Despite the appointment of Brian Hayes, there will be a strong Dutch presence among the rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs. A former junior minister in the current Irish coalition government, Hayes spent three years in the Department of Finance. He will act as rapporteur for the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON). As a Fine Gael MEP, he is a member of the European People’s Party (EPP) and was appointed to ECON after joining parliament in July. He is also vice-chair of the parliamentary delegation for relations with Iraq. His appointment comes after several months of uncertainty over the appointment of a rapporteur, who facilitates the passage of legislation and leads negotiations between Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission.
Several people with knowledge of the situation said that the EPP was behind schedule in naming the rapporteur. Many were hopeful that German Christian Democrat MEP Thomas Mann, an ECON substitute member and former rapporteur for a report on demographic challenges, would be appointed. Jeroen Lenaers, a Dutch member of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee, has been named its rapporteur,
The other main political factions have appointed rapporteurs to shadow Hayes, with a further three Dutch MEPs among them. Paul Tang, a member of the Dutch Labour Party, will represent the Socialists & Democrats (S&D), Bas Eickhout will represent the Green parliamentary faction. Eickhout was previously a member of ECON and was appointed as a substitute late last year.
Sophie in ‘t Veld, the third Dutch MEP, will represent the interests of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats. She is also a former member of ECON and has acted as rapporteur and shadow rapporteur on a number of matters relating to civil liberties.
The European Conservatives and Reformists Group will be represented by Ashley Fox, in his first term as a UK MEP and an ECON substitute, and Spanish MEP Teresa Rodríguez-Rubio will represent the European United Left.
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