{"text":[[{"start":9.64,"text":"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. "}],[{"start":21.79,"text":"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."}],[{"start":41.879999999999995,"text":"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. "}],[{"start":55.669999999999995,"text":"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."}],[{"start":69.57,"text":"Ribera last summer told the FT that her preferred option would be a woman. But on Monday, she “warmly welcomed” the appointment, saying that Whelan “brings deep experience in European policymaking and a strong understanding of how our rules serve citizens, innovation and fair markets”. "}],[{"start":88.35,"text":"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. "}],[{"start":100.63,"text":"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. "}],[{"start":121.27,"text":"Von der Leyen, who hails from the centre-right European People’s Party, and Ribera have had a range of disagreements, including about the war in Gaza, the EU’s moves to roll back its green regulation, the EU’s response to the crisis in Gaza and most recently the war in Iran. Ribera has also been pushing von der Leyen behind closed doors to stand up more to US President Donald Trump."}],[{"start":156.46,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1776080636_2557.mp3"}