KARMENU VELLA EUROPEAN UNION COMMISSIONERS

KARMENU VELLA

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During his professional career, Karmenu Vella has held a number of managerial and directorship posts. In 1973 he started his own private practice as an Architect and Civil Engineer, and during that same year he was appointed a director until 1976 on Mid Med Bank - Malta. In 1974 he joined the Libyan Arab Maltese Holding Company as its Managing Director until 1981. During that period he also served as a director on a number of the company's subsidiaries which included: Mediterranean Aviation Co Ltd., Medelec Switchgear Co Ltd., Mediterranean Power Electric Co Ltd., Rotos Zirayia Pumps Co Ltd., and Plastic Processing Co Ltd. In 2001 he was appointed executive chairman of Corinthia Hotels International till 2007 and then executive chairman of Corinthia's Mediterranean Construction Co Ltd., up to 2010. In 2010 he joined Betfair Group Ltd. as a director and sat on SMS-Mondial Travel Group's Board as chairman until 2013.

Karmenu Vella is the Commissioner for Maritime affairs and Fisheries and a member of the European Commission. The portfolio includes policies such as the Common Fisheries Policy, which is largely a competence of the European Union rather than the members. The Union has 66,000 km of coastline and the largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world, covering 25 million km². They also participate in meetings of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council (Agrifish) configuration of the Council of the European Union.

Since Brexit, the EU have negotiated rights to fish in British waters, underscoring the value of fish to their economy. Sadly, fish are becoming more toxic as plastic pours into our oceans, mostly, via rivers that are incredibly dirty and not filtered at all, or monitored effectively to identify the sources of pollution. As a result, fish are becoming carcinogenic and potentially dangerous to humans.

Other issues that Mr Vella might be interested in, is the transition to zero emission shipping that is underway in confused manner, but nevertheless, ships, ferries and fishing boats are now required to be cleaner running, so phasing out disgusting black diesel bunker fuel particulates from exhausts, that are one of the causes of acid oceans.

His responsibilities in this role include:

* Protecting our environment while maintaining Europe's competitiveness.

* Harnessing the potential of our land and seas to create sustainable jobs that preserve our natural resources.

* Implementing the new Common Fisheries Policy.

* Leading the task, with our global partners, of defining the management and governance of our planet’s oceans.

Karmenu Vella is part of the following Project Teams:

* Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness

* Energy Union

* Better Regulation and Interinstitutional Affairs

* Budget and Human Resources

BURGAS MAY 31 2018: Karmenu Vella giving the opening speech at the European Maritime Day in Burgas, Bulgaria. In 2022, the marine plastic problem is worse than ever, the EU having failed (so far) to implement any sort of clean up plan. Clearly, EU policies are not working fast enough, or at all, concerning societal challenges of this magnitude

QUESTIONS ANSWERED: Karmenu Vella is sitting here with Bernhard Friess who chaired the question and answer section before the lunch break on the 9th of November 2017. Bernhard is the Director of Maritime Policy and the Blue Economy DG MARE. Read Commissioner Vella's inspiring speech in Bonn on the 11th November 2017.

The European Union established a Commission to act as their executive and to promote its general interests. The Commission is composed of the College of Commissioners comprised of 28 members, including the President and Vice-Presidents. The Commissioners, one from each EU country, are the Commission's political leadership during a 5-year term. Each Commissioner is assigned responsibility for specific policy areas by the President.


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Ursula von der Leyen President	Frans Timmermans 1st Vice President	Federica Mogherini High Representative, V. President	Andrus Ansip Vice President
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Maroš Šefčovič Vice President	Valdis Dombrovskis Vice President	Jyrki Katainen Vice President	Günther H. Oettinger Commissioner
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Johannes Hahn Commissioner	Cecilia Malmström Commissioner	Neven Mimica Commissioner	Miguel Arias Cañete Commissioner
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Karmenu Vella Commissioner	Vytenis Andriukaitis Commissioner	Dimitris Avramopoulos Commissioner	Marianne Thyssen Commissioner
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Pierre Moscovici Commissioner	Christos Stylianides Commissioner	Phil Hogan Commissioner	Violeta Bulc Commissioner
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Elżbieta Bieńkowska Commissioner	Věra Jourová Commissioner	Tibor Navracsics Commissioner	Corina Crețu Commissioner
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Margrethe Vestager Commissioner	Carlos Moedas Commissioner	Julian King Commissioner	Mariya Gabriel Commissioner

THE COMMISSION - Group photograph of the European Commissioners in 2017.

LINKS & REFERENCE

Role

Project team

Name

http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/maritimeday/

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/commissioners/2014-2019_en

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