Kurt Vandenberghe to take up position in January 2023 after multiple research and innovation roles
A former senior official for research and innovation in the European Commission has been picked to lead the climate department of the EU institution.
Kurt Vandenberghe, a Belgian national with a 26-year history in the Commission, will take up his post as director-general of its Directorate-General for Climate Action on 16 January 2023.
At present, Vandenberghe is an adviser to Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on the European Green Deal—the EU’s policy package for reaching climate neutrality by 2050. Before that he was a director in the research and innovation department, where his responsibilities included climate action and resource efficiency.
Other previous roles include positions in the cabinets of two former R&I commissioners, including head of cabinet for Janez Potočnik, who served as both R&I and climate commissioner.
Jan Palmowski, secretary general of the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities, wrote on Twitter that Vandenberghe “has a deep knowledge of climate policies, but also of R&I”, adding that this “can [and] must enhance our capacity to develop more effective programmes…through synergies” between the EU’s climate and R&I departments.
Kurt Deketelaere, secretary general of the League of European Research Universities and a fellow Belgian, said Vandenberghe’s appointment was “fantastic news for Kurt, Flanders, Belgium and the EU”.
The Commission R&I department is still awaiting the appointment of its own director general, after the departure of Jean-Eric Paquet, who is now EU ambassador to Japan. It is being led on an interim basis by Signe Ratso, another official with extensive experience within the department.