State of Europe 2025

Anna Barrera is Director of Programmes at the EU-LAC Foundation, overseeing the organisation’s activities and leading knowledge generation on EU–Latin America and Caribbean relations through dialogues, analyses and publications. She supports initiatives in multilateralism, democracy, climate and environment and gender equality, including the EU-LAC Women’s International Network. Previously, Barrera gained extensive experience in scientific research, development cooperation and international relations at institutions such as UN Women, UNDP, Bucerius Law School and the GLS Future Foundation. Her research has focused on human rights, indigenous peoples, legal pluralism and gender relations in the Andean region.

António Costa is President of the European Council and former prime minister of Portugal, who previously served as mayor of Lisbon and minister of Justice. He began his political career as a member of Parliament and held roles including secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs, minister for Parliamentary Affairs and vice-president of the European Parliament. Costa oversaw Lisbon’s 1998 World Exposition, led reforms in the justice system and revitalised Lisbon as mayor. Known for his pragmatic and reformist leadership, he has guided Portugal through economic recovery and social renewal while championing European unity, inclusion and democratic governance.

Pronouns: she/her
Alessandra is the Head of Programming and Operations at Debating Europe, the citizen engagement unit of Friends of Europe. She oversees Debating Europe’s project implementation and develops its programme of activities ranging from citizen engagement to the “Democracy” area of expertise. Alessandra is an experienced facilitator and has an international multidisciplinary background with a focus on EU affairs, holding a joint Master’s degree in European studies at the University of Bath and Sciences Po Paris. Prior to joining Debating Europe, Alessandra worked at the European Commission, as well as in European and American not-for-profit organisations in Brussels and Berlin, in the field of communications and project management for regional development and youth engagement. Alessandra speaks Italian, English and French fluently.

Anthony Gardner is a former United States Ambassador to the European Union and Senior Advisor at Brunswick. As Ambassador, he played a central role in transatlantic trade negotiations and advised on data privacy, the digital economy, sanctions and energy security. Gardner has also held senior roles in finance and law, including Managing Director at a London-based private equity firm and leadership positions at Bank of America, GE Capital and GE International. He serves on multiple advisory boards, including the Centre for European Reform and the European Policy Centre and is active in supporting Ukraine.

Andréa Ganovelli is the co-founder and CEO of Green-Got, a French fintech transforming how individuals invest and bank for a sustainable future. Under his leadership, Green-Got has become one of Europe’s leading impact-driven financial platforms, managing over €170mn while aligning growth with measurable climate action. Ganovelli focuses on building accessible, transparent and responsible financial products that empower people to use their money as a force for good. He advocates for a new generation of banking that combines technological innovation with environmental integrity to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Aslak Holmberg is a salmon fisher, teacher and former president of the Saami Council, an international body made up of nine Saami member organisations from Finland, Norway, Russia and Sweden. A former member of the Saami Parliament of Finland, Holmberg has for the past decade been involved in Saami activism, working with various processes dealing with indigenous Saami knowledge and rights. Holmberg is currently working with research ethics and has led the Saami Council’s work on biodiversity for several years. Safeguarding healthy and productive ecosystems and their sustainable use is essential for Saami culture and identity. He has taught North Saami language at the Saami University of Applied Sciences and holds an MA degree in Indigenous Studies from UiT, the Arctic University of Norway.

Aleksander Jevšek is a Slovenian politician who currently serves as Minister of Cohesion and Regional Development. Previously, he spent three decades in leadership roles within the Slovenian Police, including four years as Director of the Criminal Police Directorate. Between 2012 and 2014, he worked as an expert on a European Commission project supporting Bosnia and Herzegovina in aligning its criminal legislation with EU standards. Since 2014, he has served as Mayor of Murska Sobota, where he led numerous EU-funded development projects and twice chaired the Association of Municipalities and Towns of Slovenia.  

