Two European Commissioners resign to take up European Parliament seats

Romanian European Commissioner Adina Vălean and Lithuanian European Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius have resigned from the Commission to take up seats in the European Parliament to which they were elected, the EC said on July 15.

Vălean, who held the Transport portfolio, will be part of the centre-right European People’s Party group, while Sinkevičius, who held the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries portfolio, has since the 2024 European Parliament election, been serving as deputy chair of the Greens–European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA) group.

The two had informed EC President Ursula von der Leyen of their resignations. Vălean’s resignation takes effect on July 15 and Sinkevičius’s on July 16.

In order to ensure the continuity of work of the Commission, the Von der Leyen had decided to temporarily assign the responsibilities for Environment, Ocean and Fisheries to Executive Vice-President Šefčovič, in addition to his current portfolio, the EC said.

For the same reason, Von der Leyen has also decided to temporarily assign the responsibilities for Transport to Commissioner Hoekstra, in addition to his current portfolio, the statement said.

(Photo of the European Parliament in Strasbourg: Clive Leviev-Sawyer)

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