Brussels, 24 July 2024
The European Commission has decided today to appoint Sophia Eriksson Waterschoot as Deputy Director General at the Commission’s Directorate-General for Communication (DG COMM). This department is responsible for communicating to the media and the public the political priorities of the Commission and EU policies, and it also keeps the Commission abreast of political developments and of trends in public opinion and the media. The date of effect will be determined later.
Ms Eriksson Waterschoot has an extensive professional background spanning over 25 years at the Commission in various roles, including at managerial level. Her career path boasts a proven track record of successful projects in corporate communication activities and campaigns, equipping her with high-level interpersonal, decision-making, and negotiation skills. She has played a leading role in shaping the Commission’s political communication, with a particular emphasis on the youth. She has managed EU flagship programmes such as Erasmus+, the Presidential initiative ‘2022 European Year of Youth,’ and the EU ‘Youth Strategy 2019-2027′. She has also played an instrumental role in the design and launch of the ‘European Solidarity Corps’ and ‘DiscoverEU.’ She is a highly effective communicator, which will help her build partnerships and successfully engage external and internal stakeholders in her new function.
Sophia Eriksson Waterschoot, a Swedish national, currently holds the position of Director for ‘Youth, Education and Erasmus+’ at the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC). She has also held various positions within the same department, including Head of Unit for ‘Europe 2020, Investment Plan, Education and Training 2020,’ and Adviser to the Deputy Director-General. Earlier in her career, she was a Member of the Cabinet of the former Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism, and Youth, Androulla Vassiliou.
Before joining the Commission in 1996, she worked as a research assistant for the Swedish Trade Union Institute for Economic Research under the Ministry of Labour.
Source – EU Commission