Mr Paquet has 23 years of experience in the European Commission and has recently helped shape the European Commission's proposals for deepening the Economic and Monetary Union and for an Industrial Policy Strategy. He previously served as the Deputy Head of Cabinet of former Commissioner for Research, Philippe Busquin, and will move on from his current role as Deputy Secretary-General Policy Co-ordination, Data Protection and  the Mediation Service.

He is set to replace the current Director-General, Robert-Jan Smits, on April 1. Smits has been DG of DG Research and Innovation since 2010, and is perhaps best known for Horizon 2020, the EUs innovation program that is set to provide approximately €80 billion in funding for research and innovation until 2020.