1st Conference on European Permitting

Philippe Lamberts is a Belgian politician and former Member of the European Parliament, where he served for 15 years, including a decade as Co-President of the Greens/EFA Group. He focused on EU economic, industrial, climate and energy policy, with a particular emphasis on Europe’s competitiveness and transition to a climateneutral economy. Since 2024, he has served as a principal adviser to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the transition towards a climate-neutral economy

Ms. Styliani Siarapi has served as Secretary General for the Reception of Asylum Seekers at the Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum since February 2024. Previously, she worked at the Secretariat General of the Prime Minister (2023–2024), following advisory roles at the Ministries of Citizen Protection, Labor and Social Affairs, and the Interior. She also served as a member of the National Council for Gender Equality in 2020.

Earlier in her career, she was a researcher at the Konstantinos Karamanlis Institute of Democracy and the University of the Peloponnese, while also contributing to the New Democracy Party's strategic planning ahead of the 2019 elections. Ms. Siarapi graduated with distinction in Political Science and International Relations from the University of the Peloponnese in 2017. She has completed executive programs in leadership and strategic communication at Yale School of Management and George Washington University, as well as the Jean Monnet Module "Moving the EU Forward" at the University of Athens. She is fluent in English

Wouter Beke (born 9 August 1974 in Lommel, Belgium) is a Belgian politician from the Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V) and a member of the European Parliament for the European People’s Party. He is chair of the Delegation for relations with Southeast Asia and ASEAN (DASE) and serves on the Foreign Affairs (AFET), Security and Defence (SEDE), Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), and Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) committees.

Before joining the European Parliament in 2024, Beke held several key positions in Belgian politics, including Flemish Minister for Welfare, Public Health, Family and Poverty Reduction (2019–2022) and Federal Minister for Work, Economy and Consumer Affairs (2019). He was also mayor of Leopoldsburg from 2013 to 2024 and previously served in both the Belgian Senate and the Federal House of Representatives.

Beke holds a PhD in Social Sciences from the Catholic University of Leuven and was made Knight of the Order of Leopold in 2010.

Pernille Weiss-Ehler is Member of Cabinet of Commissionaire Roswall, Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy. Pernille is the Water Resilient Expert of the Cabinet.

Former Member of the European Parliament (2019-2024) where she was full member of the ITRE and the ENVI Committees on the topics of water, energy, textiles, circular economy, and pharma. Chair of MEP Water.

Pernille holds several academic degrees and has worked as both as public and private manager, as entrepreneur after starting her career as a nurse.

Evidence-based project and -process design is one of Pernille core expertise. Before coming to Bruxelles and the EU Institutions she had for 11 years her own consultancy company focused on public buildings and their impact on services, productivity, efficiency, and quality experience.

Pernille is Danish, 57 years of age and lives in Bruxelles, Copenhagen and Berlin.

Gerda Verburg took the position of independent chairman of Element NL on September 1, 2023. In her role as chairman, Verburg represents the industry on a national and international level. Verburg was a Member of Parliament for the CDA from 1998 until she became Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality in the Balkenende IV Cabinet (2007-2010). She then held two positions at the United Nations: first as ambassador of the Netherlands to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization from 2011 to 2016 in Rome. In 2016, she was appointed Assistant Secretary-General by the UN SecretaryGeneral to lead the SUN (Scaling Up Nutrition Movement) from Geneva as coordinator

Mr. POPESCU is Chief Executive Officer of the largest natural gas producer in Romania – SNGN ROMGAZ SA, after acting for two years as Chief Financial Officer. He coordinated from a financial standpoint the most important transaction made in the past 30 years in the Romanian energy sector, i.e. the acquisition of Exxon participating interest in Neptun Deep block in the Black Sea and relating financing structure. It was under his mandate, that for the first time the international rating agency Fitch awarded ROMGAZ a ‘BBB-’ rating with a stable outlook which came in the context of the inaugural EUR 1 billion bond issuance carried out by a majority state-owned Romanian company. The rating reflected ROMGAZ successful EUR 1 billion bond issuance to support the development of the Neptun Deep project. Răzvan POPESCU started his career in 2007 working for 9 years in one of the most reputable Romanian financial institutions – the Romanian National Bank where he held the position of Portfolio Manager, responsible with managing the foreign exchange reserve. He holds a Master in Sciences (Msc Investment Management) at Bayes Business School London and is PhD student in Economy at Bucharest University of Economic Studies. Mr. POPESCU is a representative member of the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP), the global voice of the upstream oil and gas industry, and member of the Romanian Oil and Gas Employer’s Federation (FPPG) Directorate.

As Head of Public Affairs for Europe at Air Products, Lucie Boost led a team responsible for European and national energy affairs, focusing on key markets such as the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, and Spain. Her expertise encompasses hydrogen, the integrated energy market, and CCUS, aligning perfectly with GIE’s strategic priorities.

