Peter has been working in the European Commission for more than 20 years with positions in environment, enlargement negotiations, industry policy, innovation and research. He was a Cabinet member of Enlargement Commissioner Günter Verheugen and Head of Cabinet of the Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potočnik.

Since 2010 he is at Directorate-General Research and Innovation where he was first responsible for Innovation then for Industrial Technologies. Following the re-orientation of DG Research and Innovation towards sustainability, his competences have been enlarged to include industrial R&I agendas and business intelligence as well as knowledge valorisation policies.

Before joining the European Commission in 1991, Peter worked as a lawyer in a German law firm. Peter is a lawyer by training with a doctorate degree in German constitutional law and European law.