Ireland likely to lose EU trade portfolio after Hogan resignation

Ireland is likely to lose the prestigious trade portfolio at the European Commission after Dublin pressured its representative in the EU executive, Phil Hogan, to resign for failing to obey COVID-19 safety rules, officials and diplomats said. The government has decided not to nominate a senior minister for the role and will instead propose European Parliament member Mairead McGuinness and former European Investment Bank vice president Andrew McDowell, an Irish government source said.

Ireland is likely to lose the prestigious trade portfolio at the European Commission after Dublin pressured its representative in the EU executive, Phil Hogan, to resign for failing to obey COVID-19 safety rules, officials and diplomats said.

The government has decided not to nominate a senior minister for the role and will instead propose European Parliament member Mairead McGuinness and former European Investment Bank vice president Andrew McDowell, an Irish government source said. "There seems to be a growing consensus that Ireland will not get the trade portfolio again," one senior EU diplomat said. Two senior officials echoed that view.

Hogan's resignation could trigger a wider reshuffle in the EU executive, several sources said, with some mentioning Belgium's Didier Reynders, now Justice Commissioner, as a possible candidate for trade. Trade is being handled temporarily by Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, who already has a large dossier which includes financial regulation, banking, capital markets and euro zone issues.

Some officials said he might also take over trade for good if some of his current responsibilities were taken by someone else. The portfolio has gained in importance because of trade tensions between China and the United States, the EU's own trade problems with Washington and Beijing, as well as Brexit.

The EU executive has one commissioner from each of the 27 member countries. Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has encouraged countries to propose two candidates - a man and a woman - so she can maintain a gender balance. She also assigns each commissioner a portfolio. McGuinness, who is Ireland's longest serving MEP and has a background in agriculture, is one of the European Parliament's vice presidents and has been a prominent speaker in the Brexit debate during the lengthy negotiations.

McDowell's four-year term as one of the European Investment Bank's eight vice presidents ended this week. He previously served as chief economic adviser to Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny from 2011 to 2016. EU officials said Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, initially mentioned as a possible front-runner, decided against putting himself forward given the expected downgrade of Ireland's portfolio.