European Commission President Ursula
von der Leyen on Tuesday announced that she has proposed six
executive vice presidents for the new EU executive, including
Italy's Raffaele Fitto.
Fitto will be the executive vice president for cohesion and
reforms, von der Leyen told a press conference.
The six top roles will go to Spain's Teresa Ribera, Finland's
Henna Virkkunen, France's Stéphane Séjourné, Estonia's Kaja
Kallas, Romania's Roxana Minzatu as well as Fitto, Italy's
European affairs minister who is responsible for the
implementation of the EU-funded post-Covid National Recovery and
Resilience Plan (NRRP).
"Raffaele Fitto will be responsible for policies of cohesion,
regional development and cities", von der Leyen told the press
conference.
"He will bring his great experience to modernize and strengthen
investments for cohesion and policies of growth.
"Italy is a very important country and this must also be
reflected in our choice.
"The European Parliament has 14 vice presidents, two are from
ECR", she went on to say, referring to the Conservative group to
which Premier Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy (FdI), of which
Fitto is a heavyweight, belongs.
"I drew the consequences for the Commission's composition",
added von der Leyen.
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday congratulated Fitto
for his appointment as "executive vice president of the European
Commission with a portfolio for cohesion and reforms.
"An important recognition that confirms the regained central
role of our nation within the EU.
"Italy finally returns to be a protagonist in Europe", Meloni
wrote on social media.
"We are certain you will fulfil your role extremely well in the
interest of Europe and Italy", added the premier.
And commenting the announcement on X, Deputy Premier and Foreign
Minister Antonio Tajani wrote that the "appointment of Raffaele
Fitto as executive vice president of the EU Commission is
excellent news that confirms the credibility and the role of
relevance that Italy undertakes and will continue to have in
Europe!", hailing it as a "government's success".
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