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As well as Roethig's appointment, Frank Bsirske, chairman of German union ver.di, was re-elected president of UNI Europa for another four year mandate. The vice-presidents, auditors and Executive Committee were also confirmed.



Roethig succeeds Bernadette Segol who has now become General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation. He said that he’s humbled by this real vote of confidence and that he will do his best to bring together the 330 unions within UNI Europa, which represent 7 million workers.



Roethig said, “You have elected a winning team in both Brussels and Nyon. We are stronger when we work together. We are living in dangerous times and it’s essential that unions in Europe present a united front against the present and growing threat of neo-liberalism.”



Roethig is the former head of UNI Finance, the global union for the banking and insurance industry. He was responsible for successfully driving UNI Europa’s work on the financial crisis, EU financial regulation and supervision, as well as building social dialogue and European works councils through extensive cooperation with European institutions. From 1998 to 2002, Roethig was policy officer for UNI Europa (formerly Euro-FIET), with special responsibility for European Companies and EU enlargement. From 1997 to 1998, he worked for the British Trades Union Congress on EU regional policy in Brussels.



Bsirske, who has been president of UNI Europa since 2002, thanked the affiliates for the trust they had reinvested in him.



He emphasized the importance of members striving to understand each other. He said a collective effort is the only way to tackle the crisis, which is destroying jobs and working conditions.



He said, “UNI is us. It’s all of us. Now let’s get down to work.”