Ms Niovi Ringou, a Greek national, will draw on her strong policy background, her communication and managerial skills and legal expertise in EU matters in her new function.Since 2014, she has been working in the Justice Policy and Rule of Law Unit in Directorate-General for Justice (JUST), where she was appointed as Head of Unit in 2018. Since 2002, she has been working in DG JUST, where she was first Deputy Head of Unit in the Data Protection Unit and the Civil Justice Unit. She joined the European Commission in 1989, in the Directorate-General for Internal Market, where she worked on the planning and coordination of the "Dialogue with Citizens" programme. She notably worked for the first awareness raising campaign for the citizens' rights in the single market. Previously, she worked on the harmonisation of company law. Ms Ringou is a lawyer who graduated from the Faculty of Law of Athens University and from the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne where she specialised in European Law (DEA).
Mr De Rynck, a Belgian national, brings with him a wide range of experience in EU affairs and policies gained during his 25-year career in the European Commission, including in communication and public diplomacy. He was Head of Unit in various departments, most recently for the Brexit Task Forces and in the Directorate General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, where he was in charge of free movement of capital and enforcement. In 2016, he took on the role of adviser to Michel Barnier, the European Commission's former Chief Negotiator for Brexit. Prior to that, he worked as Head of the Communication Unit in the Directorate General for Single Market and Financial Services, and as Head of Unit for Editorial Contents and Media Analysis in the Directorate-General for Communication. Earlier in his career, he was a spokesperson responsible for Transport policy and for the Convention on the Future of Europe and Intergovernmental Conference (2001-2004). He also spent several years of his career working on regional and urban policy. Prior to joining the European Commission, Mr De Rynck was a research fellow and consultant for the Institute for Government at the University of Leuven. He holds a PhD from the European University Institute in Florence, and has published widely on various EU and Belgian public policy issues.
Background
The Commission maintains Representations in all capitals of EU Member States, and Regional Offices in Barcelona, Bonn, Marseille, Milan, Munich and Wroclaw. The Representations are the Commission's eyes, ears and voice on the ground in EU Member States. They interact with national authorities, stakeholders and citizens, and inform the media and the public about EU policies. Heads of Representation are appointed by the President of the European Commission and are her political representatives in the Member State to which they are posted.
