After a few years in the private sector, Vincent Degert joined the European Commission in 1987 where he first worked in the field of regional policy. From 2000, he worked for the enlargement of the European Union, successively as Assistant to the Director-General for Enlargement and Head of Unit for the Coordination of Financial Instruments. He then served as Ambassador and Head of Delegation in Croatia (2005-2009) and Serbia (2009-2013), before becoming the head of the Russia Division within the European External Action Service at the height of the Ukrainian crisis. From 2015 to 2019 he was the Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Haiti. 

Vincent Degert is a French national. He graduated in Political Science, European Affairs (Institute for Political Science and Institute for European Studies of Strasbourg) and Law from the University of Strasbourg.