The European Commission has announced four senior management appointments across its Reform and Investment Task Force, financial services directorate and in-house science service, with decisions taking effect from mid-2026 or later.
Declan Costello has been appointed Director-General of the Reform and Investment Task Force (SG REFORM) from 16 July 2026, according to the Commission's release issued on Tuesday.
The task force manages the Recovery and Resilience Facility — the EU funding programme set up to support member states’ recoveries from the Covid-19 crisis under NextGenerationEU.
Costello, an Irish national, is currently Deputy Director-General at SG REFORM and joined the Commission in 1991.
He previously held a series of senior roles in the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), including Director for member states’ economies and Mission Chief for Greece.
María Teresa Fábregas Fernández has been appointed Deputy Director-General at SG REFORM from 16 July 2026.
She is currently a Director involved in establishing the task force and previously served as Director for Indirect Taxation and Tax Administration in the Commission’s tax and customs directorate, DG TAXUD.
Financial services and the Joint Research Centre
Paulina Dejmek Hack has been appointed Deputy Director-General in the Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union (DG FISMA), the Commission said.
The start date will be set later, it added.
Dejmek Hack, a Swedish-Czech national, is currently Head of Cabinet to Commissioner Jessika Roswall and has previously served as Director for General Affairs in DG FISMA and as Director of the Commission task force for relations with the United Kingdom. She joined the institution in 2004.
Maive Rute has been transferred “in the interest of the service” to become Deputy Director-General of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) from 1 September 2026. The JRC provides research and advice to EU policymaker.
Rute, an Estonian national, is currently Deputy Director-General in the Commission’s internal market and industry department, DG GROW, and previously served as Deputy Director-General at the JRC. She joined the Commission in 2005 after working in banking and consultancy.
