Dr. Daniela Bankier has been working for the European Commission since 1999. After heading the legal unit for equal treatment and non-discrimination, she is now Head of Unit for equality between women and men in Directorate-General Justice. From 1999-2004 she was a Member of the Cabinet of the German budget Commissioner Michaele Schreyer and in 2005 became deputy head of cabinet of Vladimir Spidla, Commissioner responsible for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. Dr. Daniela Bankier started her professional career in the Austrian Central Bank in 1991. She was the Head of the Austrian Central Bank’s Representation office at the Austrian Permanent Representation from 1995 to 1999. Dr. Bankier studied law in Vienna, Paris and at the University of Michigan, Law School (LL. M. 91) and obtained a PhD on the legal questions of the European Economic and Monetary Union in 2003.