Cecilia Malmstrom Selected as New Commissioner for Trade

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September 15,2014

    Cecilia Malmstrom of Sweden will be the new Commissioner for Trade for the European Commission.  A letter to Malmstrom from President-Elect Jean-Claude Juncker stated that the Trade Commissioner would work closely with the Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness.  Additionally, the letter referenced the new organization of the Commission, which would require the Trade Commissioner to work “closely” with the Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness.  Malmstrom will also collaborate with Italian High Representative Federica Mogherini who will “steer and coordinate the work of all Commissioners with regard to external relations through a Commissioners’ Group on External Action to develop a joint approach.”  According to a former EU official, the new structure of the European Commission “sets up a de facto double layer of Commissioners, those who lead and those who collaborate.

    In the letter sent to the Malmstrom, Juncker stated that the Commissioner will focus on “continuing to engage fully in the World Trade Organisation and multilateral trade processes,” negotiating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, “taking forward the various bilateral and regional negotiations” and “taking stock of the use of our trade defense instruments.”  In addition to working with the Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Development and the High-Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, she will collaborate with “the Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development and the Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs to strengthen the EU’s strategic partnership with Africa.”  One of her other tasks will be to increase transparency within the Commission.

    Malmstrom currently works as the Commissioner of the European Commission in charge of Home Affairs.  She received a B.A. from Göteborg University in Sweden and later earned her Ph.D. from the same institution in Political Science.  Her past work focused on international crime and human trafficking.  From 1999 to 2006, she was a member of the European Parliament and concentrated on foreign affairs, human rights issues, and constitutional matters.  In 2006, she became the minster for EU affairs for the Swedish government.  Malmstrom stated that she worked on “issues such as the Lisbon Treaty, the EU strategy for growth and employment and the review of the EU budget,” and also “coordinated the preparatory work and the implementation of the Swedish Presidency of the EU.”

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