The European Commission appoints two new Heads of Representation in Athens and Brussels

Today, the Commission has appointed two new Heads of the Representation for Greece and Belgium.

Ms Niovi Ringou will start in her new function in Athens on 16 May 2021. Mr Stefaan De Rynck will take up his duties as Head of Representation in Brussels on 16 March 2021. Heads of Representation act as the official representatives of the Commission in the Member States under the political authority of President Ursula von der Leyen.

Ms Niovi Ringou, a Greek national, will draw on her strong policy background, her communication and managerial skills and legal expertise in EU matters in her new function. She is a lawyer who graduated from the Faculty of Law of Athens University and from the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne where she specialised in European Law (DEA).

Mr De Rynck, a Belgian national, brings with him a wide range of experience in EU affairs and policies gained during his 25-year career in the European Commission, including in communication and public diplomacy. He was Head of Unit in various departments, most recently for the Brexit Task Forces and in the Directorate General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, where he was in charge of free movement of capital and enforcement. Prior to joining the European Commission, Mr De Rynck was a research fellow and consultant for the Institute for Government at the University of Leuven. He holds a PhD from the European University Institute in Florence, and has published widely on various EU and Belgian public policy issues. /BGNES