The post-EU elections roadmap: ensuring social justice and economic stability on the path to net-zero

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.

*Consultant at Friends of Europe.

Ruth Mourik is a transition worker with over 25 years of experience, specialising in energy and circular transitions. Her work focuses on social issues such as end-user participation, poverty, gender diversity, and policy advice, and she collaborates with organisations such as the European Commission and the International Energy Agency. Mourik founded DuneWorks, a research organisation dedicated to sustainable transitions. She previously worked at Maastricht University, Eindhoven Technical University and the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN).

Building on an extensive background in architecture and history, Stephan Petermann has established himself as a prominent figure in Europe’s arts & culture scene. He has written for the architecture magazine VOLUME and was previously a member of the EU Reflection Group, a ‘wise men’ council established to stimulate thinking around the future of the European Union. Petermann’s most recent artistic endeavour saw him participate in a collaborative project between the Harvard Graduate School of Design and the Chinese Academy for Fine Arts.

Andris Piebalgs is an experienced Latvian politician who occupied key positions at both the national and European levels. He is currently a member of the Latvian political party UNITY. Previously, he worked in the Latvian diplomatic service, first serving as the Latvian ambassador to Estonia, where he helped resolve a sea border issue between the two states. He went on to become the Latvian ambassador to the EU, in which role he helped establish Latvia as the EU candidate country. Afterwards, Piebalgs served as the European commissioner for energy and then as the European commissioner for development.

Paula Pinho is responsible for energy policy coordination and notably for strategy, planning and legal questions at the European Commission. Previously, she served as a member of cabinet for Günther Oettinger, both in his capacity as EU Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society and during his mandate as EU Commissioner for Energy. Recently, Pinho coordinated the preparation and adoption of the ‘Clean Energy for all Europeans’ package and represented the Commission in the negotiations of the Proposal for a Regulation on the Governance of the Energy Union. In her current role, Paula is overseeing the coordination of the assessment of the National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs).

Anders Storgaard is a Member of the Frederiksberg City Council. A social conservative, he aims to make his municipality Denmark’s greenest through sustainable wood construction, CO2 tax and green urban development and infrastructure policies. Storgaard is also a consultant for renewable energy at Green Power Denmark and a radio host on the talk radio channel, 24syv. He contributed to the push for Denmark to drop an eighth bidding round for North Sea oil and increase CO2 taxes, while serving as the national chairperson of Conservative Youth, a Danish political organisation.