The European Commission has confirmed the appointment of Catherine Day as special adviser to Jean-Claude Juncker, following her retirement as secretary general of the commission earlier this month.
Ms Day (61), who stepped down as the EU’s top official on September 1st after almost a decade in the role, will advise the European Commission president on issues related to the MFF (multi-annual financial framework), the EU’s seven-year budget.
As secretary general of the commission, Ms Day worked closely on the current MFF, which runs from 2014 to 2020. The position will be unpaid. Her appointment was widely expected.
Ms Day will become the fifth special adviser appointed by Mr Juncker since his election last year.
Former EU internal markets commissioner Michel Barnier was appointed as Mr Juncker’s security and defence adviser in February, while Dacian Ciolos, agriculture commissioner in the last commission, was appointed as adviser on food security in July.
Ms Day was appointed secretary general of the European Commission in 2005, having worked there since 1979.
She succeeded compatriot David O’ Sullivan – now EU ambassador to Washington – as secretary general of the commission during José Manuel Barroso’s first term as president.
Dutchman Alexander Italianer, previously head of the commission’s competition directorate-general, has been appointed the new secretary general.
UCD graduate Ms Day has played a leading role in various aspects of EU policy, including recent official discussions on the upcoming British referendum on EU membership, the Greek crisis and migration policy.
A native of Mount Merrion in Dublin, Ms Day began her career in Brussels in 1979, having previously worked for the Confederation of Irish Industry.
In the commission, she worked for a number of EU commissioners including Irish EU commissioners Richard Burke and Peter Sutherland, and former British commissioner Leon Brittan .
She was appointed deputy director-general for external relations under Chris Patten in 2001 and was centrally involved in the EU’s enlargement in 2004, which saw 10 central and east European states join.
