking at the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), which has a budget of EUR 143 billion at the European level," Mînzatu said.

"You can't talk about economic competitiveness without investing in workers, in the quality of activities, but also in labor relations and the workplace climate. You can't talk about competitiveness without proper social protection, and you can’t talk about competitiveness without addressing the skills required for the labor market, which is highly dynamic,” she added.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos | Saul Pop)