Commission appoints new Director-General of DG TREN

Publication date: 21 December 2005

Mr. Matthias Ruete was appointed today Director-General of the Energy and Transport Directorate-General. In his new function, Mr. Ruete will provide, under the guidance of Vice-President Barrot and of Commissioner Piebalgs, responsible for Transport and for Energy, the overall strategic direction, management and governance of the Directorate-General and lead the policy development of the energy and transport areas, including nuclear safety and security. He will have to ensure effective planning and management of the activities of the Directorate-General, to provide guidance and to supervise and control its performance. He will also have to ensure the coherence and consistency of the policies of the Directorate-General with the overall objectives of the Commission.

A German national, aged 54, Mr. Ruete joined the Commission in 1986 as Administrator responsible for “Public health and radio-protection” in the Social Affairs Directorate-General.

Since January 2005, he was Director for coordination for competitiveness in the Directorate-General Enterprise and Industry, and as such in charge of the coordination of the directorate-general and the industry, the Community Lisbon Programme, the Group of competitiveness Council commissioners and the competitiveness and Innovation programme. He was moreover in charge of the areas of international industrial affairs, institutional relations and industrial questions of competition policy.

Between 2000 and 2004, Mr Ruete was successively Director for Coordination of negotiations, pre-accession and financial instruments and from 2003 onwards Director for Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Coordination in DG Enlargement.

From 1998 to 2000, he was Director for international relations, trans-European transports and infrastructures in Directorate-General Transport.

Between 1995 and 1998, he worked as a Member and afterwards as Head of the Cabinet of the Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Education.

From 1986 to 1993, he served in the Internal Market and Industrial Affairs Directorate-General first as Administrator responsible for Intellectual property and audio-visual policy and later as Assistant to the Director General.

Mr. Ruete will be taking up his new post in January 2006.