Jacques A.M.E.S. VERRAES

Deputy Head of Unit - Science Policy, Advice and Ethics at the European Commission,

Born in Roosendaal, the Netherlands. Studied civil, commercial, international and European law in NL, FR and BE. Was responsible for the negotiations on police and justice cooperation in the Schengen Secretariat (1985-1994) including on measures compensating for the abolition of border controls, such as the establishment of large-scale information systems, data protection and privacy legislation, extradition, and legal assistance in criminal matters.

In the European Commission (1994 – present) he dealt with international industrial cooperation, European product legislation and litigation (until 2001), and counterterrorism, law enforcement including data retention, design and development of European biometric databases and forensic science (until 2011). From 2011 onwards he was responsible for legislative and policy initiatives implementing the European Research Area, bioeconomy public-private partnerships, the production of science-advice at the request of and for the European Commission’s political leadership, and the management of the Unit responsible for delivering scientific and ethical advice to the political leadership, the implementation of the R&I Framework Programme to the European Research Council, and the ethical and research integrity assessment of research funded by the European Commission in the Directorate General Research and Innovation.