Péter Balás

Ambassador Péter Balás, a non-lawyer, is a senior policy advisor and member of Covington’s Public Policy team. He draws on over 40 years of experience in the field of European and international politics and trade to advise clients on policy related issues.

Most recently, Péter held the positions of Deputy Director General, DG Trade to the European Commission (2005-2014) and Head of the Support Group for the Ukraine in the European Commission (2014-2015). He was previously Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Hungary to the World Trade Organisation.

Péter has also held several positions working for the Hungarian Government, including as Deputy State Secretary for International Economic Relations at the Ministries of Economic Affairs (1996-2000) and Foreign Affairs (2000-2002); Assistant State Secretary in the Ministry of Industry and Trade (1994-1996), and Director-General in the Ministry of International Economic Relations in Budapest (1991-1994).

As part of Covington's global public policy team, Péter is part of a market leading group of experienced lawyers and other former senior policymakers. The team advises clients on a range of European public policy issues, including the EU policy-making processes and the functioning of the European institutions.