Amélie Matton is the current Senior Advisor to the Board, and until recently CEO, of Ecosteryl, a world-leading medical waste management service based in Mons, Belgium. An experienced leader with a demonstrated history in the environmental services industry, Matton also has a strong background in the financial, operations and international trade sectors. At the head of a company, in a once male-dominated industry, now operating in more than 65 countries, this environmental engineer is passionate about women not having to make concessions in order to become leaders in business. Among her accolades, Matton is a member of Belgium’s 40 under 40, was nominated at the Manager of the Year 2023 edition and was part of the first Belgian list of Inspiring Women in Tech.

Arthur Mensch is the CEO and Co-Founder of Mistral AI, a European company developing open and generative artificial intelligence (AI) models. Under his leadership, Mistral has become a symbol of Europe’s growing ambition in AI innovation and technological sovereignty. Before founding Mistral, Mensch worked as a researcher at DeepMind, where he contributed to advances in deep learning, and held research positions at Inria, McGill University and the NYU Courant Institute. A computer scientist by training, he is recognised as one of the leading figures shaping Europe’s AI landscape.

A member of the regional executive leadership team at Edwards Lifesciences, Andrea Rappagliosi leads the company’s government affairs, market access, communication and patients advocacy engagement. He previously worked at Sanofi as the vice-president of European public affairs, prior to which he held positions in the public affairs and market access policy area at Baxter Healthcare, Serono International and GSK. A founding member of the Global Policy Forum at HTAi, the scientific and professional society for those who produce or use health technology assessment (HTA), Rappagliosi currently chairs the MedTech Europe HTA Committee and serves on the Board of the European Patient Safety Foundation (EUPSF).

At LinkedIn, Blake Lawit is responsible for legal affairs and public policy across the globe, including regulatory, corporate, commercial, litigation, government relations, compliance, and privacy issues. Since joining LinkedIn in 2010, Blake has been instrumental to the company’s legal and public policy strategies and has helped to navigate complex litigation and regulatory issues. Prior to his current role, he led the teams responsible for litigation, regulatory disputes, antitrust, patent, employment, and legal department operations. Before he joined LinkedIn, Blake was a partner at Howard Rice in San Francisco, where he specialized in intellectual property and litigation. Blake graduated with honors from Harvard Law School and Harvard College.

Connie Hedegaard holds several leading positions in support of a low-carbon and green economy. She was appointed Lead of the Mission on ‘Adaptation to Climate Change including Societal Transformation’ for Horizon Europe and also chairs the Board of the KR Foundation, a Danish climate and sustainability foundation. Hedegaard was also the European commissioner for climate action, in which role she led the negotiations for the adoption of the 2030 Climate and Energy Framework and the 2050 Roadmap for moving towards a low-carbon economy, whilst also representing the EU in international climate negotiations.

Cristina Gherasimov has been Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration and Chief Negotiator with the EU since January 2024. With extensive experience in various official roles, she has played a key part in Moldova’s European integration. Previously, Gherasimov served as an advisor on Foreign Policy and European Integration to the President of Moldova and as Secretary General of the Presidential Office. She also held the position of Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. Before joining the government, she acquired a rich background in research institutes, think tanks and public organisations.

The former president of Lithuania and European commissioner, Dalia Grybauskaitė currently serves as the Co-Chair of the United Nations High-Level Panel on International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity (FACTI). Previously, she has chaired the Council of Women World Leaders and held several positions as a Lithuanian diplomat and politician, including as the country’s finance minister, as well as minister plenipotentiary at the Lithuanian embassy to the United States and at the Lithuanian Mission to the EU. Notably, Grybauskaitė played a key role in improving the relations between Lithuania and the EU as the deputy chief negotiator of Lithuania’s Association Agreement with the EU.

Ditte Juul Jørgensen, the Director-General of DG ENER, brings 27 years of experience in the European Commission to her role. Her career has encompassed diverse positions, including head of the cabinet of Competition Commissioner Vestager and director of legal Affairs and trade in goods at the Directorate-General for Trade (DG TRADE). With her extensive background, the Commissioner has acquired valuable expertise in trade, competition and energy policy.

