In an article on the social media platformRibera said it was “an honor” to be proposed as the party’s top candidate.
This nomination increases the chances that she will become Spain’s candidate for commissioner: the country’s current representative to the Commission, Josep Borrell, has indicated that he is not interested in running again.
Ribera – a universally respected technocrat who recently led EU climate diplomacy at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, alongside current EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra – is widely seen as the ideal candidate for hold a vice-presidency linked to the Green Deal at the Commission.
Speaking to POLITICO during negotiations on a global plastics treaty in Canada, Ribera said she is committed to the idea “that there is no lasting economic prosperity if we don’t take taking into consideration environmental aspects.
“From that point of view, I feel quite comfortable doing it at home in Spain, but I also feel quite comfortable doing it in Europe.”
In January, she told POLITICO that she had “no aspirations” to move to Brussels. Having lived abroad for several years as head of a Paris-based think tank, she said life as an expat was not one she wanted to return to.
Jordan Wolman and Aitor Hernández-Morales contributed reporting.
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