Balkans & Black Sea Forum logo
Balkans & Black Sea Forum 2017
Stability | Growth | Cooperation
May 25-26, 2017 | Serres, Greece
Nationality : Greece

Mr. Georges Kremlis

Head of Unit, Directorate General for the Environment to EU Commission
  • Member of the Advisory Board
  • Speaker at Session V | Agriculture, Environment, Use of Sources

 

Georges Kremlis started his career in the European Union in 1981. He was a Legal advisor (from January 1981) in the European Commission’s Legal Service, with an interruption of three years (1990-1993) in Greece. In that period he exercised the functions of Advisor to the Greek Minister of National Economy (1990), National Co-ordinator for the European Economic Community (EEC) internal market (1990-1992), Head of the EEC Committee under the Greek Prime Minister (1993), and Secretary General for European Affairs in the Ministry of National Economy (1993). During this period he was also a Member of the Greek Competition authority.

In 1995 he joined DG Environment. From 1995 to 2004 he served as Head of the Legal Unit, responsible for all legal issues in the DG, including, inter alia, the legality of new initiatives, the implementation of EC environmental legislation and investigation of national compliance with EC Directives and Regulations; handling of complaints, infringements, EU Ombudsman requests and Petitions. From 2004 to 2005 he was Head of the “Legal affairs and Governance” Unit, responsible for in-house legal advice, Århus Convention (access to environmental information, public participation and access to justice), Environmental Liability, Environmental Criminality, the IMPEL Network that he co-chaired, the Forum of Judges and the International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and the financing of NGO’s programme. From June 2005 to May 2013 he was the Head of the Unit “Cohesion Policy and Environmental Impact Assessments”, responsible for the overall integration of the environment in the Cohesion Policy (ERDF, ESF, Cohesion Fund), the Trans-European Networks for Energy and Transport, and EIB/EBRD loans.

In his current position, since June 2013, he is the Head of the “Mainstreaming and Environmental Assessments” Unit (former “Enforcement, Cohesion Policy & European Semester, Cluster 1” Unit), responsible for the enforcement of EU environmental law and of the compliance with environmental law of projects (and plans and programmes) co-financed by the EU as well as the evaluation of their impacts. He is also responsible for environmental integration in Cohesion Policy and the Trans-European Networks for Energy and Transport.

From March to August 2011, he served as Acting Director of the Directorate “Legal Affairs and Cohesion” and from June 2013 to January 2014 as Director ad interim of the Directorate “Implementation, Governance and Semester”.

In his current position, he is Chairman of the ENEA-MA (European Network of Environmental and Managing Authorities) and the EIA/SEA (Environmental Impact Assessment / Strategic Environmental Assessment) Experts Groups. He is also a Member of the Board of the Espoo Convention.

He has also served as a member of the Board of the National Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development in Greece, and as a member of the Greek Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE). He is Founding and Honorary President of the Hellenic Environmental Law Association.

He is a lawyer of the Greek Supreme Court and in the past he has been a Research fellow at the Centre of International Economic and European Law (1979-80), in Thessaloniki. He is visiting Professor in a number of universities, in Greece and abroad, especially in post-graduate studies. He is the co-author of a four volumes

Abstract

How to advance in environmental integration in the Balkans and Black Sea countries?

• Introducing the EU environmental acquis
• Blue and Green growth initiatives and the relevance of SDG 14
• Interfacing with the Danube macro-regional strategy