New Directors General to head up Enterprise and Information Society DGs
New Directors General will take charge of the Enterprise and Information Society DGs of the European Commission on 1 July 2002 under changes introduced by a Commission decision on the mobility of senior staff. The moves are part of a wider re-shuffle intended to ensure that by the end of 2002, no Commission Director General or Deputy Director General will have been in the same post for longer than seven years. Italian Fabio Colasanti, currently Director General of DG Enterprise, will take up the post of Director General at DG Information Society. Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen said: 'I am sure that Fabio Colasanti will be a strong figure when meeting future challenges, when we reinforce the role of information and communication technologies in the economy [and] society, when we implement the new telecoms package and when we prepare for the new eEurope Action Plan for 2005.' The current Information Society Director General, Robert Verrue, from France, will take the same post at the head of the Tax and Customs Union DG. Mr Liikanen commended Mr Verrue's 'rigour and integrity,' adding that the DG has seen through major reforms, including the telecoms package and the eEurope Action Plan, under his leadership. Frenchman Jean-Paul Mingasson, currently heading up the Budget DG, will become Director General of DG Enterprise. Mr Liikanen welcomed the appointment. 'I'm happy that Jean-Paul is joining us and I'm sure that he will be a strong partner in the enterprise world and a competent and visionary leader of our services,' he said. An advertisement for the post of Deputy Director General of the Research DG, in charge of the European research area, will be published both inside and outside the Commission on 3 May 2002.