Phil Hogan has been nominated as the European Union's new Trade Commissioner.
The Fine Gael politician has been serving as the Agriculture Commissioner for the past five years.
Hogan says "the appointment comes at a very important time for the European Union and for Ireland."
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has desribed Hogan's appointment as a very positive development for Ireland.
Phil Hogan’s appointment as EU Trade Commissioner is a very positive development for Ireland. We sought a major economic brief in the new European Commission, and I am very satisfied that we have secured it.
— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) September 10, 2019
EU Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen presented her team and the new structure of the next European Commission today.
Von Der Leyen hopes her new team will "take bold action against climate change, build our partnership with the United States, define our relations with a more self-assertive China and be a reliable neighbour, for example to Africa."
The distribution of portfolios to Commissioners-designate.#vdLcommission #EUstrivesformore
Learn more → https://t.co/3PX7FiorEV pic.twitter.com/P6LEaubFaQ
— European Commission 🇪🇺 (@EU_Commission) September 10, 2019
The President-elect says she wants the European Union "to be the guardian of multilateralism. Because we know that we are stronger by doing together what we cannot do alone."
