Summer School 2018 programme

Executive Director, DOOR, Croatia

Ms Robic, Executive Director at DOOR, Croatia, has more than ten years of experience working on various national and international sustainable energy projects in Croatia and abroad. Ms Robic has authored and co-authored numerous policy and strategic documents and she is active researcher in the field of energy and social policy. Using her background in engineering and experience in NGO and advocacy, Ms Robic has become experienced practitioner in the field of energy poverty.

Deputy Director, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Deputy Sector Fund Manager, GIZ Open Regional Fund for SEE – Energy Efficiency

Ms. Nagel is a sustainable transport expert and has been working as an advisor on energy efficiency in the land transport sector in Thailand before joining the open regional fund on energy efficiency in June 2018. Ms. Nagel is a geographer by education and has work experience in the field of climate change mitigation as well as adaptation, transport and energy efficiency as well as clean air management. She has worked in Chile, Germany as well as various Asian countries. Her main tasks focused on advisory services in energy efficient transport, data and indicators on GHG emissions and energy efficiency, development of clean air plans and need-based training development in various fields.

Director, Energy Policy in Directorate General for Energy, European Commission

Megan Richards is Director of Energy Policy in DG Energy (ENER) of the European Commission since 1 April 2017. She has a bachelor of science, bachelor of laws and master of public administration degrees. She has worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Africa, the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, the government of Canada, and private law firms. In 1991, she joined the European Commission and has worked programs to support SMEs, research and innovation, including regulatory, legal, financial and contractual issues. From September 2006- April 2009 she was director of resource management in the Commission's Joint Research Centre; from May 2009 was in the Commission's DG CONNECT, holding positions of director of General Affairs, director of Converged Networks and Services, director Coordination, and acting Deputy Director General and Principal Adviser. From 2013-2014 she was EU Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. 

Minister of Environment and Energy, Republic of Croatia

Born in the town of Ploče in 1979, Mr Ćorić completed his postgraduate study "Finance and Banking" and earned the title of Doctor of Economics in 2011 defending his doctoral dissertation on "Exchange rate mechanism ERM 2 in the process of joining the European Economic and Monetary Union". As part of his scientific work, Mr Ćorić is the author of many scientific and professional papers, as well as a participant at scientific conferences, professional conferences and round tables.
Since 2003, he has been employed with the Department of Finance of the Faculty of Economics and Business in Zagreb; first as an assistant, next as a senior assistant and then as an assistant professor. Before accepting the position of Minister of Environment and Energy in June 2017, Mr Ćorić acted as the Minister of Labour and Pension System.

Republic of Croatia

The island of Hvar is the queen of the Croatian Dalmatian islands. It has been famous since the antique because of its important strategic and nautical position, the rich of the various historical periods, the culture and natural monuments and the literature. 
Known for it’s year round beautiful weather, great wines, clear turquoise waters, rock climbing, summer parties and chic hotels, Hvar has become one of the most visited islands in Dalmatia. Although Hvar is considered the party island, it is still surrounded by stunning scenery and is rich in culture (it is the only island in the world with four UNESCO World Heritage Sites) where one can easily escape and find the perfect relaxation they need. Through the centuries, an oasis of culture has remained here, a testimony to the identity. 

Head of Department for International Economic and Political Relations, IRMO

Ana-Maria Boromisa took her doctorate at the Economics Faculty in Zagreb (2004), a master’s in European Studies, College of Europe, Natolin, Poland (1995) and her first degree at the Electrical Engineering Faculty in Zagreb (1994). She works at the Institute for Development and International Relations in Zagreb since 1996. Currently, she is research adviser and head of the Department for International Economic and Political Relations. She was a member of the Croatian Energy Regulatory Council (2001-2005) and of the IRMO management board (2006-2012)- Since 2013 she is president of the IRMO Scientific Bord. Her research interests include trade policy, energy economics and environmental economics. She teaches at postgraduate level at the Univesity of Zagreb (the Advanced Master of European Studies Programme at the Faculty of Political Science and Preparation and Implementation of EU-funded projects). She writes and speaks in Croatian and English, and also uses French and German.

