Towards a New EU Energy Governance Framework

Mrs Abreu Marques is Deputy Director in the European Commission’s department of Energy, “DG ENER.A – Energy policy: Strategy and Coordination”, and Head of Unit DG ENER.A1, where she coordinates the implementation of the overall EU energy policy intervention framed by the Commission’s President Political Guidelines and notably the European Clean Industrial Deal, the European Green Deal, REPowerEU, Action Plan for Affordable Energy and, more recently, the Accelerate EU Strategy further to the Middle East energy crisis. She coordinates the preparation of the post-2030 energy policy framework, notably the revision of the Governance of the Energy Union. She manages the inter-institutional relations with the European Parliament, the Council and the other EU institutions, including the rotating Presidencies and European Council preparations. She oversees the overall policy and strategy planning and internal procedures to implement the Strategic Policy Planning of the Commission, and coordinates DG ENER policy input to Commission priorities and strategies.

Previously, Mrs Abreu Marques had been heading for several years the unit responsible for the definition and implementation of the EU renewables’ policy, being in charge of the preparation, negotiation and implementation of the Renewables’ Directive (REDII), as well as the 2020 Energy System Integration and Hydrogen Strategies. Before then she was heading the “International Energy Relations and Enlargement” unit, where she defined and steered the general approach in the area of international energy relations.

She graduated in economics at the Nova School of Business and Economics in Lisbon and has a master in European economics by the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.

Francois Beaude acts as head of strategy and communication for the EU agency for the cooperation of energy regulators (ACER). Previously, he held various roles at ACER and at the DG Competition of the European Commission (working on renewable support schemes, security of energy supply, and hydrogen-related measures). Francois also worked for RTE, a French electricity network operator, on various topics related to how to integrate renewables and new technologies into the electric system and markets. He holds a Master in Engineering from Ecole Polytechnique and a Master’s of Science in Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Eugenio Bruti Liberati is a full professor of administrative law at the University of Eastern Piedmont. He is a lawyer and provides legal consulting and assistance to public administrations and private companies. He is the author of many publications, many of which focus on services of general economic interest and energy regulation, policy and governance. 

Maurice Dierick heads the European Affairs department at RTE, the French transmission system operator. took up the position of executive director for European Affairs at RTE in September 2024. After starting his career in industry, he has been working in the energy sector since 2001, mainly in asset management and system and market operations, but also in hydro power and grid-scale batteries. He is a past member of the Board of ENTSO-E, an engineer by training, and passionate about the future of the biggest interconnected grid in the world: Europe’s.

Jillian has extensive experience in energy regulation in Northern Ireland across public and private sectors. As Head of Networks at the Utility Regulator, she oversees a range of projects including developing the regulatory regime for offshore wind, planning the electricity smart meter roll out programme, monitoring the licence compliance of network companies and driving forward strategic development projects to get best value from the electricity network.

Before joining UR, she was the business development lead for a large contracting business: a role that included successfully bidding for major public sector contracts and establishing private sector contracts. She also managed regulatory risk for a gas network operator during the crucial early years of the gas industry.

Guido is an economist, former regulator, market designer and company strategist. He has been a consultant for more than ten years, holding director-level positions in leading international consulting firms.

Guido has advised regulators, system operators, exchanges and businesses across Europe on a wide range of regulatory issues in energy markets, including market design, price regulation, contracts and asset evaluation, cost-benefit analyses and unbundling. He has also advised private clients on competition and commercial disputes, including analysis of state aids, assessing allegations of competitive abusive behaviours, and estimating antitrust damages.

As a member of the System Operation Expert Group advising the European Regulators’ Group for Electricity and Gas (ERGEG), Guido was involved in the development of the EU framework guidelines on System Operations; he was also a member of ACER’s expert group on capacity remuneration systems.

Guido is research director at GREEN, the Centre for Geography, Resources, Environment, Energy and Networks at Bocconi University, Milan and gas advisor of the Florence School of Regulation.

Guido received a PhD in economics from Bocconi University, Milan.

Constanze Picking is Director of the Energy, Mobility, and Sustainability Practice at the Centre on Regulation in Europe (CERRE). Before joining CERRE, she served as Vice President for Global Government Relations at Garrett. Prior to that, she was Director for Government Relations across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at Honeywell, where she led EMEA advocacy efforts across aerospace, defence, energy, and transportation. She also brings 12 years of experience at Daimler, 3 of which she spent in Beijing, China and the other heading Daimler’s EU advocacy in Brussels. Constanze has worked for 7 years for the academic sector in London, Warsaw and Prague.

Constanze studied at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and the College of Europe. She holds a Master’s degree in Politics, History, and Economics, as well as a Master’s degree in European Economic Integration.

Since 2018, Clara Poletti has served as Commissioner of ARERA, the Italian Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment. In this role, she represented Italy in both the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) and the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER). From January 2019 to September 2025, she served as Chair of the ACER Board of Regulators, leading European regulatory cooperation during a crucial phase of the energy transition.

With over twenty years of experience in the regulation of the energy and environmental sectors, she has played a central role in shaping regulatory frameworks for energy, water services, and waste management at both the national and European levels. Since contributing to the establishment of the Italian Authority for Electricity and Gas in 1997, her work has been instrumental in developing modern regulatory institutions in Italy and Europe.

Between 2007 and 2011, she was Director of IEFE, the research centre on energy and environmental economics and policy at Bocconi University. She also contributed to the foundation of the Centre on Regulation in Europe (CERRE), where she currently serves as Senior Advisor.

She is a part-time Professor at the Florence School of Regulation and sits on the Board of Directors of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).

In recognition of her contribution to advancing regulation in the energy transition, she was awarded the title of Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by decree of the President in 2013.

She is the author of numerous scientific publications and is widely recognised as one of the leading voices in European energy regulation.