Disa Jironet is a Dutch Public Prosecutor and author with a background in Dutch and international law. Specialised in the role of justice in society, her work adopts a new approach to criminal law by examining how societal systems and institutions can be shaped compassionately to better serve humanity. Her book “Crime and Compassion” argues for a more humane criminal climate. Acknowledging the complexity of human behaviour, Jironet remains critically optimistic that justice reform can move beyond the debate of hard or soft punishment and towards an evidence-based conversation about long-term sustainable justice and security.

Dmytro Kuleba served as Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2020 to 2024, leading the country’s diplomatic efforts during the Russian invasion. As the youngest foreign minister in Ukraine’s history, he played a central role in forging alliances, securing military and political support and advancing Ukraine’s European Union and NATO aspirations. Under his leadership, the ministry became a pioneer in wartime communications, introducing the world’s first AI-driven spokesperson. Kuleba is a Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center, an Associate Professor at Sciences Po, and a Distinguished Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. He is the author of “The War for Reality: How to Win in the World of Fakes, Truths, and Communities”.

Enrico Letta is Dean of the IE School of Politics, Economics, and Global Affairs, and President of the Jacques Delors Institute and AREL. He served as Prime Minister of Italy and has held multiple ministerial roles, including Minister for EU Affairs and Minister for Industry and Foreign Trade. Letta previously led the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po and chaired the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs. He was tasked by European institutions to draft a Report on the Future of the Single Market, reflecting his expertise in European policy and governance.

Eugene Slavnyi is the Editor-in-Chief and News Director of UNITED24 Media, Ukraine’s largest English-language media platform, reaching over 75 million viewers each month. A former war correspondent, he was part of the team that transformed Ukraine’s state broadcaster UT-1 into the public media company UA:PBC. Slavnyi now leads a newsroom focused on global audiences, covering Russian war crimes, conducting investigative reporting and countering disinformation. Under his direction, UNITED24 Media has become a leading English-language source on Ukraine, combining frontline journalism with digital expertise to engage international audiences effectively.

Ekaterina Zaharieva is the European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation. A Bulgarian lawyer and experienced politician, she has held a range of senior positions including deputy prime minister for Judicial Reform, deputy prime minister for Economic Policy, Minister of Foreign Affairs, minister of Justice and minister of Regional Development and Public Works. Zaharieva has also served as Head of Cabinet of the President and as a member of parliament. Throughout her career, she has been recognised for her leadership in advancing judicial reform, strengthening democratic institutions and promoting innovation as a driver of sustainable growth.

Gabor Iklódy is an independent consultant on security and defence, and a Senior Fellow at Friends of Europe. He has previously held senior roles in NATO and the EU, including serving as EU Ambassador to Eritrea and Director for Crisis Management and Planning in the EEAS, where he oversaw the CSDP and EU defence initiatives. Prior to this, he was NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, covering cybersecurity, terrorism, WMD proliferation, energy security and strategic foresight. He spent nearly three decades in the Hungarian foreign service, with postings in Bucharest, OSCE Vienna, Oslo and Stockholm.

Gert Jan Koopman is the Director-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood. Prior to this, he served as the director-general of the European Commission’s budget department. In this role, he contributed to putting in place the European Union’s €800bn NextGenerationEU recovery plan, as well as the €18bn MFA+ for Ukraine. He has worked to enable its financing on the capital markets through a sovereign-style funding system. Having served the EU for nearly three decades, Koopman was previously in charge of state aid control at the Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition. His earlier assignments included senior management posts in the department for economic and financial affairs, the Commission’s economic service, as well as enterprise and industry, which supervises the smooth running of the single market. 

Gabriela Ramos is an international leader and economist from Mexico with over three decades of experience advancing global policy in AI, gender equality, inclusive growth and climate action. As UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, she has positioned the organisation as a global reference in AI ethics, anti-racism and gender equality, while driving major initiatives in youth empowerment and sport for development. Previously, as OECD Chief of Staff and G20 Sherpa, she led landmark reforms in international taxation, education and inclusive growth, and helped shape the Paris Agreement. Ramos is recognised for her strategic leadership and transformative impact across multilateral institutions.