Corporate Affairs Advisor, ENTSO-E, Brussels

Ms. Stela Nenova is presently a corporate affairs advisor at ENTSO-E, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity, where she focuses mostly on policy, strategy, and stakeholder relations. Prior to this position, she worked for nearly 3 years as a researcher and policy advisor to a Member of the European Parliament on energy, environmental and industrial policy, and climate change. She started her career in the energy field as a business analyst and auditor at M&C Energy Group (now part of Schneider Electric) in Budapest, Hungary, consulting clients on energy risk management, energy procurement and compliance. Ms. Nenova holds a B.A. double degree in Economics and European Studies from Mount Holyoke College, MA, USA and an M.A. Honors Degree in Public Policy from CEU, Budapest, with a specialization in International Public Policy.

President of the Board of Commissioners, Croatian Energy Regulatory Agency, Croatia

Mr. Jureković spent most of his professional career in various tiers of natural gas business – from gas distribution to supply. As a Business development manager of Zagreb Gas Distribution Co. (GPZ) he became involved with international gas and energy scene. Fluent in English and German, during the 1990s he represented Croatia in International Gas Union and UNECE Working Party on Gas. Mr. Jureković has joined the ranks of Croatian Energy Regulatory Agency (HERA) in 2011, when he was appointed by the Croatian Parliament as a Commissioner. Since July 2012, he is serving as the President of the Board of Commissioners, with his second and full seven-year term as the President confirmed by the Parliament in July 2014. In this position he is also representing Croatian energy regulatory body in the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER) General Assembly, Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) Board of Regulators and Energy Community Regulatory Board. From 2014 to 2017, Mr. Jureković was twice elected by the General Assembly of CEER to the position of CEER Vice President. He has also been co-chairing CEER Gas Working Group and Security of Supply Task Force. As an avid and outspoken gas and energy industry watcher, Mr. Jureković has published extensively and spoken on numerous occasions in front of domestic and international audiences

Director, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Mr. Kopač has been leading the Energy Community Secretariat since 2012. Prior to this position, he worked as General Director for Energy at the Ministry of Economy of Slovenia for nearly 4 years. He acted as a Head of Budget Committee in a Parliament of Republic of Slovenia (1990-2000), as Slovenian Minister of Finance (1992) and Minister of Environment and Energy (2000-2004). Mr. Kopač holds a Master’s degree from Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana.

Associate Director, Policy and Climate Finance, EBRD

Mr. Jollands has worked on sustainable energy and environmental policy for 23 years.  In March 2011, he took up a post with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and is now Associate Director, Policy and Climate Finance, where he works at the interface between policy and finance. Prior to this role, he spent 5 years as Head, Energy Efficiency Unit at the International Energy Agency. Mr. Jollands is a regular presenter at international conferences, has published numerous journal articles and contributed to several books in the area of energy efficiency and ecological economics.

ECRB electricity expert, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Currently working as Electricity Expert for the Energy Community Secretariat, supporting market reforms in the Contracting Parties as well as implementation of market coupling and regional balancing mechanism in the WB6. Further, actively working on solution and proposal for bringing CACM, FCA and REMIT in the Energy Community. 15 years experience in the energy industry. Previously worked with the Regulator on Market Monitoring and TSO in Kosovo in defining and implementing market mechanisms and access to the grid, before joining a London based trading firm, EDF Trading, where [he] worked as Regulatory Advisor covering regulatory affairs across Europe. During [his] time at EDF Trading [he] was involved in a wide range of commercial and compliance activities, including direct involvement through EFET in different stakeholder groups and committees, in particular those related to Market Network Codes. REMIT and impact of Financial Regulation on commodity trading is also an area of expertise of A. Kllokoqi.

Andreas Schröder is an expert of commodity trading and especially natural gas markets. Andreas builds on a long-standing experience in energy economics with focus on quantitative market analysis. Before joining E.ON (now Uniper) as Senior Gas Analyst in September 2015, he worked at Vattenfall Energy Trading in Sweden and Germany dealing with carbon markets and renewable energies. Andreas defended his PhD Thesis on fundamental modelling of power markets in 2013 as part of the Graduate Center of DIW Berlin in collaboration with TU Berlin, supervised by Prof. von Hirschhausen and Prof. Kemfert. He previously obtained a Masters’ degree in Economics from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 2008 where he wrote a Thesis on the EU Emission Trading System. During and after his studies he interned with the European Commission (DG Energy & Transport) transportation policy topics.

