European Commission Vice President Věra Jourová will take over as the EU institution’s justice chief, as Belgian Commissioner Didier Reynders begins his campaign for the top job at the human rights organization of the Council of Europe, three people with direct knowledge of the change told POLITICO.
On March 25, the Council of Europe selected Reynders alongside former Swiss President Alain Berset and former Estonian Culture Minister Indrek Saar for the post of secretary general ahead of a final vote in late June. Reynders must take a leave of absence from his committee role to campaign for the position.
The Strasbourg-based organization has 46 member countries and is not part of the European Union institutions. It is an important multilateral organization on issues of democracy and the rule of law that leads the European Court of Human Rights.
Reynders was due to start his leave on April 25 but had to start earlier to attend a Council of Europe parliamentary session this week. His X account already designates him as a candidate for the organization and commissioner on leave. The commissioner published campaign messages on April 14 on X, LinkedIn and Facebook.
Jourová previously oversaw Reynders’ portfolio as vice president for values and transparency, including rule of law, countering disinformation and media pluralism issues.
The Czech politician served as Commissioner for Justice, Consumer Affairs and Gender Equality from 2014 to 2019 and had previously partly replaced Vice-President for Competition Margrethe Vestager when she took a leave to campaign for the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Jourová, who comes from the same political group as Reynders, the liberal Renew group, said she would not run for a third term as commissioner.
His rise to power comes amid a series of reshuffles as EU politicians and senior officials aim for new jobs ahead of June 6-9 European Parliament elections and the formation of a new European Commission that will take place later this year.
Politico
