
About
Friends of Europe’s State of Europe high-level roundtable has evolved into a journey – the festival of politics and ideas – offering our network and partners year-long engagement with the highest levels of European political and thought leadership.
Following this year’s State of Europe, Friends of Europe welcomed Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries.
Our engagement with EU Commissioner Sinkevičius focused centred on the pivotal environmental priorities set forth by the EU for its Environment action programme to 2030, what has been achieved so far and what’s to come under the next mandate. We also delved into the implementation progress and potential challenges faced in fostering ecosystem recovery.
Topics under discussion included:
- the implications of the Nature Restoration Law for the European Green Deal objectives;
- the role of the private sector in advancing the EU’s environmental and biodiversity priorities; and
- the future of existing environmental files (from water to soil and land policies) and expectations for the upcoming year.
This event took place in Brussels. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook, and join the #StateOfEU discussion!
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PHOTO CREDIT: European Union, 2019/EC- Audiovisual service
Schedule
Speakers

European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries
Virginijus Sinkevičius is Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, at the European Commission. Mr Sinkevičius was from 2017 to 2019 Minister of Economy, and before he was leading the Committee of Economy at the Parliament of Lithuania. Mr. Sinkevičius was elected to the Parliament in October 2016. Prior, he was a Team Lead for Regulatory Affairs at Invest Lithuania. Mr. Sinkevičius holds BA in International Relations and Affairs from Aberystwyth University and Master‘s degree in European International Affairs from Maastricht University.

Chief Operating Officer and Chief Spokesperson of Friends of Europe
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.
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