Team Leader, JBC Energy

Mr. Lindell has been using his vast knowledge of energy markets to advise national and international oil and gas companies as well as government-related agencies around the world for many years. He is a crude oil pricing expert and regularly supports some of the world’s largest oil producers in setting their monthly selling prices. Apart from his research and consulting work at JBC Energy, Mr. Lindell is a regular trainer at the JBC Energy Academy, passing on his insights in the oil markets to the company’s many clients. He has also taught a course on oil at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology in Korea. On a daily basis, Mr. Lindell contributes to nearly all of JBC Energy’s reports and uses his extensive knowledge of the energy industry to guide both seasoned and junior analysts alike. Prior to his work at JBC Energy, Mr. Lindell spent several years working in an intelligence cell at NATO regional headquarters in Brunssum, the Netherlands.

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University

Mgr. Martin JIRUŠEK, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at the International Institute of Political Science of Masaryk University and at the Department of International Relations and European Studies, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University. Martin is professionally focused on energy security in post-communist Europe and transatlantic dimension of energy security. He has also published articles on conceptual foundations of the energy policy of CEE and SEE countries and the European Union, the role of Russia in natural gas and nuclear sectors in CEE and SEE, and global trends in energy policies. Besides his work in academia, Martin also works as a consultant and has been in charge of a number of research and educational grants focused on the aforementioned regions.

Head of electricity unit, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Jasmina Trhulj is a Diploma Electrical Engineer for Power Systems. She is responsible for monitoring, analysing and reporting on market developments in the Energy Community Contracting Parties as well as for assisting electricity sector authorities and companies in transposition and implementation of the EU acquis.

Her 17-year professional career in the energy sector started as a research and development assistant on power system operation and control projects at Mihajlo Pupin Institute in Belgrade. She gained valuable regulatory experience in the development and monitoring of the electricity market during her seven-year tenure at the Energy Agency of the Republic of Serbia (AERS) as senior expert for electricity.

Gas expert, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Ms. Cegir has been working at the Energy Community Secretariat since 2007. The main area of her work is natural gas while additional tasks are related to renewable energy in the transport sector. Her scope of work includes regular contacts with EU Institutions, such as Gas Coordination Group, European Network Transmissions System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG), Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) and Concerted Action on Renewable Energy Sources Directive (CA-RES). Ms. Cegir holds a Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from Zagreb University (1990) and a Master’s degree in Renewables from Technical University of Vienna (2013). 

Oil Expert, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Mr. Jasimi joined the Energy Community Secretariat in May 2009 as Oil Expert. Before coming to the Energy Community Secretariat, he worked in the Oil and Gas Institute in Albania until 1994. In 1994, Mr. Jasimi joined the UK oil and gas company Premier Oil as project manager for 10 years. In 2004, he started to work as oil advisor and director of cabinet to the Minister of Energy and Industry of Albania. In 2005, he was reappointed Director of Cabinet of the Minister of Economy, Trade and Energy in Albania until April 2009. Mr. Jasimi is involved in many negotiations in oil and gas contracts. His university background is physicist.

Eastern partnership assistance unit: Electricity expert, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Mrs. Karali is a Mechanical Engineer holding a Master Decree in Energy Generation and Management. She specializes in electricity and natural gas sectors’ regulation and restructuring, market analysis and detailed market design. She has provided advice to a number of governments, system operators, regulators, power utilities, and other electricity and natural gas organizations, regarding power and gas markets’ design, rules of operation, markets’ valuation, balancing mechanisms, ancillary services procurement, congestion management, tariffs design and regulation, including public service obligations, active and passive demand side response, RES integration and RES utilization for balancing purposes. Mrs. Karali has been providing consulting services to energy regulators and transmission system operators (TSOs) with regard to markets structuring for over 17 years. Since September 2015, Mrs Karali joined EnCS’s Kiev office being actively involved with the electricity sector reform in the country.

