EU's Dombrovskis to take on trade portfolio at bloc's executive - source

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will name Mairead McGuinness as the new Irish commissioner in charge of financial stability and capital markets, and hand over the prominent trade portfolio to Latvia's Valdis Dombrovskis, a source with the bloc's executive said on Tuesday.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will name Mairead McGuinness as the new Irish commissioner in charge of financial stability and capital markets, and hand over the prominent trade portfolio to Latvia's Valdis Dombrovskis, a source with the bloc's executive said on Tuesday. Both are with the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), the largest in the European Parliament, and von der Leyen is due to make the formal announcement at 0800 GMT.

Ireland would therefore lose the EU trade portfolio after Philip Hogan resigned for failing to obey COVID-19 safety rules. McGuinness has been an EU lawmaker from Ireland for the Midlands–North-West constituency since July 2004 and has served as the chamber's deputy head since 2017. She is a member of Fine Gael, part of the EPP.

She will take over financial stability, financial services and capital markets. Dombrovskis, a former Latvian prime minister, has been overseeing trade sine Hogan left.

He will now formally take over at a time the bloc is locked in difficult negotiations with Brexit Britain, faces trade tensions with China and the United States, as well as seeking to unite around a new leader for the World Trade Organization.

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