The European Union has taken a major step towards shaping its digital policy and enforcing antitrust laws with the appointment of three key commissioners. Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, Henna Virkkunen, and Ekaterina Zaharieva will play crucial roles in implementing President Ursula von der Leyen's policy plan for the next five years, which runs until 2029.

Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, the Executive Vice President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, will be responsible for enforcing the EU's flagship Digital Markets Act (DMA), which aims to rein in platform power and promote fairer competition. As the EU's competition chief, Ribera Rodríguez will wield significant decision-making power in tech, with the ability to impose penalties of up to 10% of global annual turnover on repeat offenders. Her portfolio also includes classical competition enforcement, which has similarly beefy sanctions for violations.

Henna Virkkunen, the Executive Vice President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, will focus on fostering investment in digital and frontier technologies, such as AI, supercomputing, and semiconductors. Her responsibilities also include enforcing the Digital Services Act (DSA), which aims to ensure digital services do right by consumers. Virkkunen has named protecting children online as a priority and has committed to presenting an action plan on cyberbullying.

Ekaterina Zaharieva, the Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, will work on streamlining the EU's regulatory framework to support startups and scaleups. Her mission includes proposing a European Innovation Act, which aims to facilitate access to venture capital and provide support measures for testing new technologies. Zaharieva has also been tasked with expanding the European Innovation Council and European Research Council to foster research and innovation.

The appointments come at a critical time for the EU, as it seeks to assert its authority over Big Tech and promote innovation in key sectors. The bloc's antitrust laws have been a thorn in the side of tech giants like Apple, Amazon, Google, and Meta, which have faced significant fines and penalties in recent years. The new commissioners will be responsible for enforcing these laws and promoting a level playing field for startups and scaleups.

The EU's policy plan also acknowledges the importance of geopolitical uncertainty and the need for a new approach to competition policy that aims to foster scale-ups that can help the bloc decarbonize faster. The commissioners will need to navigate complex relationships with the US and other global players, while also promoting the EU's competitiveness agenda.

As the EU enters a new era of digital policy and antitrust enforcement, the appointments of Ribera Rodríguez, Virkkunen, and Zaharieva will have significant implications for the tech industry and beyond. Their success will depend on their ability to balance the needs of startups and scaleups with the need to promote fair competition and protect consumers.