Programme

* all Sofia time (GMT+2)

9:30 - 10:00 
Opening session

• Vasil Velev, Chair of the Governing Board of BICA
• Petar Dimitrov, Minister of Environment and Water of Bulgaria
• Plamen Dimitrov, President of Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria
• Keynote: The EU Blue Deal - Pietro Francesco De Lotto, President of the Consultative Commission for Industrial Change (CCMI), EESC

10:00 - 11:15 
Session 1: A Need for an EU Blue Deal and Water-Smart Strategy

Moderator: Durk Krol, Executive Director, Water Europe

• Lyubomir Filipov, Strategic partnerships and regulation Director, Veolia
• Alain Taccoen, Chair of the Sustainability Board, SGI EU
• Philip Beetlestone, Director, SIWI
• Mihail Todorov, Bulgaria Sales Area Manager, Xylem

11:15 – 11:30
Coffee Break

11:30 - 12:45
Session 2: Avenues for Boosting Transborder Cooperation: the Bulgarian Perspective

Moderator: Milena Angelova, EESC Rapporteur for Blue Deal and Water efficiency

• Doha Zammel, Water Expert, Union for the Mediterranean
• Ivan Ivanov, Chairman, Bulgarian Water Association
• Evgeni Yanev, Deputy Chairman of the National Trade Union "Water Supplier", CITUB
• Karoly Kovacs, Former President, European Water Association (EWA)
• David Smith, WG Leader, Water Beyond Europe
• Desislava Stoykova, Legal Adviser, National Association of the Municipalities in Republic of Bulgaria

12:45 - 13:00
Closing remarks

• Cinzia del Rio, President of the Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship (SOC) Section, EESC