Maria Cristina Russo appointed as Deputy Director-General in European Commission's DG RTD

The European Commission announced the appointment of Maria Cristina Russo as Deputy Director-General in charge of Innovation, Prosperity and International Cooperation in its Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) on 12/11/2025.

Signe Ratso currently holds this position, and the effective date of Russo's appointment will be determined at a later time.

Russo, an Italian national, currently serves as Director for Prosperity at DG RTD. She previously held the position of Director for Global Approach and International Partnerships within the same DG.

Earlier in her career, she was Head of Unit for Financial Services and Redress at the DG for Health and Consumer Affairs. She has also led Units responsible for COREPER I (mainly single market files), Interinstitutional Relations Group and the Strategic Objective Security and Justice at the Secretariat-General.

Before that, she served as a member of the cabinet of Philippe Busquin, Commissioner for Research between 1999 to 2004. She was in charge of the international dimension of the research and innovation policy and of…