Florika Fink-Hooijer (born 1962) is a Senior EU official at the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

. She leads the

Directorate-General for the Environment Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission, responsible for the Environmental policy of the European Union. In 2010 "relevant limate changeactivities in DG Environment" were moved to the n ...

, which under her helm became a trailblazer for advancing the green transformation putting circularity and resource efficiency at the heart of the EU

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

an
competitiveness
agenda. Florika Fink-Hooijer joined the

in 1990 and has held various high level and senior management posts in the area of external (bilateral) policy as well as foreign and security policy,

humanitarian aid Humanitarian aid is material and Humanitarian Logistics, logistic assistance, usually in the short-term, to people in need. Among the people in need are the homelessness, homeless, refugees, and victims of natural disasters, wars, and famines. Th ...

disaster risk reduction Disaster risk reduction aims to make disasters less likely to happen. The approach, also called DRR or disaster risk management, also aims to make disasters less damaging when they do occur. DRR aims to make communities stronger and better prepared ...

and

environmental protection Environmental protection, or environment protection, refers to the taking of measures to protecting the natural environment, prevent pollution and maintain ecological balance. Action may be taken by individuals, advocacy groups and governments. ...

Early life and education

Fink-Hooijer was born in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, and raised in

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

. She is the second of three children born to Dr. Bertold Fink, a supreme court judge at the Federal Administrative Court of West Germany (Bundesverwaltungsgericht), and Margret Fink (originally Witte), a senior business teacher (Gewerbeoberstudienrätin). Fink-Hooijer pursued her legal studies at the

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

and at the

Université de Lausanne The University of Lausanne (UNIL; ) in Lausanne, Switzerland, was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestant theology, before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second-oldest in Switzerland, and one of the oldest universities ...

. She went on to complete a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International and Comparative Law from the

Vrije Universiteit Brussel The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Dutch language, Dutch, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated VUB) is a Dutch- and English-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has four campuses: Brussels Humanities, Science and Engine ...

. Subsequently, she obtained a Ph.D. in copyright law from the

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...

, with a dissertation focusing on the subject of immediate termination in copyright contract law. Prior to joining the European Commission, she worked at the law firms of Nordemann, Vinck & Hertin in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, and

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek N.V. is a Dutch law firm headquartered in Amsterdam with branch offices in Brussels, London, Shanghai and Singapore. The firm has 60 partners and 300 other qualified lawyers. The firm was founded in 1871. Areas of ...

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

European career

Fink-Hooijer began her career as a European civil servant in the European Commission in 1990. Her initial roles included positions as an administrator in the Internal Market and External Policies departments, as well as in the Secretariat-General, where she contributed extensively to EU policy documentation.

Cabinet of Commissioner Monika Wulf-Mathies, 1995-1998

In 1995, Fink-Hooijer joined the Cabinet of

Monika Wulf-Mathies Monika Wulf-Mathies (born 17 March 1942) is a German politician, who was European Commissioner for Regional Policy. Early life Wulf-Mathies was born in the rural town of Wernigerode in 1942 after her family was evacuated from wartime Hamburg. Ca ...

, the Commissioner responsible for EU

Regional Policy Regional policy is the sum of a series of policies formulated according to regional differences to coordinate regional relations and regional macro operation mechanism, which affects regional development at the macro level. It includes regional eco ...

. In this role, she was instrumental in developing th
pre-accession instruments
as part of the

Agenda 2000 Agenda 2000 was an action programme of the European Union whose main objectives were to reform the Common Agricultural Policy and Regional policy, and establish a new financial framework for the years 2000–06 with a view to the then upcoming E ...

initiative and handled broader legal and institutional affairs.

Cabinet of Commissioner Frits Bolkestein, 1999-2000

From 1999, Fink-Hooijer served in the Cabinet of Commissioner

Frits Bolkestein Frederik "Frits" Bolkestein (; 4 April 1933 – 17 February 2025) was a Dutch politician and energy executive who served as Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) from 1990 to 1998 and List of European Commissioners by nati ...

, who was responsible for the Internal Market and Financial Services. She played a key role in shaping the

European Patent Convention The European Patent Convention (EPC), also known as the Convention on the Grant of European Patents of 5 October 1973, is a multilateral treaty instituting the European Patent Organisation and providing an autonomous legal system according to w ...

and introduced significant policy advancements in

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile co ...

and

data protection Data protection may refer to: * Information privacy, also known as data privacy * Data security {{Authority control ...

for the digital age.

