Political shakeups could further disrupt EU R&D leadership

Commission official recently put in charge of research now in running to head EU bank

Political responsibility for research and innovation in the European Commission could be set to change hands again, with executive-vice-president Margrethe Vestager announcing she is a candidate to become the next head of the European Investment Bank.

Vestager (pictured) primarily has responsibility for competition, but was given the R&I brief last month after the then R&I commissioner Mariya Gabriel resigned to co-lead the government of her native Bulgaria.