Even though Austrian-American economist Florian Ederer said he’s been contacted to check his availability for the post of chief competition economist, the European Commission said that no official approach has been made and that the job ad will go up shortly.
“The Commission will, in due course, publish a new vacancy notice for the position of Chief Economist at DG Competition and conduct a new selection procedure,” Commission spokesperson Arianna Podestà told POLITICO on Friday.
The Commission “has not reached out to any possible candidate for the position of Chief Economist at DG Competition,” Podestà said. The EU executive “invites all qualified and eligible candidates, who are interested in this position, to put forward their application following the launch of the selection procedure,” she added.
Ederer confirmed to POLITICO that he was contacted by a DG Competition official, even if informally. He added that he is interested in the role: “I would be thrilled if I could contribute to that from a policy perspective.”
He would not be the only potential candidate, given that the new vacancy posting is to be published.
Massimo Motta, who held the chief economist job a decade ago, told POLITICO that Ederer’s willingness to vie for the position “is very good news and I hope he is not the only very good candidate.”