Project Manager, Bluberries GmbH, Germany

Mr. Pointvogl has been Project Manager at Bluberries GmbH, Munich, since 2016. Previously, he worked as Electricity Expert, Mediator and Project Manager at the Energy Community Secretariat (2013-2016) and before that at different positions in the electricity industry and government bodies. Among other things, he was involved in the development of EU Network Codes and different electricity market integration projects. He is a political economist, mediator and author of various academic articles on energy policy.

College of Europe, Brussels

Karl Falkenberg enjoyed a long career as an EU Commission official. He joined the Commission in 1977 as a textile negotiator. He experienced both multilateral negotiations in the World Trade Organisation and bilateral trade negotiations with a wide range of developed and developing countries. In 1990 he joined Jacques Delors as Advisor on German Unification and External Relations. He negotiated the WTO Protocols on Telecommunications, Financial Services, Maritime Transport and Audiovisual Services. In 2005 he became Deputy Director General of the Commission Directorate General for Trade. From 2009 to 2015 he was Director General for Environment, covering both domestic and international issues. He was the lead negotiator for the EU in the UN process leading up towards the SDGs. In 2016, he presented a report on European implementation of SDGs to the Commission, called ‘Sustainability Now’. Karl retired from the Commission in July 2017, and works since then as an independent consultant and lecturer on trade policy and sustainability issues.

Country Representative, EuroCape, Ukraine

Mr. O'Brien is Country Director and Head of EuroCape's wind development projects in Ukraine. He is based in EuroCape's Kiev offices and he also oversees all operations and project development in EuroCape's offices in the Zaparosha region. He has extensive business and project development experience in Europe and Ukraine where he has been based for more than eleven years. Previously he was employed by ECE Projektmanagement GmbH in Hamburg, by ORCO in Luxembourg, Rodamco in Rotterdam, and NCH Capital in New York. Mr O'Brien’s educational background consists of the following degrees: Master of Business Administration, INSEAD; BA, Wesleyan University, USA.

Assistant Professor, Comenius University, Slovakia

Matúš Mišík, PhD. is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science at Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. His main area of expertise is energy security within the EU, he also studies the role of perceptions within the EU decision-making mechanism. Matúš is author of two books and has published articles in Nature Energy, Energy, Energy Policy, Geopolitics, Czechoslovak Psychology, Journal of Popular Culture, Comparative European Politics, Asia Europe Journal and Slovak Sociological Review. He regularly writes for the leading Slovak dailies and comments on energy policy related topics in the electronic media. He has undertaken study/research trips to Norway (2006), Kazakhstan (2009), Finland (2009), Great Britain (2011), Austria (2012) and Canada (2015-2016). He conducted empirical research in many European countries and regularly attends main political science forums including ECPR General Conference and IPSA World Congress.

Analyst, European Political Strategy Center, European Commission

Philipp Offenberg is an Analyst at the European Political Strategy Centre (EPSC) – the in-house think tank of the European Commission, reporting directly under the authority of the President. He provides strategic analysis and policy advice on matters related to the policy priorities, including Energy Union and Climate Change, Transport and Mobility, and other issues related to Jobs, Growth, Innovation and Industrial policies.
Prior to joining the EPSC, he worked as Research Fellow for EU energy policy at the Jacques Delors Institut Berlin. Since 2014 he has also been a Research Associate at the European Centre for Energy and Resource Security (EUCERS) King’s College London. Philipp worked in the energy sector with Accenture (Utilities – Resources) and BASF subsidiary Wintershall. He holds a Master of Public Policy from the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, specialising in energy economics. He also holds a Magister artium (M.A.) in Communications, Political Science and History from University of Mainz (DE) with stays in Moscow and Pamplona (ES).

Ambassador-at-Large for Energy Security of the Czech Republic

Vaclav Bartuška assumed the position of Ambassador-at-Large for Energy Security of the Czech Republic in 2006. He works on a wide range of issues from oil and gas supplies to energy strategy. During the gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine in January 2009, when the Czech Republic held the EU Presidency, he was involved in negotiations with Russian, Ukrainian, and EU leadership. In 2010, he was appointed by the Czech Government to the Commissioner for expansion at the Temelin nuclear power plant. Since 2003, he has taught modern history and security studies at New York University, Prague campus.

