Roxana Mînzatu Named VP of European Commission, Romania’s Portfolio Announced

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, presented on Tuesday, in Strasbourg, the new team of European commissioners and their portfolios, after weeks of political battles, which culminated on Monday with the resignation of the commissioner for the internal market, Thierry Breton. Roxana Mînzatu, appointed commissioner from Romania, received the “Skills and Education, Jobs and social rights, demography” and will also be vice-president of the European Commission.

Ursula von der Leyen specified that the next Commission will have 11 women, which represents 40% of the total EC. The future Commission will have six vice-presidents, four of whom will be women. One of the future EC vice-presidents will be Roxana Mînzatu, responsible for the People, Competences and Training portfolio.

“I am very happy to entrust Roxana Mânzatu with the role of executive vice president for people, skills and training. She will have responsibility for skills, education and culture, quality jobs and social rights. This comes under the umbrella of demographics. Roxana will in particular lead a Union of competences and the European pillar of social rights. It will focus on those areas that are essential to unite our society”, said Ursula von der Leyen.

“For the first time since joining the European Union, Romania obtained the position of #vice-president of the European Commission and one of the most important portfolios – Skills and Education, Jobs and social rights, demography. A major portfolio, which will administer a fifth of the EU budget, 235 billion euros to be exact”, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu wrote on Facebook.

“Practically, Romania becomes part of the decision in the European Union. Mrs. Roxana Mînzatu, Romania’s proposal for European Commissioner, will coordinate both the #education part and the area of ​​#social policies, but also the #financing programs related to these areas, respectively the European Social Fund Plus, the Social Fund for Climate and Erasmus+”, he said.

What does the newly established portfolio allocated to Romania in the European Commission mean?

According to a European Commission document, quoted by HotNews.ro, the duties and responsibilities for this portfolio assigned to Roxana Mînzatu are: The first responsibility is the development of a new Competence Union. It is the first time that the Commission will have a dedicated portfolio for skills, focusing on education with a focus on the labor market.

“Skills work will focus on investment, skills retention, upskilling and reskilling and the development of the European Education Area and an initiative on skills portability. Although before these policies are disconnected, their significance means that they must be developed by a member of the College, drawing on different elements – from the recognition of qualifications to education and training.”

The second core part is the responsibility for the European Pillar of Social Rights.

“The portfolio will oversee several initiatives, including algorithmic management, the right to disconnect, the roadmap for quality jobs or the anti-poverty strategy. It will analyze the impact of digitization on the labor market. The portfolio is also at the forefront of social dialogue, working with European trade union and employer representatives, and following up on a new European Pact for Social Dialogue. In addition, the portfolio aims to address structural factors and the impact of demographic change. In this sense, the portfolio will be responsible for implementing the Demography Toolbox and increasing participation on the labor market”.

The Labor Commissioner is responsible for almost a fifth of the EU budget. “This portfolio is one of the most substantial in terms of EU funding, with significant stakes in the next Multiannual Financial Framework. It includes responsibility for the European Social Fund Plus, the Social Fund for Climate and Erasmus+, which represents almost a fifth of the EU budget,” the cited document states.

The portfolio has legislative responsibilities in the areas of free movement of workers and social law, shaping EU labor law and labor mobility legislation. It also includes responsibilities in areas such as minimum wage, platform work, working time and occupational health and safety. It also focuses significantly on the coordination of Member States’ policies in the fields of employment, education and vocational training.

The person responsible for this portfolio will work with the Commission’s services dealing with employment, social affairs and inclusion, as well as those working in education. The portfolio also involves the coordination of a number of decentralized agencies, including the European Labor Authority.

Institutionally, the person in charge of this portfolio will represent the College in two Council formations: Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumers (EPSCO) and the Council’s Education, Youth, Culture and Sport (EYCS) Formation. They will be the main counterpart of the Ministers of Employment, Social Rights and Education and, in the European Parliament, the main counterpart for the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) and the Committee on Culture and Education (CULT).

Roxana Minzatu told Digi24 that the policies he will manage under the new college of commissioners have allocated 20% of the EU’s multiannual budget. She also emphasized the importance of this portfolio that was assigned to the European Commissioner appointed from Romania, giving examples of programs already implemented in the country. “It is a success that we should celebrate and an effort that the Government has made, all those who have been active in the European environment. It was time for Romania to have such an influence”, said the PSD MEP.

“I worked in the area of ​​European funding and in the area of ​​cohesion policy. The social portfolio, because we are talking about social Europe, the one that I will have to shepherd in all this effort for Europe’s competitiveness. The social portfolio includes the management of 20% of the EU’s multiannual budget. We are primarily looking at the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), which has a 143 billion euro envelope at European level. In Romania, we have concrete examples of interventions already carried out, the Sprijin vouchers for Romania of 250 lei, energy cards, the Star-Up Nation program, intervention in the area of ​​free medical tests, screenings, etc. The Social Climate Fund – a new financing tool that is being programmed to support vulnerable people in everything that the transition to a green economy, to green energy means. We will start implementing them somewhere from 2026. Here we have an allocation of 65 billion euros, to which are also added the contributions of the member states. Also, my portfolio will include the well-known program, emblematic at the European level, Erasmus, which also has an allocation of 26 billion euros, “ Minzatu stated.