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Peter Kerstens

Adjunct Professor of Law
Advisor, European Commission

Peter Kerstens currently advises on Technological Innovation, Digital Transformation and Cybersecurity policy and law at the European Commission’s financial services department. He leads work on the European Commission’s Fintech Action Plan and Digital Finance Strategy and co-chairs the European Commission’s Fintech Taskforce.

Kerstens has extensive experience and expertise in EU policy and regulation in a wide variety of fields, including single market, financial services, digitalisation, security, foreign policy sanctions, consumer protection as well as health and food safety. Earlier in his career, Peter was Finance Counsellor at the EU Embassy in Washington DC. He has also been a member of the private offices of the commissioner for the internal market and services and the commissioner for health and consumer protection. Kerstens is a consummate public speaker on EU policy in his fields of expertise and has been guest lecturer at the European University Institute in Florence, the European Law Academy in Trier and Georgetown Law. He is also Adjunct Professor at Vanderbilt Law School.

Before joining the European Commission in 1996, Kerstens advised major corporations on EU policy and regulatory affairs. He is a Dutch national and holds double magna cum laude master degrees in European affairs and political science from the College of Europe in Bruges and the University of Leuven, Belgium.


Areas of Expertise

EU Law and Policy; EU Institutions; EU Single Market Law and Policy; Digitalization, technological innovation, money laundering, foreign policy sanctions


Additional Courses

European Union Law Short Course, Spring 2023