Head of Gas Unit, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria 

Mr. Grujicic joined the Energy Community Secretariat in Vienna in 2010. As Head of Gas Unit, he assesses and reviews the proper implementation and progress by the Contracting Parties of their obligations under Energy Community Treaty related to the gas acquis. He graduated from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Belgrade, Serbia in 1999. He held various positions within the Serbian major public electricity company, Elektroprivreda Srbije as a system operator. He joined the Ministry of Energy of Serbia where he occupied various head positions including the EU integration and international cooperation agenda. He was seconded as a national expert to the Energy Charter, Brussels.

Assistant Professor, School of Transnational Law, Peking University

Stephen Minas is an assistant professor of law at the School of Transnational Law, Peking University and senior research fellow at the Transnational Law Institute, King’s College London. Stephen’s work focuses on the mobilization of clean energy, climate change technologies and finance for sustainable development through EU, international and private law. Stephen is additionally a member of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law and the Young Academics Network of the Foundation for European Progressive Studies. Stephen completed degrees in Law, History and International Relations at the University of Melbourne and London School of Economics and is the co-editor of ‘EU Climate Diplomacy: Politics, Law and Negotiations’ (Routledge, 2018) and ‘Stress-Testing the Law of the Sea: Dispute Resolution, Disasters and Emerging Challenges‘ (Brill, forthcoming).

Infrastructure expert, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Adam is an Economist with Finance major from the University of Szeged, Hungary. Adam wrote his Master Thesis about the Hungarian gas transmission system and its indications on the economy and the national budget. Directly after finishing the University, he joined ExxonMobil’s Budapest Office as Fixed Assets Controller after which he joined FGSZ Zrt.– The Hungarian Natural Gas Transmission System Operator – TSO as Business Development Expert where he spent two years. Among others, he was involved in the Nabucco project. By FGSZ Zrt, Adam was seconded to the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas – ENTSOG, in Brussels, where he spent more than three years as Adviser in the System Development Team. At ENTSOG, Adam was working on the bi-annual Ten Year Network Development Plan and contributed to the development of the European gas infrastructure Cost-Benefit Analysis Methodology. After ENTSOG, Adam joined the Energy Community Secretariat more than two years ago, where he is currently Gas Infrastructure Expert. At ECS, Adam is responsible for the Projects of Energy Community Interest and Mutual Interest process (PECI/PMI) for gas. He also contributes to other projects, such as the introduction of Entry-Exit Tariff Methodology in Moldova.

Energy Attaché, Permanent Representation of Lithuania to the EU, Brussels

Ms Navickaite has been appointed by the Minister of Energy as the deputy energy attaché in 2014 and took the role of the energy attaché in 2017. She is the representative of Lithuania at the Energy Working Party and Atomic Questions Working Party of the Council of the EU, dealing with all energy sector policies (gas, electricity, nuclear energy). In her current position, she represents the Lithuanian position in negotiations on EU policy and legal acts proposals at meetings at the Council of the EU (Working Parties, Coreper, and Energy Council) and committees of the EU Commission. She was previously a chief officer at the Ministry of Energy of Lithuania where she worked during the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the EU. Ms. Navickaite obtained an LLM cum laude in European Union Law from the Maastricht University.

(Short Bio and Photo will be uploaded soon)

Senior Energy Lawyer, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Ms. Karova is a Senior Energy Lawyer at the Energy Community Secretariat, which she joined in 2011. Her main expertise is liberalization of energy markets, market design as well as development and implementation of public service obligations. She is author of numerous academic articles and book contributions in the field of energy law, competition and state aid law as well as on approximation and implementation of the EU acquis in the Energy Community Contracting Parties. She is an author of a monograph titled Liberalization of the Electricity Markets and Public Service Obligation in the Energy Community. She is a regular speaker at various academic and policy international conferences and events. Ms. Karova holds a PhD degree from the Law Department of the European University Institute in Florence and LL.M. in European Business Law from the Faculty of Law at University of Leiden (Netherlands).