Hajdana Kostić is a painter, illustrator and graphic designer from Montenegro. Her work hangs on walls around the world, including in the private collections of stars like John Malkovich, Keanu Reeves and will.i.am. Kostić rose to national fame after winning Montenegro’s 2023 Red Bull Doodle Art competition. Recent projects include illustrations to adorn London’s Megaro Hotel; covers for Air Serbia’s in-flight magazine and an exhibition exploring boundaries between humanity and technology. Kostić’s clients include VISA and UNICEF; and her street art decorates Montenegro’s capital and coastal cities. She also uses art to raise funding for war victims and other charitable causes.

Henna Virkkunen is the European Commission Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, and Commissioner for Digital and Frontier Technologies. She previously served as a Member of the European Parliament, focusing on digitalisation, research, energy, transport and regulatory oversight. In Finland, Virkkunen held several ministerial positions, including Minister of Education, Minister of Public Administration and Local Government, and Minister of Transport and Local Government. Known for her pragmatic approach, she brings extensive national and European political experience to a portfolio at the intersection of technology, regulation, and democratic governance.

Holy Ranaivozanany is the Deputy Executive Director of the Africa-Europe Foundation, strategically contributing to the organisation’s mission and key priorities, management, partnerships and budget, including responsibility for impactful engagement and outreach across Africa, Europe and through global platforms. Holy has extensive experience in stakeholder engagement and communications regarding sustainability issues. Prior to joining the Africa-Europe Foundation, she led corporate social responsibility and sustainability for Fortune 500 companies based in China and France, covering strategy, policy work and communications. With a focus on technology for good, she launched global digital inclusion and education programmes and drove corporate engagement with international organisations, civil society and academia, notably on climate change and circular economy. A graduate from EDHEC Business School, Holy speaks fluent French, English, Spanish and Malagasy, and has a good command of Portuguese and elementary proficiency in Chinese.

Currently serving as Ireland’s Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Jack Chambers is also Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil and played a leading role in the party’s success in legislative elections held in November 2024. Previously, he was notably appointed as Ireland’s youngest Minister for Finance in over a century. A medical doctor, Chambers was first elected to Parliament in 2016 at 25, its youngest member. He has held ministerial positions in the departments of transport, defence, and environment, climate and communications, as well as serving in Government.

Jakov Milatović is the President of Montenegro and the founder of Europe Now! Movement. He previously served as minister of Economic Development and worked in the banking sector in Montenegro and internationally. At the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Milatović focused on economic analysis for Southeast Europe and the Western Balkans. A US government scholarship recipient, he participated in programmes organised by the United Nations, the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Montenegrin Embassy in Rome, and the Office for International Cooperation at the Faculty of Economics in Podgorica.

James Kanter is the founding editor of the EU Scream politics podcast and a former correspondent for Dow Jones–Wall Street Journal Europe, the International Herald Tribune, and The New York Times in Paris and Brussels. He began his journalism career at The Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh and has been recognised with the Reporting Europe Prize for his coverage of energy and climate issues. Kanter is known for his in-depth reporting on European politics, climate and regulatory affairs, providing critical analysis to international audiences.

Retiring from NATO in September 2018 after 38 years at the organisation, Jamie Shea has occupied a number of senior positions at NATO across a wide range of areas, including external relations, press and media, and policy planning. As NATO’s spokesperson, he was the face of the alliance during the Bosnia and Kosovo conflicts. He later worked as the director of policy planning in the private office of former secretary general Rasmussen during the preparation of NATO’s 2010 Strategic Concept. Shea is also a regular lecturer and conference speaker on NATO and European security affairs.

Jan-Willem van Putten is a Dutch social entrepreneur and policy expert. He is co-founder of both The School for Moral Ambition and Training for Good, which focus on priming a new generation of leaders to confront pressing global challenges and make a lasting impact on society. Through his work, he strives not only to talk about a better world, but also to take action towards one. As Fellowship Director at The School for Moral Ambition, van Putten manages programmes that empower individuals to drive change in sustainable food production and tobacco industry control. Training for Good works to equip young European policymakers and journalists to recognise and reduce risks from emerging technologies.

