According to one of the officials, Weyand will not work at the Secretariat-General but will be sent to the European University Institute in Florence, where she will take up a teaching position while drawing her EU salary.
“It’s a three-way musical chairs game,” one EU official said, describing the cascading nature of the changes.
Weyand’s departure opens the door for Ditte Juul Jørgensen, previously director-general for energy, to take over DG Trade.
Jørgensen’s shift, in turn, creates a vacancy at the energy department, which has been filled by Céline Gauer, the current director-general for reform and investment.
Gauer, considered a close ally of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, had been viewed as a contender for the Commission’s competition chief role, which ultimately went to Anthony Whelan.
The reshuffle concludes with Gauer’s former post being assigned to Declan Costello, who moves from the Commission’s economic and financial affairs department (DG ECFIN).
This is the first significant reorganisation of top posts since von der Leyen took office in 2019.