Deputy Director, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Dirk Buschle is Deputy Director of the Energy Community Secretariat since 2011 and has led its legal unit since 2007. As Chairman of the Energy Community Dispute Resolution and Negotiation Center, he is also responsible for dispute resolution and negotiations and has acted as mediator in high-profile investor-state conflicts in the energy sector. He is a certified negotiation facilitator. Prior to his current position, Dirk was Head of Cabinet of the President of the Court of Justice of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in Luxembourg. Dirk is also Professor and Chairholder of the European Energy Policy Chair at the College of Europe in Bruges. He teaches the annual course “European and International Energy Policy and Governance” He graduated in law from Constance University, Germany, and earned his Ph.D. at St. Gallen University in Switzerland. He has widely published in different areas of European policy and law, and has lectured at Universities of Reykjavik, Constance and St. Gallen as visiting professor.

Energy Lawyer, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Ms. Richter joined the Energy Community in 2016 as Energy Lawyer that mainly deals with issues of competition and State aid law, dispute settlement cases, assistance to national competition and State aid authorities and training activities. Her previous professional experience consists of different legal positions as legal associate, consultant and legal clerk. Ms. Richter holds a Master’s (2008) and a PhD degree (2011) from the Faculty of Law, Vienna University where she was also Assistant Professor in the period 2009-2011. She has also published several legal articles.

Partner at Vavrovsky Heine Marth Rechtsanwälte, Austria

Anne-Karin Grill is a partner at Vavrovsky Heine Marth Rechtsanwälte. She is an experienced international arbitration lawyer specializing in commercial dispute resolution and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and advises clients in arbitration proceedings in accordance with the rules of key arbitral institutions (ICC, VIAC, LCIA, DIS, SCAI, etc). Also, she has an excellent track-record in advising international clients in investor-state arbitrations conducted under both the ICSID and UNCITRAL Rules. Anne-Karin recently was recognized by Who's Who Legal and Global Arbitration Review as a "Future Leader in International Arbitration", who described her as "a strong presence that cannot go unnoticed. She exudes competence in a wide variety of arbitration matters and is known to be a hard worker in everything she takes up." In addition to advocating for her clients' interests before international tribunals, Anne-Karin regularly serves as (sole) arbitrator and acts as CEDR accredited mediator in multi-jurisdictional commercial disputes. She is a lecturer at the University of Vienna and a sought-after speaker on dispute resolution topics. She is also the author of a number of publications on the subject.

Gas expert, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Mr. Šimkus joined the Energy Community Secretariat in 2014. Currently he mainly deals with natural gas regulatory, infrastructure and market developments in Ukraine, Moldova, Albania, Georgia and the Balkan countries. Before joining the Secretariat, he worked as an in-house lawyer in several big energy companies in the Baltics and as an external legal counsel for the top energy market players in the Baltics, Poland and Scandinavia. In 2013 and 2014 he was ranked by Chambers Europe as one of the top energy lawyers in Lithuania. He holds LL.B and LL.M degrees from Mykolas Romeris University in Lithuania and a Diploma in International Nuclear Energy Law from University of Montpellier in France. Up to now, he drafted over 100 legal acts regulating the energy sector in 12 jurisdictions of Europe.

Senior Energy Lawyer, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Ms. Karova is a Senior Energy Lawyer at the Energy Community Secretariat, which she joined in 2011. Her main expertise is liberalization of energy markets, market design as well as development and implementation of public service obligations. She is author of numerous academic articles and book contributions in the field of energy law, competition and state aid law as well as on approximation and implementation of the EU acquis in the Energy Community Contracting Parties. She is an author of a monograph titled Liberalization of the Electricity Markets and Public Service Obligation in the Energy Community. She is a regular speaker at various academic and policy international conferences and events. Ms. Karova holds a PhD degree from the Law Department of the European University Institute in Florence and LL.M. in European Business Law from the Faculty of Law at University of Leiden (Netherlands).

