Source: European Parliament
Henna Virkkunen is a Finnish politician and member of the National Coalition Party, which is affiliated with the European People’s Party group in the European Parliament. She has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2014, serving inter alia on the Committees on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), and Transport and Tourism (TRAN). She was also a member of the Committee of Inquiry investigating the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware (PEGA) and the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age (AIDA). In Parliament, Virkkunen has worked on various technology and cybersecurity dossiers such as the Digital Services Act, the Cyber-Resilience Act and the Connecting Europe Facility. Before her election to the European Parliament, Virkkunen was a member of the Finnish Parliament (2007-2014) and was part of the Finnish government as minister for education and science, minister for public administration and local government, and transport minister. Born in 1972 in Joutsa, Finland, Virkkunen holds master’s (2001) and bachelor’s degrees (2000) from the University of Jyväskylä. This is one of a set of briefings designed to give an overview of issues of interest relating to the portfolios of the Commissioners designate. All these briefings can be found at: https://epthinktank.eu/commissioner_hearings_2024.