Kelly Devine has served as President of Mastercard Europe since September 2025, overseeing the company’s strategy and operations across 53 countries. In this role, she drives the success of Mastercard’s multi-rail payments technology business, enabling innovation and growth in partnership with retailers, financial institutions, governments, and businesses that collectively serve more than 950 million people. Kelly rejoined Mastercard after a year at Dunelm, where she held the role of Chief Customer Officer. Prior to that, she was Mastercard’s Divisional President for the UK & Ireland for five years, having led both the consumer and commercial businesses previously. Kelly has built a distinguished career shaping the payments landscape. Before Mastercard, she spent a decade at American Express, where she held European and global leadership roles across strategy, business development, salesforce effectiveness and product management. Kelly is on the board of Vocalink (a Mastercard company) and has held board roles at Dunelm and UK Finance.

Lee Buchheit is an Honorary Professor at University of Edinburgh Law School. Specialising in sovereign debt management, Buchheit has worked on over two dozen sovereign debt restructurings. He led the international legal teams advising the Hellenic Republic and the Republic of Iraq in their debt restructurings, the two largest sovereign debt workouts in history. Buchheit is the author of two books on international law and over 40 scholarly papers on sovereign debt matters.

Lubomila Jordanova is the co-founder and CEO of Plan A, a software provider offering an end-to-end platform for decarbonisation and policy alignment for businesses. The company works with over a thousand organisations, including BMW, Chloé, the European Commission, APAX and BNP Paribas. Jordanova is also co-founder of the Greentech Alliance, a community of more than 3,500 businesses tackling climate change with technology, connected to over 500 advisors from venture capital, media and business. She previously worked in investment banking, venture capital and fintech across Asia and Europe. Jordanova has been recognised as a LinkedIn Top Voice, Marshall Fund Fellow and Top 50 Women Entrepreneurs in Germany.

Luka Mesec is a Slovenian politician and activist who currently serves as the Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunity, and as Deputy Prime Minister. He has served in the national parliament for nearly a decade and is the former leader of the eco-socialist party, The Left. Throughout his political career, he has championed participatory economics, social corporate governance, improved social benefits for the poor, labour rights and the abolition of tax havens. Mesec also initiated the establishment of a Ministry of Solidarity-Based Future, in charge of developing social housing, long-term care and economic democracy. Prior to entering politics, he was notably active in various initiatives that promoted the welfare state and workers’ rights.

Born in Israel to an Italian mother and Libyan father, Liel Maghen has spent years exploring his identity, which has led him to his active involvement in peace building activities in the Middle East. After co-directing the Israel/Palestine Centre for Research and Information (IPCRI), a partnership-building NGO and think tank, he co-founded Elham – the Day After, bringing together Israeli and Palestinian artists to sow seeds of hope in a shared future. Maghen also acts as a consultant on programmes across the Middle East promoting community building, intercultural dialogue and non-violent communication. In 2022, he was awarded the IIE Victor J. Goldberg Prize for Peace in the Middle East. He is currently making his first feature-length documentary to inspire hope in the war-torn region.

Malcolm Byrne is an Irish politician for the centrist Fianna Fáil party (ALDE) and served in local government before entering parliament. He is his party’s spokesperson on further and higher education, research, innovation and science. He speaks and writes regularly on regulating technology as well as the importance of the arts, sport and community volunteerism. He served on the Senate Brexit Committee. Previously, Malcolm worked as the head of communications and public affairs at the Higher Education Authority, the statutory agency in Ireland that allocates public funding to higher education and advises the government on higher education and research policy. Having worked for various lobbying and representative organisations throughout his career, Byrne was also the first commercial manager at myhome.ie, Ireland’s most successful property website. Outside of his professional career, he has completed 37 marathons, including another Dublin marathon last week.

Maud Caillaux is Co-Founder of Green-Got, a French neo-bank that channels funding towards the green transition. Customers get ecological bank accounts where savings contribute to ocean clean-up, re-forestation, sustainable agriculture, renewable energies and other environmental projects. The goal is to empower all savers to make money while investing in transition. “No longer will a single cent go to finance fossil fuels,” affirms Caillaux. Founded in 2020, Green-Got is expanding rapidly, with €100mn under management and transactions totalling more than €1bn. The bank went international by moving into Belgium in 2023 and, in November 2024, raised €5mn in 148 minutes during a record-breaking crowdfunding drive.

