Signe Ratso
Deputy Director-General at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
“Trust is a two-way street: citizens trust the governments if the governments show trust in citizens’ opinions. Combining our R&I investments with active citizen engagement, we will increase trust in new solutions and achieve much higher impact. This is what our new EU Missions are about - for and with the citizens.”
Signe Ratso is Deputy Director-General and a member of the Management Board of the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission. She is Chief negotiator, responsible for negotiations of association agreements with third countries associated and future potential associated countries to the EU R&I programmes Horizon Europe and Euratom, association policy and its interlinkages with EU R&I international cooperation strategy.
She is also responsible for Open Innovation and for citizens’ engagement and social innovation in research and innovation policy.
As a member of the Management Board she oversees some of the priority areas of the Commission in DG R&I.
Before joining DG R&I she worked in different senior management positions in DG TRADE since 2006.
Signe Ratso has always been involved in international affairs. Before joining the Commission she worked as Deputy Secretary General (from 1994 to 2005) at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications of the Republic of Estonia.
She has two University degrees from Tartu University in Estonia.