Brussels, 27 April 2023
The Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies is proud to announce that Klaus Welle is the new Chair of the Martens Centre Academic Council.
Klaus Welle is the former Secretary-General of the European Parliament, a role in which he served from 2009 to 2022. He is now Chair of the Martens Centre’s Academic Council and is also a Guest Professor in practice at the London School of Economics and a Visiting Professor at KU Leuven.
Mr Welle takes over the leadership from Werner Fasslabend, former Austrian Minister of Defence and President of the National Council, who chaired the Academic Council since 2008. He will perform his new role and functions as Chair of the Martens Centre Academic Council on a pro-bono basis.
The Martens Centre General Assembly also decided to increase the number of its Academic Council members to accompany this new Chairmanship. The new Academic Council of the Centre will now be composed of the following members:
- Klaus Welle, Chair
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John Bruton
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Olaf Ehrenkrona
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Werner Fasslabend
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Antonis Klapsis
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Giovanni Maddalena
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Lucie Tungul
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Ziga Turk
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Michel Barnier
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Jori Arvonen
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Peter Fischer-Bolin
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Ignacio Cosido
- Anthony Teasdale
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Jakub Kierkegaard
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Steven van Hecke
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Frank Debie
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Anthony Gooch
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Stefan Lunte
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Geir Flikke
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Loredana Teodorescu
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Salome Samadashvili
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Marina Skordeli
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Mikolaj Dowgielewicz
Head to our website now to read the blog Klaus Welle wrote discussing a strategy to deal with the eventual aftermath of the war in Ukraine, or watch his video interview from EIF 22! And be sure to follow our social media to stay up to date with all our activities!
The Martens Centre is also happy to announce that during its General Assembly, the terms of Mr. Mikuláš Dzurinda, as President of the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies (WMCES), and of Mr. Antonio López-Istúriz White, as Secretary Treasurer, were renewed on April 26th, 2023.
Following the elections held on the same day, the new Executive Board of the Martens Centre will be comprised of the following members:
- Mikuláš Dzurinda – President and Executive Board Member of the Martens Centre
- Joseph Daul – Executive Board Member of the Martens Centre
- Antonio López-Istúriz White – Secretary Treasurer and Executive Board Member of the Martens Centre
- Roberta Metsola – Executive Board Member of the Martens Centre
- Maria da Graça Carvalho – Member of the European Parliament, chair of the Board of Directors of Instituto Francisco Sá Carneiro
- Peter Egardt – Chairman of Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation, former Governor and former Head of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce
- Hans-Gert Pöttering – Former President of the European Parliament, former Chairman of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung
- Arjen Siegmann – Staff member of Wetenschappelijk Instituut voor het CDA and Associate Professor of Finance, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
The Centre’s General Assembly also reelected Mr. Tomi Huhtanen, as Executive Director of the Martens Centre.
Finally, the Martens Centre General Assembly also approved the renewal of the mandates of the following Individual Members:
- Timothy Beyer Helm – Former member of the cabinet of the Sec. Gen. of the EP
- Jacob Lund Nielsen – Executive Chairman Media Track Pte Ltd
- Kostas Sasmatzoglou – Former EPP Spokesman, DG HOME Communication & Information Officer
- Filippo Terruso – Political Advisor, Advisor to the first Vice President of the CoR
- Antti Timonen – Deputy Spokesperson of the President of the EP
- Marianne Thyssen – Former European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility
- Nicolás Pascual de la Parte – Diplomat
Head to our website to find out more about the different Bodies and Experts which make up the Martens Centre, and follow us on social media to stay up to date with all our activities!