New finance chief lined up for the EU
FINLAND’S Olli Rehn is likely to take charge of European Union economic and monetary affairs and Spaniard Joaquin Almunia is expected to become the bloc’s antitrust chief, EU diplomats said yesterday.
The posts are two of the most powerful in the European Commission, the EU’s executive, and the changes are part of efforts to increase the bloc’s influence on the world stage. Almunia has until now been the EU’s economic and monetary affairs commissioner.
The changes follow ratification of the Lisbon reform treaty, intended to make decision-making smoother in the 27-country bloc, and the appointment of a president and foreign policy chief last week to lift the EU’s profile in world affairs.