7 May 2026 – The European Commission has thoroughly shaken up the leadership of its most important trade-policy Directorate-General, DG Trade, as of 1 June 2026. Sabine Weyand is leaving; Juul Jørgensen is arriving. Where is DG Trade heading under the new leadership?
Changes at DG Trade: Fresh start or more corporate lobbying?
The European Commission has thoroughly shaken up the leadership of its most important trade-policy Directorate-General as of 1 June 2026: Sabine Weyand is leaving the top of DG Trade – and is moving, somewhat euphemistically labelled as a “Hors Classe Adviser,” towards the Secretariat-General and a research stay at the European University Institute. Her successor will be Ditte Juul Jørgensen, previously Director-General for Energy.
Sabine Weyand’s dismissal gives pause for thought
We admit it: Sabine Weyand’s dismissal gives us pause – and we do not say that lightly. During her time in office, Weyand often represented trade-policy positions that ran counter to our conviction in open markets and rules-based free trade. And yet: one always knew what one was dealing with. A civil servant with real expertise, strategic depth, and the backbone to navigate politically treacherous waters. That is rarer in Brussels than the sheer number of Directors-General might suggest. Respect is due here, even across ideological differences.
Where Is DG Trade Heading Under New Leadership?
What remains is the question of where DG Trade is heading under new leadership. Juul Jørgensen’s file reads as thoroughly competent, but in recent years her background has been more in energy and regulation than in international trade law. That alone would not be a flaw – provided she is willing to listen. To whom she listens is the decisive question.
DG Trade Biased on Trade Defence Measures
Because the more recent history of DG Trade in the field of trade defence measures – steel, stainless steel, the EU safeguard successor – is no glorious chapter of liberal trade policy. What was marketed there as “protecting European industry” was, in truth, all too often the protection of a handful of large steel producers at the expense of the many.
The concerns of small and medium-sized downstream processors, traders, and importers – Europe’s industrial backbone and economic engine – were systematically marginalized; their submissions in consultation procedures were, at best, acknowledged and practically never seriously weighted. The lobbying apparatus of the major corporations has done a thorough job in these years. DG Trade not only let it have its way, but actively supported it.
SME-Friendly Trade Policy Is Not a Matter of Ideology
The new Director-General has the chance to change that. She should use it. SME-friendly trade policy is not a matter of ideology, but of economic reason. Anyone who wants to break the backbone should know: the patient bears the burden – but at some point, he also votes.
Whether Juul Jørgensen knows this lesson remains to be seen. She will also have to prove that she is not merely another compliant vassal of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen – whose governing style has repeatedly been described in recent months as autocratic and centralist. For now, however: a cautious welcome and our sincerely skeptical observer’s eye.
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