The Danish commissioner was handed the same role but with significantly beefed-up powers for the next five years by the incoming European Commission president. Having spent the last five years handing multi-billion euro fines to US firms Google, Apple and Nike, her reappointment will send shockwaves through the White House. Ms Vestager was once branded the EU’s “tax lady” by Mr Trump after the bloc’s recent clashes with the American tech giants.
The US President claimed the Danish eurocrat “hates the United States perhaps worse than any person I’ve ever met,” in his June rant.
Under Ms Vestager’s guidance, the EU’s competition and antitrust supremos dished out over £7 billion in fines to tech giants Google.
And after losing out on the race to become the next Commission president, the Dane has been handed even more powers by her new boss Ms von der Leyen.
As a new executive vice-president, she will oversee the bloc’s policing of mergers, state aid, and lead Brussels’ entire digital policy strategy.
Ms von der Leyen said the expanded role was a “perfect combination” for Ms Vestager.
The German added: “There is a huge field in front of her.
“The only aspect that matters on portfolios and experience.
“Margrethe Vestager has done an outstanding job as a commissioner for competition.”
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His role will feature a great deal of scrutiny over Rome’s new coalition government, of which he is a member, budget when it is published.
Brussels repeatedly clashed with the Five Star Movement and League coalition in an attempt to limit Rome’s public debt, but the government has since been collapsed by Matteo Salvini.
Latvia’s Valdis Dombrovskis, in his new role as executive vice-president for “an economy that works for people” will be tasked with overseeing Mr Gentiloni’s handling of the position.
During a press conference to announce her new Commission, Ms von der Leyen stressed that she wanted to streamline her new team despite the staggering number of new roles being created.
She said she wants to adopt a “one in one our principle” on making new EU laws, including an “instrument to measure” how this is delivered.
She added: “We want to cut red tape.”