Joao Pacheco has held multiple top-level positions in the European Commission till he retired in 2013. In the period 2011-2013 he was a Deputy-Director General in the Directorate General for Agriculture of the European Commission, in charge of policy management for the European Union agricultural direct payments and agricultural markets. He was a lead European Commission negotiator in 2013 with the co- legislators – European Parliament and European Council – for the reform of the European Union Common Agriculture Policy. As the representative of the European Commission in the reform negotiations for agriculture markets and domestic support, he was instrumental in achieving a political deal with the other two EU Institutions in June 2013.
Before this assignment, Mr. Pacheco served as the European Union Ambassador to Brazil from 2005 to 2011. In that position he played a key role in promoting the establishment ofthe European Union-Brazil Strategic Partnership, which established bilateral consultations on many important fields. He is currently a Senior Fellow in the think-tank Farm Europe and a private consultant.