Madeleine de Cock Buning is Vice-President of Global Affairs Europe, Middle East and Africa at Netflix, where she leads efforts to support governments in promoting creative industries as drivers of innovation and economic growth. She is a chaired professor of Copyright and Media Law at the University of Utrecht and professor of Digital Politics, Economy and Societies at the European University Institute. De Cock Buning chairs the Advisory Board of the European Digital Media Observatory and serves on the Board of Directors of AmCham Netherlands. She previously held senior roles with the Dutch Media Authority, European Commission and as an international legal expert on copyright and media law.

Having previously served as the commissioner for digital economy and society, Mariya currently serves as the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Digital Economy and Society. Mariya is a former member of the European Parliament, in which role she was active as both the head of the Bulgarian European People’s Party (EPP) delegation and vice-president of the EPP party. She was also involved in a wide range of parliamentary committees, having served as the EPP Group coordinator for the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM), and as a member of the committees on agriculture and rural development (AGRI); civil liberties, justice and home affairs (LIBE); petitions (PETI); and the special committee on organised crime, corruption and money laundering (CRIM). The recipient of several international awards, she is passionate about initiatives related to young people and has established six European information centres in Bulgaria.

María Fernanda Espinosa is a diplomat and international leader with over 30 years of multilateral experience in peace, security, human rights, gender equality, climate and sustainable development. She was the first woman from Latin America and the Caribbean to serve as President of the United Nations General Assembly and has held multiple ministerial posts in Ecuador, including Foreign Affairs and National Defence. Espinosa serves on leading international organisations, including the International Crisis Group and UN Advisory Board on Human Security and has published extensively on geopolitics, multilateralism and global development.

Mary Fitzgerald is a researcher and analyst specialising in the Mediterranean region with a particular focus on Libya. She has consulted for a number of international organisations including in the areas of peacebuilding and civil society. She has worked with the International Crisis Group (ICG), the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) among others. She is a Non-Resident Scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington DC, an Associate Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, King’s College London and an Associate Fellow at ISPI in Milan. Mary has also worked on wider initiatives with UNESCO, the Anna Lindh Foundation, the British Council and other cultural organisations. Her writing has appeared in publications including Foreign Policy, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Financial Times and The Guardian.

A distinguished economist, Mario Monti has cemented his reputation as a committed supporter of the single currency and a talented negotiator leading a government of technocrats in the wake of the Italian debt crisis in late 2011. Most recently, he chaired the High-Level Group on Own Resources, a consultative committee of the European Union, aimed at proposing new forms of revenue for the European Union’s budget, which resulted in the final report “Future Financing of the EU”, arguing for new tax sources.

Muhammad Shehada is a visiting fellow with ECFR’s Middle East and North Africa programme. A researcher, writer and human rights advocate from Gaza, he focuses on human rights violations in Gaza and the West Bank and on the treatment of migrants, refugees and civilians in conflict zones across the Middle East and Europe. Shehada is chief of communications and programmes at the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor and has contributed to international outlets including The Forward, Al Jazeera, Newsweek, The Nation, and The New Arab.

Nevenka Lastrić-Đurić has been State Secretary in Croatia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs since August 2024. Previously, she worked at the US Embassy in Zagreb as an advisor for legal policy across the Central and Eastern European region. She promoted international cooperation and delivered targeted training for judges, prosecutors and police to counter cross-border criminality and encourage institutional reform. LastrićĐurić focused particularly on strengthening cooperation in exchange of digital evidence, combatting cybercrime and fraud related to cryptocurrencies. In November, she became VicePresident of the Zagreb section of the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) as it prepares to contest the 2025 municipal elections.

