COLLEGE MEETING: College meeting: European Commission appoints Principal Adviser in DG DEVCO, proposes to extend the term of office of railway agency Executive Director

The European Commission has today appointed Ms Arianna Vannini to the position of a Principal Adviser “Investment strategy for development and innovative financing” in its department for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO). Ms Vannini, an Italian national, joined the Commission from the Bank of Italy in 1995. Over the years, she worked in the private offices of Commissioner Mario Monti responsible for the internal market and for competition; of Vice-President Antonio Tajani in charge of transport, and of the former Commission President José Manuel Barroso. Ms Vannini first became Head of Unit in the Commission Competition policy department (DG COMP) in 2004. Over the years, she held several management positions in the Commission’s departments for competition and for human resources. She is currently Economic Advisor in the private office of High Representative/ Vice-President Federica Mogherini, in charge of, among others, the external financing aspects of EU’s next long-term budget. Also today, the Commission has decided to propose to the Management Board of the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) to extend the term of office of its current Executive Director, Mr Josef Doppelbauer, for a period of five years as of 1 January 2020. Mr Doppelbauer has been managing ERA since 2015, following some 25 years of experience in the railway technology sector.