Session: Perspectives on a New Atlanticism

Margaritis Schinas took office as Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life in the Von der Leyen Commission in December 2019. In this capacity, he oversees the EU’s policies for Security Union, migration, skills, education and integration. As Vice-President in charge of the Security Union, he oversees and coordinates all strands of the European Commission’s work under the Security Union, including tackling terrorism and radicalisation, disrupting organised crime, fighting cybercrime, stepping up cybersecurity, protecting critical infrastructures or addressing hybrid threats. Mr Schinas has also served as a Member of the European Parliament, from 2007 until 2009. Upon the completion of his parliamentary term of office, he returned to the European Commission and held various senior positions. In 2010, President Barroso appointed Mr Schinas as Deputy Head of the Bureau of European Policy Advisers. Later he served as Resident Director and Head of the Athens Office of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN). In 2014, President Juncker appointed Mr. Schinas as the European Commission’s Chief Spokesperson.

Joanna Kopacka, as a program coordinator in GMF's Engaging Central Europe (ECE) initiative, is responsible for some of the key segments of all ECE programming. Her primary focus lies on Poland and strengthening the resilience of civil society within the region.

Brussels Forum Session: Turkey: What Now? What Next?

Selin Nasi is the London representative of the Ankara Policy Center and a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics' European Institute. She writes a foreign affairs column for Politikyol, an independent Turkish media outlet. She previously worked as a newspaper columnist for Hürriyet Daily News and Şalom. Nasi holds a PhD in political science and international relations from Boğaziçi University. Her dissertation addressed Turkey’s post-Cold War Israel policy.

Brussels Forum Session: The Future of Transatlantic Economic Competitiveness

Brando Benifei is the youngest Italian MEP, a member of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D). He was elected to the European Parliament in 2014 and is a member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and vice-chair of the Youth Intergroup and of the Disability Intergroup. Benifei has been chair of European affairs for the Young Democrats and Vice-President of ECOSY (youth organization of PES) for four years. He joined the PES working group which originally drafted the European Youth Guarantee. Benifei studied at the University of Bologna, the London School of Economics and the Ispi Milano

Brussels Forum Session: A Conversation on the Human Side of Rebuilding Ukraine: Voices From Civil Society

Kateryna Myasnykova has been since 2003 the executive director of the National Association of Media, Ukraine's largest professional organization representing the interests of approximately 140 media outlets throughout the country. She has been active in the media industry since 2001 as an activist and lawyer. Myasnykova is a permanent member of committee working groups of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada (parliament) and a member of the Independent Expert Council, which facilitates media compliance with election-related legislation and journalistic ethics. Myasnykova is a co-author of "Legislative Issues of TV and Radio Broadcasting", among other publications on media issues.

Brussels Forum Session: Perspectives on a New Atlanticism  

Jānis Garisons is State Secretary of the Latvian Ministry of Defense, a civilian role he has held since 2015. His service with the Ministry began in 2005, before which he served in a variety of roles with the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including in the NATO and EU Security Division and the Division for Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. State Secretary Garisons received a Master of Strategic Studies degree from the U.S. Army War College and a Master of History degree from the University of Latvia.