Oana Țoiu is a Romanian social entrepreneur-turned-politician who currently serves as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Vice-President of USR (Renew Europe), one of the country’s ruling coalition parties. She previously held leadership roles in the Chamber of Deputies as Vice-President and Chair of the Labour and Social Protection Committee, where she championed legislation to improve flexible work schemes, expand housing rights for victims of domestic violence, and strengthen protections for single-parent doctors. Before entering politics, Oana built a career in social innovation, including as an executive at Mesteshukar ButiQ, a network of Roma artisans and international designers, and as co-founder of Social Innovation Solutions, which empowers entrepreneurs, NGOs, youth and policymakers to address future challenges. She remains committed to advancing inclusive policies that bridge governance, business and civil society.

Pascal Lamy is a French politician and the Vice President of the Paris Peace Forum, a new innovative global governance initiative. He served as the director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO) for two consecutive terms, prior to which he was the European commissioner for trade and head of cabinet for former Commission president, Jacques Delores. Currently an associate professor at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, Lamy also frequently lectures at the Institut Jacques Delors and speaks on issues related to globalisation, global governance, international trade, international economics and regional integration. He has written several publications on the European Union and the ‘harmonising’ of globalisation and is a Trustee of Friends of Europe.

Paul Watkinson is a senior climate negotiator and multilateral facilitator with decades of experience advancing global action on climate change and sustainable development. He led the French delegation to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and played a central role in organising COP21 and drafting the Paris Agreement. Watkinson later chaired the UNFCCC’s Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and advised the UAE COP28 presidency during the first global stocktake. He now works independently, focusing on strengthening the multilateral climate process and accelerating international action on climate change.

Pawel Zerka is a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, where he leads research on public opinion, polling and data analysis in foreign affairs. His work also focuses on global trade policy, Latin American politics and the roles of Poland and France in the European Union. Based in ECFR’s Paris office, Zerka previously worked as a foreign policy expert in Poland. He brings extensive analytical expertise to his research and publications, contributing to informed debates on European and global policy challenges.

Ricardo Baptista Leite is the CEO of Health AI – The Global Agency for Responsible AI in Health, a nonprofit dedicated to helping countries develop regulatory frameworks for artificial intelligence in health care. He is also the founder and president of the UNITE Global Parliamentarians Network for Global Health, which connects policymakers from 110 countries. Ricardo is a city councillor in Sintra and previously served four terms as a member of Parliament in Portugal, where he contributed to the health and foreign affairs committees. Committed to community service, Ricardo volunteered as a medical doctor during the COVID-19 pandemic at his hometown hospital in Portugal and joined a humanitarian mission at the Lviv Regional Hospital in Ukraine during the first summer of the war. He was recognised in 2015 by Friends of Europe as a European Young Leader (EYL40), a programme highlighting emerging leaders shaping Europe’s future.

Sylvain Johansson is a senior partner at McKinsey & Company and director of the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), the firm’s business and economics research arm. He advises financial-services institutions across Europe, the United States, Africa and Switzerland on strategy, transformation, risk, investment management, sustainability and the net-zero transition. At MGI, Johansson leads research on European competitiveness, global balance sheets, productivity and climate-risk adaptation. He previously served as managing partner of McKinsey’s Geneva office.

Taras Kachka serves as Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine and continues to hold the position of the country’s Trade Representative. A lawyer and trade expert, he has played a leading role in shaping Ukraine’s economic and integration agenda, including as a key negotiator of the EU–Ukraine Association Agreement. Before assuming his current role, Kachka held senior positions at the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food. He has also led initiatives at the American Chamber of Commerce and the International Renaissance Foundation.

As the newly-minted Minister for Energy of the De Croo government, Tinne Van der Straeten wants to work on ambitious climate and energy policies while keeping energy affordable. She has a long history with Groen, one of Belgium’s green parties, and served in the Chamber of Representatives of the Federal Parliament before taking up her current position. Van der Straeten previously worked as a climate and energy lawyer, building a successful law firm which works for many major players in the electricity sector and industry.

