Beyond the grids package: a modernised and resilient energy system

Michael Bloss has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. He is the German Greens’ spokesperson on industry and climate policy, and acts as coordinator for the Greens/EFA in the ITRE Committee. He is also a member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) and of the Parliament’s Delegations to the People’s Republic of China and the United States. He served as his group’s rapporteur for the EU Climate Law, the EU Industrial Strategy, the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), the 2024 Energy Market Design, and currently leads for the Greens/EFA Group on the revision of the CO2 Standards for Cars and the European Grids Package. Born in Stuttgart, Michael Bloss studied International Relations at the University of Dresden and Globalisation and Development at SOAS, University of London. He has been active in the Greens and the Green Youth since 2008 and contributed to shaping the 2021–2026 Baden-Württemberg coalition agreement on energy, environment, and climate policy.

Laura Cozzi was appointed the International Energy Agency’s Director of Sustainability, Technology and Outlooks in 2023. She leads and co-ordinates the IEA’s work on energy sustainability, encompassing energy technology policy and climate change. She is also the Agency’s Chief Energy Modeller and in this capacity co-leads the World Energy Outlook, the IEA’s flagship publication series. Ms Cozzi joined the IEA in 1999 as a junior analyst in the World Energy Outlook team. She has co-led many editions of the Outlook and led multiple special reports. Prior to joining the IEA, Ms Cozzi worked for the Italian energy company ENI S.p.A. She holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Polytechnic Milan and a Master’s degree in Energy and Environmental Economics from Eni Corporate University. Ms Cozzi was awarded an Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Cavaliere dell’ordine al merito della repubblica italiana) in 2025 and she was elected as a member of the National Academy of Technologies of France in 2024. She has also received honorary doctorates from Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology and from the Polytechnic University of Milan.

Prior to joining Friends of Europe, Dharmendra Kanani was director of policy at the European Foundation Centre (EFC). He was the England director at the Big Lottery Fund, the largest independent funder in the UK and fourth largest in the world. Dharmendra has held senior positions in the public and voluntary sectors and advisor to numerous ministerial policy initiatives across the UK.

As Google’s EMEA Sustainability & Energy Policy Lead, Vilma drives the company’s efforts to advance policies that enable Google’s goals of 24/7 carbon-free energy for its data centers and net-zero emissions across its operations and supply chain, and support the deployment of AI for sustainability. Previously, Vilma worked at a large energy company where she led the company’s engagement in sustainable product policy across the EMEA region. Prior to that, she advized multinational companies and industry associations on EU and UN sustainability policy. She holds an MSc in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a BA in Politics, Economics and Philosophy from the University of York.

Thomas Pellerin-Carlin is a French MEP for Place Publique, part of the S&D group. Before joining the European Parliament, Thomas worked as a researcher and research director, specialising in EU energy and climate policy, at the Institute for Climate Economics (I4CE) and the Jacques Delors Institute. He also worked in academia at the College of Europe and the French National administration. Parallel to his civilian work, Thomas served as a French Army Reserve Officer. An expert on energy and climate issues, he continues to teach at Sciences Po in Paris and at the College of Europe’s Energy Union Training Programme in Bruges.

Mechthild Wörsdörfer is Deputy Director-General at the European Commission’s DG Energy, where she is in charge of the coordination of the just and green energy transition. This includes steering the work on REPowerEU, accelerating the deployment of renewables and energy efficiency measures and ensuring the EU’s security of supply. Wörsdörfer is also responsible for the relations with the Energy Community, and steers the bilateral relations with Ukraine, Moldova, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Prior to this, Wörsdörfer was the director responsible for sustainability, technology and outlooks at the International Energy Agency (IEA); and held various roles at DG Energy, including director in charge of renewables, research and innovation, energy efficiency; and director for energy policy, international relations, legal aspects and economic analysis. Previously, she was head of Unit on the 2030 Energy and Climate Framework and served in the Cabinet of Erkki Liikanen, former European commissioner for Enterprise Policy and Information Society.