Commissioner to name cabinet members soon

The team of new research commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva has been assembled and will soon get started, according to a draft list seen by Science|Business.

Andreas Schwarz, a German, is appointed head of her cabinet. A seasoned Brussels operator, he was the former deputy head of cabinet for budget and financial programming commissioner Janusz Lewandowski, and for the vice-president for Budget and Human Resources, Kristalina Georgieva. In March 2023, Schwarz was appointed deputy director general of the European Anti-Fraud Office.

Sophie Alexandrova will act as the deputy head of the cabinet. The French-Bulgarian, who joined the European Commission several years ago, was previously leading the Commission’s unit for ‘workforce foresight.’

Manuel Aleixo, former head of the European Research Area (ERA) and Innovation unit in charge at the Commission’s research directorate, is also down to join the team. Alexio has worked in the European Parliament and as a diplomat in Portugal’s foreign ministry. 

Ann-Sofie Rönnlund is also on Zaharieva’s list. She has held positions in the Commission’s secretariat general and directorate general for Communications Networks, Content and Technology. More recently, she was leading the unit in charge of analysing the impact of the Framework research programme.

The list may not be complete yet, with last minute tweaks expected ahead of an official confirmation due in the coming days. 

The Commission declined to comment on the draft list circulating in Brussels, but research and innovation groups in the EU capital reacted to the rumoured names.

“In Andreas Schwarz, there is a head of cabinet who understands the multiannual financial framework through and through,” said Joep Roet, deputy director at Dutch education and research organisation Neth-ER. 

Zaharieva is expected to deliver the so-called ‘fifth freedom’ of free movement of research, innovation, knowledge and education across all 27 member states. This would enable the Commission and member states to bring a full-fledged ERA to life. 

For Roet, both Aleixo and Rönnlund are “experienced and knowledgeable officials who have cut their teeth on ERA, the innovation principle and the impact of the framework programme.”

Julien Chicot, the head of research and innovation policy at The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities, echoed that view.

“[Aleixo’s] expertise will be key for proposing an ERA act that can effectively reduce fragmentation of European research systems,” he told Science|Business, pointing to the “fantastic job” Aleixo has done in revamping ERA.

On the other hand, Rönnlund has overseen the recent evaluation studies of both Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe. That makes her experience “critical to developing an ambitious FP10,” Chicot said. “She is well aware of the instruments with proven success and the factors of their success,” he said. 

It would seem that Elena Martines – who does not appear in the draft list seen by Science|Business – is joining Zaharieva’s cabinet, after leading a team on coordination and analytics of the European Innovation Council.