Mr. Paquet began his career in the European Commission in 1993 in the Directorate-General for Transport, in the International Relations area, and later as assistant to Robert Coleman, Transport Director General. In 1999 he joined Mr Verheugen's cabinet and thereafter that of Mr. Busquin, Members of the European Commission, in charge of enlargement and of research. Mr. Paquet was respectively EU Ambassador in the Islamic republic of Mauritania between 2004 and 2007.