Sustainable energy expert, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

Ms. Lazzerini has over 11 years of working and research experience in the field of international green policies, with focus on Europe and Asia. Before joining the Energy Community, she was research fellow on sustainable development at Tsinghua University (Beijing), policy officer within the European Commission Environment Directorate General (Brussels) and energy analyst at Enel Foundation (Italy). She worked with UNIDO on green industry policy and co-authored several publications on energy transitions in cities with the European Institute of Comparative Urban Research. She cooperated with the Global Shapers (World Economic Forum) on a number of projects evaluating the impact of renewable energy solutions on off-grid households in emerging economies. MBA Candidate (Renewables) at Berlin University of Applied Sciences, Ms. Lazzerini co-authored the chapter on ‘Anchoring and Mobility of Local Energy Concepts’ in Innovating Climate Governance: Moving Beyond Experiments, published by Cambridge University Press in March 2018.

Member of Cabinet of Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, European Commission

Mr. Joachim Balke is Official at European Commission, Member of Cabinet of Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Canete (since November 2014). His professional experience includes: 2011 – 2014 Official European Commission DG Energy, Renewable energy unit; 2013 - Member of Cabinet of Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger; 2008 – 2011 Official European Commission DG Taxud, Excise unit; 2004 – 2008 E.ON AG, Advisor European Energy Policy; 2001 – 2004 European Parliament, Assistant to MEP Peter Mombaur, Vice President of the ITRE Committee. His educational background consists: 1999 – 2000 MA, European Affairs, College of Europe in Natolin; 1992 – 1998 State exam History and English, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. 

Head of EU Representative Office, Innogy SE

Dr Susanne Rompel is Head of Innogy SE’s EU Representative office, innogy SE being one of the leading European energy companies active in Renewables, Grid & Infrastructure as well as Retail. Prior to this, Dr Rompel was heading Strategic Planning within RWE AG’s Strategy & Innovation department, responsible for the overall Group strategy development and the annual strategic planning process. She has been working as Manager for EU Energy Policy in the RWE EU Office before and also has experience working for the European Commission’s Directorate General for Energy. Dr Rompel is Member of the Supervisory Board of RWE Supply & Trading. She studied Politics, Law and French in Heidelberg and Aix-en-Provence, and holds a Master’s Degree in European Politics and Administration from the College of Europe in Bruges. She also holds a PhD in Politics from Heidelberg University.

Senior environmental expert, Energy Community Secretariat, Austria

A lawyer by training with a master’s degree in environmental law, Peter has always been involved in issues related to environment, both from legal and technical aspects.  Straight after graduation from the Faculty of Law at Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest), he took up duties at the national environmental agency’s local office in Budapest. Between September 2007 and August 2011, Peter was working as a seconded national expert at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment.  In this position, he has also been heavily involved in the adoption process of the Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EC). In late 2011, Peter worked as legal adviser in the Office of the Director-General in DG Climate Action and in March 2012, he took up duties as Environmental Expert at the Energy Community Secretariat in Vienna.  As of January 2018, he works as Senior Environmental Expert at the Energy Community Secretariat.

Country Coordinator, GIZ Open Regional Fund for South East Europe - Energy Efficiency

Mr. Sazdovski is a member of the International Association of Energy Engineers and the Scientif­ic Advisory Board of the South-East Conference for Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environmental Systems. He has been working as a proj­ect developer and implementer, engaged by USAID, UNDP and GIZ, providing technical assistance to different stakeholders in the field of energy efficiency. He is the author of the National Energy Monitoring System for local self-governments, and the co-author of the III National Energy Efficiency Action Plan 2016-2018 for Macedonia. He works as an International expert for establishment of Monitoring Reporting and Verification systems for greenhouse gases engaged by UNDP.

DOOR, Croatia

Ms. Maja Božičević Vrhovčak has more than 20 years of experience in sustainable energy education and promotion. Her field of expertise are renewable energy sources,their integration into the power system and citizen participation in energy system, both form technical and regulatory standpoint. She has extensive experience in steering participatory processes, primarily by including citizens in energy sector regulation development and monitoring. She is DOOR’s founder and a member of its Steering committee. She holds a PhD in power engineering.