EU Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries
European Commission
Prior to joining the European Commission, Virginijus Sinkevičius was the minister of economy of Lithuania from 2017 to 2019. He led the committee of economy at the parliament of Lithuania, to which he was elected in October 2016. Sinkevičius holds a bachelor’s in international relations and affairs from Aberystwyth University and a master’s in European international affairs from Maastricht University.
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Cillian Lohan
NAT Vice President
European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
Cillian Lohan has been an active member of the EESC since 2015 and was vice president for communications from October 2020 to 2023. He has worked extensively in the corporate and environmental sectors. He is a leader in the field of the circular economy and was the inaugural chair of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, which he helped to establish. Cillian Lohan is CEO of the Green Economy Foundation, formerly known as Irish Natural Forestry Foundation.
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Martin Seychell
Deputy Director-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA)
European Commission
Martin Seychell is a graduate in chemistry and pharmaceutical technology. He occupied the post of head of directorate for foodstuffs and chemicals at the Malta Standards Authority between 2001 and 2006, and that of director of environment protection at the Malta Environment and Planning Authority between 2006 and 2011. He was appointed deputy director general for health and consumers at the European Commission in March 2011. Between 2014 and 2020 he was deputy director-general for health in the Health and Food Safety Directorate-General (SANTE), responsible for directorates dealing with public health and health systems and products. These covered a number of policy areas including health security, health systems, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, tobacco control and digital health. He also represented the Commission on the management board of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) between 2011 and 2020. He was appointed deputy director general responsible for human development, migration, governance and peace, and resources in DG INTPA in June 2020.
María has been working on circular economy policies for the past 6 years and currently leads the unit in charge of implementing Europe’s circular economy action plan. She also works on the circular economy of textiles. After finishing her master’s at the College of Europe in European political and administrative studies, Maria worked in the representation of Andalucía to the EU in Brussels, in charge of policy areas including digitalisation, the economy, finance and the circular economy. At the Directorate-General Environment in the European Commission, Maria has discovered best practices in sustainable consumption and production, disseminated among eco-innovative businesses and public authorities. She is keen on learning more about new business models in markets for secondary raw materials. Maria also holds a degree in law and a master’s in diplomacy and international relations.
Aurel Ciobanu-Dordea joined the Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment in 2014. Before his current role, he was director of enforcement, cohesion and the European Semester until April 2022. He joined the Commission in 2009 and served as director for equality and director for fundamental rights and EU citizenship. He holds an LLM from the University of Illinois, US, and a PhD from the University of Bucharest, Romania.
Paola Migliorini has been working on circular economy policies at the Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment since 2012. She has coordinated the policy development and the implementation of the two circular economy action plans adopted by the Commission in 2015 and 2020. Currently, she focuses on the circular economy for textiles and plastics and on the EU Ecolabel. Paola has great interest in best practices on sustainable consumption and production from innovative businesses and public authorities. She has experience in European institutions and the private sector. Her motto is "explain, listen and make it happen".
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Christoffer Vestli
International Relations Officer
European Commission
Since 2020, Christoffer Vestli has been part of the multilateral team of the Directorate-General Environment of the European Commission, overseeing plastics negotiations and part of the circular economy action plan. He has worked with GACERE, the OnePlanet Network and other international projects related to sustainable consumption and production. He has experience in international relations and Norwegian legislation on the circular economy and waste management.
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Peter Schmidt
NAT Section President
European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
Born in 1962, Peter Schmidt's first occupation was cheesemaker. Later, he was a regional officer of the NGG food and catering trade union for 27 years, in charge of dairy industries and bakeries. Since 2014 he has been a member of the EESC's Group II (workers). From 2015 to 2018, he was the president of the EESC's permanent study group on sustainable food systems. From 2018 to 2020, he was the president of the EESC's sustainable development observatory. He is one of the founding members of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform and continues to support the platform in his current capacity at the EESC, responsible for agriculture, rural development and environment.
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Alice Senga
Administrator, ECESP Secretariat
European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
Seasoned communications expert Alice holds a master's in digital communication, which she complemented by EU environmental policies and law studies. She has worked in the social economy field for four years and is now part of the team managing the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform’s (ECESP) secretariat at the EESC. Over the years, she worked and facilitated policymakers and stakeholders in various configurations, including high-level events such as the platform's annual conference and the #EUCircularTalks concept.
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Anna Cameron
Head of Sector
European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
Anna Cameron's first career was as mayor of a historic town in the Eifel region of Germany. She joined the EESC in 2019, and is now leading their work on climate, sustainability and the circular economy. She co-ordinates the secretariat of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, managing the triangular relationship between the EESC, the European Commission and circular economy stakeholders on the ground to push for more circularity in the EU and beyond.