EU competition chief Vestager gains power in new Commission

European competition chief Margrethe Vestager, whose tough line with US tech giants has enraged Washington, won a strengthened role in the incoming EU Commission on Tuesday.

Unveiling her top team, new European Commission president Ursula von de Leyen said the Dane would keep the anti-trust brief and step up to be an executive vice-president.

Vestager was the star of the outgoing commission, upsetting Berlin and Paris by opposing a merger between train-makers Alstom and Siemens and clashing with the White House.

Last year, US President Donald Trump complained to outgoing commission head Jean-Claude Juncker about Vestager's efforts to regulate big tech, and declared: "Your tax lady, she really hates the US."
"The only aspect that matters in assigning portfolios is quality and excellence," von der Leyen said, describing former Danish minister Vestager's performance at competition as "outstanding."
"This commission will be a geopolitical commission, I want the European Union and thus the commission to be the guardian of multilateralism, because we know that we are stronger by doing together what we cannot do alone."
"The Brexit, should it happen, is not the end of something but it's the beginning of our future relationship."
"He has proven to be vociferous on Brexit, and I am sure that this will continue in his new role."