Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in her post on “X”, referred to the choice of far-right Raffaele Fito as one of the executive vice-presidents of the new European Commission.

Fito, European affairs minister in the Meloni government, is the first member of a far-right populist party to take up the position of executive vice-president of the European Commission.

“Congratulations to Raffaele Fito, who has been appointed Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, with responsibilities for Cohesion and Reforms. An important recognition, which confirms that our nation once again plays a central role in the context of the EU”, writes Meloni.

“Italy once again secures, finally, a leading role in Europe. Good job, Raffaele, we are sure you will work in the best possible way for the interest of Italy and Europe.”

A former MEP, once co-chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists group in the European Parliament, Raffaele Fito is considered a Meloni loyalist, whose faction, the Brothers of Italy (FdI), he joined after being a long-time rising star of Forza Italia, the right-wing party of the former head of the Italian government and billionaire Silvio Berlusconi, who died in 2023.

Six vice-presidents of the new Commission (4 women and 2 men)

As Ursula von der Leyen announced, the new Commission will have 6 executive vice-presidents: 4 women and 2 men.

  • Teresa Ribeira (Spain) will be executive vice president of a clean, fair and competitive transition. She will also be responsible for competition policy. He will lead work to ensure that Europe meets its targets set out in the European Green Deal.
  • Hena Virkunen (Finland) will be the executive vice president for Technology, Security and Democracy. She will also be responsible for the digital and cutting-edge technology portfolio. “I will have Henna look into the internal and external aspects of security. But also to strengthen the foundations of our democracy, such as the rule of law, and to protect it wherever it is attacked”, said the president of the Commission.
  • Stephane Cezournet (France) will be the executive vice president for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy. He will also be responsible for the industry, SME and Single Market portfolio. “He will lead the work to create the conditions for the growth of our companies – from investment and innovation to economic stability and trade and financial security,” said Ursula von der Leyen.
  • Kaya Kalas (Estonia) she will be the High Representative and Vice-President of the EU. “We are in an era of geostrategic rivalries and instability. Our foreign and security policy must be designed with this reality in mind and must be more aligned with our own interests,” the Commission president said, adding: “I know I can count on her” to ensure that we will remain a Geopolitical Committee.
  • Rohana Minzatou (Romania) is the executive vice president for People, Skills and Readiness. It will have responsibility for skills, education and culture, quality jobs and social rights. R. Minzatou will mainly lead the Skills Union and the European Pillar of Social Rights. It will focus on those areas that are critical to uniting society.
  • Raffaele Fito (Italy) he will be the executive vice-president for Cohesion and Reforms. He will be responsible for the portfolio dealing with cohesion policy, regional development and cities. “We will draw on his extensive experience to help modernize and strengthen our cohesion, investment and growth policies,” the Commission president said.