Lithuanian publisher Ūla Ambrasaitė has been on a mission to produce books that bring authors and readers together in a living social network. She founded the LAPAS publishing house in 2013 with a focus on architecture, humanities, arts and literature, providing opportunities for young authors and creating books that enrich the space around them. Ambrasaitė is a Board Member at the Lithuanian Publishers Association. In 2013 she founded the EDIT Street Art Festival, the first of its kind in Lithuania. As curator and director, Ambrasaitė attracted top international artists to the festival in Vilnius and Klaipeda. She continues to curate while exploring creative financial and philanthropic investments in cultural enterprises.

Vasilisa Stepanenko is a Ukrainian video journalist and correspondent for the Associated Press (AP), based in Kyiv. Focused on human rights and social justice amid the war in Ukraine, she was one of the few international journalists to remain in Mariupol during its siege, capturing images that played a crucial role in urging international leaders to open a humanitarian corridor. Stepanenko and her team won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for the reporting from Mariupol and investigations of war crimes in the city committed by Russia, making her one of the youngest recipients of the award. She was also the field producer of “20 Days in Mariupol”, a documentary exposing the human cost of the war, which won both an Oscar and a BAFTA for Best Documentary.

Dr Valbona Zeneli currently holds the role of Senior Fellow for Peace, Security and Defence at Friends of Europe, and is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council of the United States, with a dual affiliation at the Europe Center and the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security’s Transatlantic Security Initiative. From 2011 to 2023, she served as a Professor of National Security Studies and Chair of Strategic Engagements at the U.S. Department of Defense’s George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies. She is also a visiting scholar for 2023-2024 at the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies at Harvard University and a visiting fellow at the Robert Schuman Centre (RSC) at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. Dr Zeneli specialises in transatlantic relations, strategic competition, NATO, globalisation, European Union enlargement and the Western Balkans. In 2023, she won the Inspiration for Women Award.

German politician Wiebke Winter is a member of the Bremen State Parliament representing the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). She is the youngest female member of the CDU’s Federal Executive Board. Winter’s political priorities include climate protection, security and digitalisation. In 2021, she co-founded KlimaUnion to push for more ambitious climate policies, particularly through climate-focused foreign policy. Winter chairs the Home Affairs Committee in the State Parliament. She co-led the CDU list in in Bremen’s 2023 state election and is the party’s deputy parliamentary group leader and spokeswoman on Justice. Winter campaigns to get more young women in politics.

William Yang is Senior Analyst for North East Asia at Crisis Group, focusing on China’s foreign policy, China-Taiwan relations, and the country’s global influence on geopolitical dynamics. Previously, he spent 12 years as a correspondent covering East Asia for multiple foreign media outlets, reporting on political and social issues as well as China’s growing global impact. Yang was part of the team that won the bronze prize at the 2021 Asian Media Awards for Nikkei Asia and regularly appears on television and radio to discuss China, Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific.

Yolanda Díaz Pérez is Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister of Labour and Social Economy. As Labour Minister, she led landmark initiatives including the increase of the minimum wage, a flexible temporary employment regulation scheme that protected millions of workers and enterprises during the COVID-19 crisis, and legislation recognising labour rights for workers on digital delivery platforms. Díaz has also fostered extensive social dialogue, achieving over 20 major agreements, including comprehensive labour reforms, contributing to Spain’s lowest unemployment rate since 2008.

Yael Patir is a senior director and advisor with over 20 years of experience in public policy, international relations and strategic communication. She has advised the European Union Delegation to Israel and served as Chief of Staff and Senior Diplomatic Advisor to the Israeli Minister for Regional Cooperation. Patir was Executive Director of J Street Israel and led the Department for Civil Leadership at the Shimon Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, co-directing the Palestinian-Israeli Peace NGO Forum. She serves on the boards of the Israel Women’s Network and Mitvim, promoting civic equity, democracy and regional peace initiatives.

Zaha Hassan is a human rights lawyer and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where she focuses on Palestine-Israel peace, international legal mechanisms and US foreign policy in the region. She previously served as coordinator and senior legal advisor to the Palestinian negotiating team during Palestine’s bid for UN membership and participated in Quartet-sponsored exploratory talks. Hassan is active in track II peace initiatives and regularly contributes to international media, including The New York Times, Al Jazeera English, and CNN.