The European Commission appoints a new Deputy Director-General for its Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety

The European Commission has decided to appoint Lorena Boix Alonso to the function of Deputy Director-General responsible for ‘Public Health, Cancer and Health security', ‘Digital EU4Health and Health Systems Modernisation', ‘Medical Products and Innovation' within the Directorate-General for Health (DG SANTE). This Commission department is responsible for EU policy on food safety and health and for monitoring the implementation of related laws. The date of effect will be determined later.

With two decades of service at the Commission, Ms Boix Alonso has developed extensive expertise in the digital domain, particularly in digital health policies and programmes. She has led key initiatives, such as the the ‘European Cancer Imaging initiative, the Genomic infrastructure', the ‘Digital Twin of the Human Body' and the EU COVID certificate. Her ability to develop and achieve strategic health policy objectives, combined with her managerial skills, contributed to the successful implementation of the EU e-ID Wallet Regulation. This regulation enables the storage and cross-border use of e-prescriptions, access to e-health records, and the secure provision and sharing of personal health data. Additionally, Ms Boix Alonso has experience in policymaking, legislation, implementation, enforcement, and crisis management in cybersecurity and e-privacy.

Lorena Boix Alonso, a Spanish national, currently serves as the Director for Digital Society, Trust, and Cybersecurity at the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT). Throughout her career, she has held progressively responsible positions in the Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP) and DG CNECT. Her experience includes serving as Deputy Head of Cabinet for Digital Agenda and Competition under former Vice President for Competition Neelie Kroes. Ms Boix Alonso joined the Commission in 2003 and is a lawyer by training.

(For more information: Balazs Ujvari - Tel.: +32 2 295 45 78; Veronica Favalli – Tel.: +32 2 298 72 69)