Programme

09:30-09:40 Opening – Welcome

  • Mr. Lazaros Maloutas, Mayor, Municipality of Kozani
  • Mr. Nikolaos Sarris, President, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Kozani
  • Mr. George Marnellos, Professor, University of Western Macedonia, President of the Board of Directors of CluBE

09:40-09:50 Coal Regions in Transition – Introducing the EESC’s Round Table Project

  • Ms. Lucie Studnicna, President of the Consultative Commission on Industrial Change (CCMI) within the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)

09:50-09:55 EU Policy Priorities for the Coal Regions in Transition

  • Mr. Klaus Dieter Borchardt (video-message), Deputy Director General responsible for the coordination of Energy Policy, the Energy Union and External Policy, DG ENER, European Commission

09:55-10:10 Keynote speech – Evolution of EU policy priorities on the way towards Carbon Neutral Economy by 2050

  • Mr. Jaroslaw Pietras, Director-General, Environment, Education, Transport and Energy (TREE), General Secretariat of the European Council

10:10-10:20 Keynote speech – National Framework on Clean Energy Transition Phasing Out Coal

  • Mr. Gerassimos Thomas, Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy in charge of Energy and Natural Resources

10:20-10:30 Keynote speech – The Region of Western Macedonia: Evolution into an Energy Development Centre

  • Mr. Georgios Kasapidis, Governor of Western Macedonia

10:30-10:40 Region of Western Macedonia Roadmap on Clean Energy Transition

  • Mr. Jonathan Walters, World Bank Consultant, Oxford Institute of Energy Studies

10:40-10:50 Coal Transition – Lessons Learnt in Previous Round Tables

  • Ms. Renata Eisenvortova, CCMI delegate, co-rapporteur of the CCMI opinion on Indigenous coal in the EU energy transition

10:50-11:00 Balkan Transition from Coal to Clean Energy

  • Mr. Dumitru Fornea, EESC Member, rapporteur of the CCMI opinion on Indigenous coal in the EU energy transition

11:20-14:00 Round Table Discussion on Coal Regions in Transition

  • Mr. Anastasios Papadopoulos, Legal Adviser – Council of the European Union, General Secretariat & Mr. Nikolaos Ntavos, Manager, CluBE

EESC Delegation:

  • Lucie Studnicna, President of the Consultative Commission on Industrial Change (CCMI) within the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), Head of the European and International Relations Department of the Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions Svazů (ČMKOS)
  • Renata Eisenvortová, EURACOAL (European Association for Coal & Lignite), European Affairs Manager, Sev.en Energy AG, Czech Republic, Member of the EURACOAL executive committee, European Affairs Manager in the energy company Severní energetická, which combines extraction of coal with electricity and heat generation and sales / Board Member of the Czech Mining union / Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Czech Confederation of Coal and Oil Producers
  • Dumitru Fornea, EESC Member, rapporteur of the CCMI opinion on Indigenous coal in the EU energy transition
  • Jacques Glorieux, CICIC Belgian branch of EURACOAL (European Association for Coal & Lignite) /BELGIAN CHAMBERS Federation of Belgian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
  • Dimitris Kittenis, Cyprus, HRDA, Human Resource Development Authority of Cyprus, Chairman, Ex. Secretary General Cyprus Workers Confederation
  • Stoev Georgi, Chairman of the trade and investment committee and member of the budgetary committee of EUROCHAMBERS; vice-president of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, representative of Idea Society at UN ECOSOC, Geneva
  • Ioannis Kolyvas, Greece, Director General of the Pan-Hellenic Confederation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations, PASEGES
  • Western Macedonia’s key stakeholders will have 3 minutes each to comment on the post coal transition

14:00 Opening of the Fair

  • Mr. Nikos Papathanasis, Deputy Minister for Industry and Commerce, Ministry of Development and Investments (tbc)
  • Mr. Georgios Kasapidis, Governor of Western Macedonia

14:00-15:00 Lunch break

15:00-17:00 Just Transition Debate: Building a New Regional Energy Identity

Moderators:

Mr. Anastasios Sidiropoulos, Programme Director, ANKO S.A. & Mr. Ioannis Fallas, Director, CluBE

Participants: Mr. Jonathan Walters, Ms. Renata Eisenvortova, Mr. Dumitru Fornea

  • Mr. Eleftherios Ioannidis, former Mayor of Kozani
  • Mr. Nikolaos Mantzaris, Policy Analyst, The Green Tank