The European Commission's incoming competition commissioner has given up her work as a director of nearly a dozen companies in the past month to take up her new post, but will not lose out financially.

Neelie Kroes is set to earn just over €300,000 ($361,446) a year at the EC, including salary, benefits and allowances that go with the job. This is almost the same as she earned last year through her directorships of 10 European companies, according to research by Financial News.