Regulating water: principles & recommendations for an efficient system

Bruno Liebhaberg is Executive Chairman of the think tank Centre on Regulation in Europe (CERRE) which he founded in 2010.

From 2018 to 2021, he was also the first Chairman of the European Union Observatory on the Online Platform Economy. He is also an Honorary Professor at the Université Libre de Bruxelles’ Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management (SBS-EM ULB) where he taught from 1979 to 2018. Earlier in his career, he advised former European Commission President Jacques Delors on industry and R&D matters related to the completion of the EU Single Market.

He holds a Master’s in management sciences from SBS-EM ULB and a Ph.D. in Industrial Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

¹Also representing B.LIEBHABERG S.A., Director General

²Member of the Strategic Committee

Paul Rübig is a former Member of the European Parliament for the European People’s Party group (Christian Democrats) from Austria.

He is the longest serving MEP from Austria, and was elected ‘‘MEP of the Year’’ for outstanding commitment in the field of research and innovation for the second time in 2013. This particularly concerns his work with small and medium sized enterprises, the reduction of roaming charges across the EU, increasing research funding (Horizon 2020) and his efforts on rethinking the energy policy of the EU.

He is also a member of the Water Group, an informal forum aiming to ensure the sustainable management of Europe’s water resources, placing water higher on the European political agenda.

Professor Sean Ennis is an economist, author, and expert. He focuses on company behaviour, competition, and regulation.

Sean Ennis is Professor of Competition Policy and Director of the Centre for Competition Policy at the University of East Anglia.

Previously, he was a Senior Economist in the Competition Division of the OECD. Prior to that, he has served as an Executive Director of the Competition Commission of Mauritius, as an Economist at the European Commission’s DG Competition and at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.

Over the years, Sean Ennis has published research studies and reports published by economic journals and submitted to the European Parliament, the G20, the OECD and the World Bank. He has co-authored reports for regulatory and government agencies in Australia, Greece, Mexico, Romania, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

He received a BA (Hons) in Economics from King’s College, Cambridge and a PhD in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley.

David Deller is a Senior Research Associate at the Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia. He is an applied economist specialising in policy questions affecting the regulated utilities, in particular energy and water.

Since 2013, Mr Deller’s research has looked at consumer behaviour, often around consumers’ apparent reluctance to switch energy suppliers, and has developed a broad array of empirical evidence to shed light on distributional and fairness issues in the energy market.

Much of his work has been facilitated by close co-operation with external partners including Ofgem, Which?, Anglian Water and the Centre on Regulation in Europe (CERRE).

Mr Deller holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Essex and a bachelor degree in Economics and Management from the University of Oxford.

Giordano Colarullo is Director General at the Italian federation for public services of water, electricity and gas, Utilitalia, since 2016.

He specialises in the regulation of network services and infrastructures and has previously worked at Ofwat, the water and waste regulatory body of England and Wales.

Utilitalia unites more than 500 businesses within the water, energy and environmental sectors across Italy.

Mr. Colarullo holds a Master’s degree in Ecological Economics from the University of East Anglia.

Andrea Guerrini is a Commissioner at Arera, the Italian Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment.

Since 2018, he has also been the President of WAREG, the association of European Water Regulators.

His background is in the water service industry and he has published several pieces in international scientific papers. In 2014, he co-founded the Water Management and Technology Research Centre.

He holds a PhD in Business Administration and Management from the University of Pisa, Italy.

Christophe Hansen is an MEP for Luxembourg in the European People’s Party Group (Christian Democrats), where he also serves as rapporteur for the Drinking Water Directive.

He has a political background, having served as a political advisor to an MEP in the European Parliament and having served in the Luxembourg Permanent Representation to the EU.

He holds a Master’s degree in Geosciences, Environmental Sciences and Risk Management from the Louis Pasteur University in Strasburg.

Carla Chiaretti is Head of Policy at EurEau since 2013, where her main tasks have revolved around water policy and sustainability, as well as closely following the legislative process of the Drinking Water Directive.

She has previously worked in the Environment section of the Irish Permanent Representation, working for the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU.

Prior to this, she worked at the Secretariat General of the European Commission, in the Directorate for inter-institutional relations with the European Parliament.

She holds a Master’s degree in European Affairs from the College of Europe.

Denis Bonvillain is the Coordinator & Permanent Delegate for EU Affairs at Suez.

He has more than 12 years of experience in managing business-oriented Public Affairs, Public Relations and lobbying campaigns in Brussels and Europe.

As an expert in European Affairs, he has in-depth knowledge of dynamic industry areas such as resource management, water and wastewater management, energy, and agro-food.

After completing a Master’s degree at Sciences Po Lyon, he continued a post graduate programme in European Studies at the Université Libre de Bruxelles.

Máximo Miccinilli* was Director, Energy & Climate at the Centre on Regulation in Europe (CERRE), leading the think tank’s research and activities related to energy and climate.

He was previously leading the public affairs and communications activities of European Aluminium where he managed international campaigns on energy and climate matters. 

Prior to this, he was a manager in the energy and climate practice at Burson-Marsteller Brussels (now BCW), a leading global PA and PR agency. 

Earlier in his career, he worked for the Italian Ministry of European Affairs and the European Commission on single market and external policies. 

He holds a MA in European Law from the College of Europe (Bruges) and a MBA in Business and Finances from the Solvay Business School (Brussels).

*Representing One Policy Lab SRL

Professor Catherine Waddams is a Research Fellow at CERRE and a faculty member of the Centre for Competition Policy and Professor at the Norwich Business School of the University of East Anglia.

She is also a board member of OFWAT, the water regulator in England and Wales. Her research interests are in Industrial Organisation. Professor Waddams has published widely on privatisation, regulation and competition in energy markets.

She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Nottingham.