Former European Commissioner and MEP Mairead McGuinness has been nominated by Fine Gael as its candidate to become European People’s Party (EPP) vice-president.
Ms McGuinness served as a MEP between 2004 and 2020 when she became Ireland’s commissioner, remaining in that job until last year.
Her name has been mentioned among possible Fine Gael candidates for this year’s Irish presidential election.
Fine Gael is a member of the EPP which has 188 MEPs and is the largest grouping in the European Parliament.
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Voting for the new EPP presidency will take place at the EPP Congress in Valencia, Spain in April where Ms McGuinness will be the Fine Gael candidate competing for one of the 10 vice-president roles.
Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris told his parliamentary party that “there is no one more qualified for this influential role than Mairead McGuinness.”
He said she has “over two decades of experience and a proven track record of serving at the highest levels in the EU institutions”.
Mr Harris added: “Given current geopolitical instability, it is essential that we have a strong Irish voice at the highest levels of EU decision making.”
Ms McGuinness said she was “honoured” to be nominated.
“The EU faces significant uncertainty in an unstable world and our engagement with the EPP political family is never as important as it is today,” she said.
“Ireland’s voice at every level of the EU political infrastructure matters and I hope to bring a solid voice to the EPP Party based on my 20 years of work at EU level.”
Meanwhile, Longford-Westmeath TD Micheál Carrigy has been elected chairman of the Fine Gael parliamentary party.
He said he is “excited for us to work together to deliver on the programme for government and to build the strongest team for Fine Gael.”
Mr Harris said Mr Carrigy is “a dedicated and experienced politician who has consistently demonstrated strong leadership, empathy, and a deep commitment to important causes, especially in the area of disability, over the past five years.”