Prior to joining Air Products in January 2023, Lucie spent 13 years at Equinor, where she held various leadership positions in natural gas sales, regulatory affairs, and public affairs. During her tenure at Equinor, she gained extensive experience in gas regulation, hydrogen, and CCS, representing the company in esteemed organisations such as Eurogas, the European Federation of Energy Traders, the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers, the Zero Emissions Platform, and Hydrogen Europe.

Lucie holds a Licence degree in Political Science and International Relations from the Vrije Universiteit Brussels and is proficient in Dutch, English, and French.

Frank Beckx (1980) has been CEO of Voka, the Flemish network of enterprises, since September 2025.
He studied law at KU Leuven and began his career in 2003 as advisor and spokesperson to Flemish ministers Marino Keulen and Fientje Moerman, gaining experience in policy and communication.
In 2008 he joined essenscia, where he held various positions, including spokesperson and Head of Communication & Public Affairs. From 2014 to 2021 he was Managing Director of essenscia Vlaanderen.
In 2021 he became active at Voka, as Director of the Knowledge and Advocacy Center.

With 20 years of hand-on experience in the industrial minerals sector, David brings a practical perspective to exploration, permitting and operational planning in the extractive sector. Over the past decade, David has collaborated as an independent expert with a range of European public and private organisations, including the European Commission and EIT RawMaterials.

Throughout his career, he has taken on active leadership roles in several professional and industry organisations, both in Italy and internationally. Since May 2023, David is the President of the European Federation of Geologists (EFG), comprising 28 national geoscience organisations and representing nearly 50,000 individual members across Europe.

Gabrielle is Senior Policy Manager for Sustainability and Environment at IOGP Europe, where she leads the organisation’s work on sustainability, ESG and environmental policy, while supporting its broader membership activities.

She has more than 16 years of professional experience across sustainability, human rights and environmental due diligence, sustainable finance and, more recently, European energy policy. Before joining IOGP Europe, she spent over eight years working on the practical implementation of Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence programmes, including the management of more than 40,000 audits annually across international value chains.

Throughout her career, Gabrielle has worked with companies, governments, regulators and NGOs, developing a strong understanding of both the policy objectives behind sustainability legislation and the realities of implementing it in practice. At IOGP Europe, she focuses on translating complex EU regulatory developments into their concrete legal, operational and business implications for the energy sector.

Gabrielle also established the Informal Coalition on Permitting, which she currently chairs. The coalition brings together more than 40 European industry associations to promote practical permitting reform that supports Europe’s competitiveness and climate objectives while maintaining high environmental standards.

She is a frequent speaker on the practical implementation of EU sustainability legislation, particularly in the areas of corporate due diligence, ESG reporting and permitting.

Martin is Head of Global Quality Management & Sustainability at RHI Magnesita. He joined the company in 2008 and has held several international leadership positions spanning quality assurance, sustainability, energy and environmental management, and operations. Holding a PhD in Technical Chemistry from Graz University of Technology, he leads RHI Magnesita’s global quality management, decarbonisation initiatives and sustainable technology programs.

François-Régis joined IOGP in January 2018. He has around 30 years of international experience in the oil and gas industry. He is seconded to IOGP from TotalEnergies, where he was Vice President for Oil and Gas Advocacy. His career has taken him from reservoir engineering to business development and Public Affairs, working in Europe, U.S. and Africa. He has also served in senior advisory roles at the World Bank’s Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership in Washington D.C. and TotalEnergies’ European Affairs office in Brussels.

David Granberg is Senior Legal Counsel at Boliden, one of Europe's leading mining and metals companies. He has more than 15 years of experience in environmental law, permitting and regulatory affairs, and regularly works with large-scale mining and industrial projects. He is also actively engaged in EU policy and legislative discussions related to permitting, environmental regulation and critical raw materials.

Guy Willems is a senior policy advisor at WindEurope, where he leads work on permitting, environmental policy, and community engagement. He advises European institutions, national governments, and industry stakeholders on accelerating wind energy deployment through effective permitting frameworks, environmental safeguards, and local stakeholder involvement. He is actively involved in the implementation of key EU renewable energy legislation and the development of best practices across Europe.

Harmen is a passionate strategic leader devoted to climate change mitigation with 20 years’ experience in the sustainability sector in the field of water and renewable gas. He joined EBA in 2019 to steer the growth of the biogas sector in Europe as a sustainable and circular pathway for gas decarbonisation.

In addition to his role at EBA, Harmen holds different positions in instrumental organisations working towards climate change mitigation and the energy transition. As Vice-Chair of the United Nations ECE Gas Expert Group, he collaborates with global gas experts on sustainable development on the topic of gas. Additionally, he is a governing Board Member of the Biomethane Industrial Partnership (BIP), involving the European Commission, EU Member States and the biomethane value chain. Beside this he is also Director of the Transatlantic Climate Alliance.

Harmen is a Chemistry Engineer and holds a BSC on Business Administration. He speaks Dutch, English and German.