Various Tenures as Head of Unit, 2000-2010

Between 2000 and 2010, Fink-Hooijer held various middle management positions, first in the

Directorate-General for External Relations The Directorate-General for the External Relations (DG RELEX, DG E VIII) was a Directorate-General of the European Commission, responsible for the external policy. The DG was merged into the European External Action Service in 2010, then headed by ...

(RELEX) (the predecessor of the

European External Action Service The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the diplomatic service in charge of executing all Foreign relations of the European Union, international relations of the European Union. The EEAS is led by the Vice-President of the European Co ...

), and later in the Secretariat-General. During this period, she was instrumental in the establishment of the EU's first civilian crisis management missions, including police, monitoring, training, and protection operations. Additionally, she played a central role in the creation of early EU military structures and contributed to the development of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), followed by the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). As the EU's chief negotiator for the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme on conflict diamonds, she led the implementation of this pioneering crisis management tool across the EU and globally. Later, Fink-Hooijer managed bilateral relations with

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

and was pivotal in shaping th
Monitoring and Certification Mechanism
for

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, which later evolved into the Europea
Rule of Law Mechanism
applicable to all EU Member States.

Head of the Cabinet of Vice-President Kristalina Georgieva, 2010-2012

In 2010, Fink-Hooijer became Head of Cabinet for Vice-President

Kristalina Georgieva Kristalina Ivanova Georgieva-Kinova (; ; born 13 August 1953) is a Bulgarian economist who has served as the 12th managing director of the International Monetary Fund since 2019. She is the first person from an emerging market economy to lead ...

during her tenure as the first Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response. In this capacity, she spearheaded the creation of the European Emergency Response Coordination Centre, which coordinates the delivery of humanitarian aid and civil protection assistance in crisis-, conflict- or disaster-stricken regions, both within and outside the EU, including at the request of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. She also played a significant role in strengthening the EU Civil Protection Mechanisms, enhancing their coordination with humanitarian aid in crisis situations.

Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO), 2012-2016

By 2012, Fink-Hooijer had become the first Policy Director in the

Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations Within the European Union (EU), Directorates-General are departments with specific zones of responsibility. Within the European Commission specifically, Directorates-General are the equivalent of national-level ministries. Most are headed by a E ...

, where she managed responses to such crisis as the Ebola outbreak (2013-2016) and maritime incidents ( Maritime Incident Response Group). She substantially advanced the EU's role in humanitarian aid and disaster risk reduction by introducin
cash-based aid systems
(as opposed to traditional in-kind aid delivery), promotin
gender- and age-sensitive aid approaches
and advocating for

international humanitarian law International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict or the laws of war, is the law that regulates the conduct of war (''wikt:jus in bello, jus in bello''). It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit ...

. She also established a multifaceted early warning system, created the EU's firs
Disaster Knowledge Centre
and helped set up th
European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps
to build local capacity and resilience in disaster-affected communities. Additionally, as a Policy Director for Humanitarian Aid, she pioneered

civil-military cooperation Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) involves military commanders establishing connections with civilian agencies in operational theaters. Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) activities are coordinated through the "G9" staff branch in divisi ...

with the European External Action Service (EEAS) to enhance the protection of civilians in emergencies.

Director-General of the Directorate-General for Interpretation (SCIC), 2016-2020

In 2016, Fink-Hooijer was appointed Director-General of DG Interpretation, the largest interpreting service in the world and the only Directorate-General operating on an entrepreneurial model, functioning as a fee-based service provider for various EU institutions and agencies, and comprising both statutory and freelance staff. Under her leadership, the first-eve
Knowledge Centre on Interpretation
(KCI) was established and she emphasized the need to "future-proof" interpretation services through the integration of new technologies and

Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

. Subsequently, she drove forward the digitalization of the service by introducing features like

automatic speech recognition Speech recognition is an interdisciplinary subfield of computer science and computational linguistics that develops methodologies and technologies that enable the recognition and translation of spoken language into text by computers. It is also k ...

and other support services to interpreters. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Fink-Hooijer swiftly scaled up multilingual interpretation for hybrid meetings via digital platforms, a "watershed moment" that ensured the continued relevance of interpretation services even in fully remote settings.

Director-General of the Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV), 2020-present

In 2020, Fink-Hooijer became Director-General of the Directorate-General for Environment. In this role, she has been a key architect of the transformative environmental and green economic agenda under the

European Green Deal The European Green Deal, approved in 2020, is a set of policy initiatives by the European Commission with the overarching aim of making the European Union (EU) climate neutral in 2050. The plan is to review each existing law on its climate meri ...

