DG COMP has a new Director-General – Anthony Whelan, a long-serving European Commission official who has been at the heart of EU regulation and competition law for over 30 years. Currently DG COMP’s Deputy Director-General for State aid, he has held a wide range of roles over his career: he has worked in the Commission Legal Service, headed the cabinet of former Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes, was a Director in DG CONNECT, and advised Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on digital policy.

An Irish barrister by training, Whelan has long been considered a future Director General and was widely rumored to be a front-runner to replace Olivier Guersent following his retirement in mid-2025. Highly intelligent, politically savvy, pragmatic, open-minded, and a strong believer in vigorous enforcement, Whelan will assume leadership of DG COMP at a significant moment. Following the publication of the Draghi Report, the Commission has been under strong political pressure to take greater account of industrial policy and European competitiveness in merger control and antitrust enforcement. It also faces calls from the U.S. Administration and federal agencies to ease enforcement of the Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act, of which Whelan was an architect. 

Whelan’s deep knowledge of EU competition law, extensive experience of EU institutions, and long-standing interest in the intersection of competition and digital policy, coupled with his strong relationship with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, positions him well to navigate the pressures on the Commission to support the EU’s long-term economic and strategic ambitions while preserving competitive markets. Among the matters he will need to grapple with in the coming months include the revised Merger Guidelines, a draft of which is expected soon, calls to relax enforcement and take greater account of industrial policy, scale, resilience, and efficiencies, reform of the Commission’s antitrust enforcement powers and priorities, the Commission’s approach to State aid, and the future of digital regulation, including on AI.

The Commission is yet to confirm when Whelan will assume his duties. As with other senior Commission appointments, his mandate is not subject to a fixed term.