17.9.2025

Changing of the guard at ACER

TwitterLinkedinmailTo
Hands shaking

Changing of the guard at ACER

What is it about?

BoR new Chair and Vice-Chair & new ACER Director ad interim
  • Ms Emmanuelle Wargon is the new Chair of the Board of Regulators of the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER). 
  • Mr George Niculescu is the new Vice-Chair of the ACER Board of Regulators. 
  • Mr Volker Zuleger has been appointed Director ad interim of ACER. 

The Director manages the EU Agency. The Board of Regulators is one of the Agency’s governing bodies. It represents the national energy regulatory authorities in ACER. 

The Board of Regulator appointments were made, by consensus, at the 134th meeting of the ACER Board of Regulators today in Copenhagen. Ms Wargon and Mr Niculescu succeed Ms Clara Poletti (Italy) and Mr Rafal Gawin (Poland), the outgoing Chair and Vice Chair respectively.

At national level, Ms Wargon is Chair of the ‘Commission de Régulation de l’Énergie (CRE)’, the French energy regulatory authority, since August 2022. Mr Niculescu is President of the ‘Autoritatea Nationala de Reglementare in domeniul Energiei (ANRE), the Romanian energy regulatory authority, since April 2023.

The ACER term of office of the new Chair and Vice Chair takes effect immediately, from 17 September 2025, for a two-and-a-half year mandate (which is renewable). 

The Chair and Vice-Chair member shall serve for a full term (2.5 years) or until the end of his/her membership of the Board of Regulators (i.e. if their term of office at national level ceases), whichever is earlier.

Mr Volker Zuleger was appointed Director ad interim of ACER, following a decision by the Agency’s Administrative Board on 12 September. He takes over as interim Director on 16 October 2025, ensuring the continuity of the service and the proper running of the Agency. He succeeds Mr Christian Zinglersen, who vacates the ACER Director post on 15 October to take up a new position elsewhere. 

Mr Zuleger is currently Head of ACER’s Coordination, Operations and Legal (COL) Department, having worked for the Agency in different roles for 14 years.

The next step is the recruitment of the new ACER Director. This selection process will follow an open and transparent procedure launched by the European Commission.

ACER congratulates Volker, Emmanuelle and George and pays tribute to the dedicated service of Christian, Clara and Rafal in their respective roles.

For more on the ACER governance and different roles, see the Agency's organisation and bodies.