Von der Leyen aide to lead powerful EU competition directorate
Anthony Whelan appointment signals European Commission’s willingness to use antitrust powers to help businesses scale up
Anthony Whelan, a former aide of European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, will lead the powerful competition directorate, according to two officials briefed on the decision.
The job was temporarily filled since the departure of Olivier Guersent last summer and had become emblematic for ideological splits about the future of EU competition policy — and the extent to which it can be used to help the bloc’s companies compete with US and Chinese rivals.
The Whelan appointment, given his proximity to von der Leyen, suggests he may back the Commission president in her pursuit of leveraging competition policy to help European companies scale up.
Whelan is an Irish official who is steeped in tech policy. After advising von der Leyen on digital and competition issues, he led the competition directorate’s state aid department.
Brussels is currently revising its merger guidelines, a policy discussion which has become symbolic for the opposing visions of von der Leyen and EU competition chief Teresa Ribera.
While von der Leyen wants to allow more scale to increase the bloc’s competitiveness, Ribera has made clear she does not want competitiveness to be the pretext for allowing market concentration. A Spanish socialist, Ribera instead wants the Commission to focus more on integrating the single market.