Hearing officers
The Hearing Officers
The post of the Hearing Officer was first established in 1982 in order to enhance impartiality and objectivity in competition proceedings before the Commission. Over the years, the significance of the post has increased leading, inter alia, to enhanced terms of reference in 1994, 2001 and 2011. The Hearing Officers are not part of the Directorate General for Competition. For administrative purposes, they are attached to the Competition Commissioner. In the exercise of their functions, they act independently. The latest revision of the Terms of Reference expands and consolidates the role of the Hearing Officers by:
- extending the tasks of the Hearing Officers beyond the right to be heard to encompass the effective exercise of procedural rights throughout proceedings;
- including new dispute resolution functions in the investigative phase of proceedings; and
- expanding the Hearing Officers' reporting functions.
Michael Albers
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Michael Albers worked for the German competition authority, the Bundeskartellamt, prior to joining the European Commission in 1990.
He joined the Merger Task Force of DG Competition as a National Expert and remained there through 1993, when he became Principal Administrator for Antitrust Coordination, serving in that post in 1994-1995. Subsequently he became Deputy Head of Unit for General Competition Policy and Coordination (1995-1998), and then became Head of Unit, Energy, Water & Steel in 1998, where he remained until 2003. From 2003-2006 he served as Head of Unit for Antitrust Policy, followed by an appointment as Head of Unit, Antitrust Telecoms in 2006 until he was appointed as Hearing Officer in 2008.
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Wouter Wils
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Wouter Wils was appointed as Hearing Officer in 2010.
He was a Member of the European Commission's Legal Service from 1994 to 2010 and is a former référendaire of Advocate General van Gerven at the European Court of Justice.
He is a Visiting Professor at King's College London, and is the author of a variety of legal and economic publications.
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The Hearing Officers' team
- Ms Chiara Galiffa, Advisor to the Hearing Officers
- Mr Jérémie Jourdan, Advisor to the Hearing Officers
- Mr Stefan Lechler, Advisor to the Hearing Officers
- Mr Stefan Mahoney, Advisor to the Hearing Officers
- Ms Agata Malczewska, Advisor to the Hearing Officers
- Mr Tom Snels, Advisor to the Hearing Officers
- Ms Anne-Marie Vandenberghen, Secretary
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