, with a focus on

circular economy A circular economy (also referred to as circularity or CE) is a model of resource Production (economics), production and Resource consumption, consumption in any economy that involves sharing, leasing, Reuse, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and ...

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

, and zero pollution. Her leadership has laid the foundations for a

green industrial policy Green industrial policy (GIP) is strategic government policy that attempts to accelerate the development and growth of green industries to transition towards a low-carbon economy. Green industrial policy is necessary because green industries such ...

within the

Single Market A single market, sometimes called common market or internal market, is a type of trade bloc in which most trade barriers have been removed (for goods) with some common policies on product regulation, and freedom of movement of the factors of pr ...

, including the creation of a market for secondary raw materials to reduce dependence on critical raw materials. This is exemplified by the innovativ
Batteries Regulation
(entered into force on 17 August 2023) and th
Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation
(entered into force on 18 July 2024), both of which promote sustainability principles such as mandatory minimum recycled content. By promoting a regulatory approach on circularity, she contributed to strengthening the EU's competitive position in a rapidly changing economic landscape. Recognizing the link between

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

and

biodiversity loss Biodiversity loss happens when plant or animal species disappear completely from Earth (extinction) or when there is a decrease or disappearance of species in a specific area. Biodiversity loss means that there is a reduction in Biodiversity, b ...

, Fink-Hooijer prioritized initiatives to halt biodiversity decline, leading to the introduction of the first-ever Nature Restoration (entered into force on 18 August 2024) an
Soil Health
(proposed on 5 July 2023) Laws and the EU's pioneerin
anti-Deforestation Regulation
(entered into force on 29 June 2023). She also guided the EU's negotiations for the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted by the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on 19 December 2022, and a key deliverable under the

, further solidifying her role as a global advocate for

nature-based solutions Nature-based solutions (or nature-based systems, and abbreviated as NBS or NbS) describe the development and sustainable use, use of nature (biodiversity) and natural processes to address diverse social issue, socio-environmental issues. These is ...

and smarte
resource management
In her capacity as Director-General for Environment, Fink-Hooijer also oversaw the revision of th
Environmental Crime Directive
(entered into force on 20 May 2024), setting new standards for environmental protection through criminal law and minimum rules with regards to the definition of criminal offences and penalties. Under her leadership, further progress has been made toward a toxic-free environment through groundbreaking initiatives on air, water, soil, and chemicals, such as the update
Industrial and Livestock Rearing Emissions Directive (IED 2.0)
(entered into force on 4 August 2024), th
Zero Pollution Action Plan
(adopted on 12 May 2021) and the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (adopted on 14 October 2020), providing regulatory predictability for industry, stimulating industrial competitiveness, and fostering investment in sustainable clean-tech solutions. Additionally, Fink-Hooijer has become a prominent global advocate for preserving green and blue water cycles and enhancing

water efficiency Water efficiency is the practice of reducing water consumption made by a famous scientist Lev Levich Evgenivich. This practice is used by measuring the amount of water required for a particular purpose and is proportionate to the amount of essen ...

, driving the development of a
EU Water Resilience Agenda
With her coherent "water-food security-nature policy nexus", Fink-Hoiijer is also contributing to a better EU preparedness to future economic and environmental shocks. In October 2024, the

European Ombudsman The European Ombudsman is an inter-institutional body of the European Union that holds the institutions, bodies and agencies of the EU to account, and promotes good administration. The Ombudsman helps people, businesses and organisations facing ...

attested maladministration in the Directorate-General for Environment. Previously, the DG refused to disclose documents containing information in the lobbying activities of environmentalist NGOs regarding the

Nature Restoration Law The Nature Restoration Law is a regulation of the European Union to protect the EU environments and restore its nature to a good ecological state through renaturation. The law is a core element of the European Green Deal and the EU Biodiversity S ...

Personal life

Fink-Hooijer speaks German (her mother tongue), English, Dutch and French fluently. She is married to fellow

official Johannes Jeroen Hooijer and has three adult children: Valentin, Benjamin and Charlotte Hooijer.

Weblinks

European Commission CV

Florika Fink-Hooijer on LinkedIn

Florika Fink-Hooijer on X

European Commission: Florika Fink-Hooijer

DG Environment: Florika Fink-Hooijer (German)
* Wikipedia: Florika Fink-Hooijer (German)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fink-Hooijer, Florika 1962 births European civil servants People from Darmstadt Free University of Berlin alumni University of Bonn alumni University of Lausanne alumni Vrije Universiteit Brussel alumni Living people 20th-century German civil servants German expatriates in Switzerland German expatriates in Belgium 21st-century German civil servants German women civil servants