Gert Jan Koopman takes up the position of Director-General for budget

As of 1 August 2018 Mr Gert Jan Koopman will be heading the European Commission’s Budget Department, responsible for managing the budget of the European Union. A highly experienced civil servant and manager with over 25 years of service for the European Commission, Mr Koopman is a Dutch national graduated in economics at the University of Amsterdam. Since November 2010 he has been Deputy Director-General for state aid cases and policy at Directorate-General for Competition. Prior to this, he was Director for Policy Strategy and Co-ordination and before that, for the Economic Service and Structural Reform Directorate at the European Commission's Directorate for Economic and Financial Affairs, which he joined in May 2008. In this capacity, he led the work on the structural reform agenda and provided economic advice to all Commission services. Mr Koopman was also a member of the Commission's Impact Assessment Board, which vets all Impact Assessments produced by Commission departments. He was Director for Industrial policy and economic reforms in the Enterprise and Industry Department from January 2005. From 1995 to 2004, Mr Koopman advised Commissioner Neil Kinnock, initially as a Member of his Cabinet with responsibility for Transport, and later as Head of Cabinet when Mr Kinnock was Vice-President for Administrative Reform. Mr Koopman’s vast expertise, as well as his in-depth knowledge of the EU policies and his proven management and communication skills are expected to strengthen the Commission´s budget department  at a moment when the future of the EU finances is being shaped. He will work closely with the Commissioner for budget and human resources Günther Oettinger and his team.