McGuinness will not contest Euro elections

She currently holds the Commission’s Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union portfolio. Recently she announced that she will not contest the MEP elections next year. She will have served 20 years in Europe in 2024, between her parliamentary and commission roles, and has represented Ireland impressively over that period. Many pundits expected her to throw her hat in the ring to replace Ursula von der Leyen as president of the European Commission. Mairead McGuinness’s recent announcement will pile more pressure on the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, especially as an extra seat has been added in the Midlands North-West constituency where Mairead got almost a quarter of the votes in 2019.
Last month, Commissioner McGuinness delivered the eleventh Michael Dillon Memorial Lecture, organised by the Guild of Agricultural Journalists of Ireland. 

The Michael Dillon Memorial Lecture was attended by agri-industry leaders and journalists from across the island and is named in honour of the late Michael Dillon, who was a founding member of the Guild in 1961. Michael’s breadth of experience in the field of agricultural journalism was almost peerless, spanning several decades as he worked in radio, television and print journalism as well as balancing a career in farming. Previous speakers have included former president Mary Robinson, former European Commissioners Phil Hogan, Ray McSharry and the late Peter Sutherland.