Regulatory Summit Europe Part 1: European Updates

David has recently retired after 35 years in global legislative processes, and a wide range of experience of EU biocide committees, working groups and technical workshops. In addition to his recent role as Senior Regulatory Analyst in Chemical Watch he worked for just under 20 years at UK HSE (UK Competent Authority for Biocides) as well as 7 years in industry and 5 years as a consultant.

Erwin has been Echa's Head of Unit Support and Enforcement since June 2019. Previously he worked at Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Council, where he was director REACH/ Chemicals policy. He was an observer in the Competent Authorities Meeting for REACH and Classification and Labelling, as well in different Committees of ECHA and he was Sherpa in the Directors Contact Group.

Katja vom Hofe is a German lawyer who works for the German Member State Competent Authority, the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health – Federal Office for Chemicals, abbreviated “BAuA”. Her fields of expertise include the implementation and enforcement of REACH, CLP and PIC.

Eugen is senior scientific officer in the chemical safety unit, dealing with inspections & enforcement for the State Government Services in Vorarlberg. He is the Austrian Member of the ECHA FORUM & also appointed chair of the BPR Enforcement Forum. He has 20+ years experience in national & international regulatory issues on chemicals in the context of implementation, enforcement & regulation setting.

As Policy officer in the European Commission DG GROW (Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs) Veronika deals with the implementation and development of policy and legislation in the area of REACH concerning Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restrictions of Chemicals.

Laurens works for the European Consumer Organisation, the umbrella group of 45+ independent consumer organisations from 30+ countries making sure the EU takes policy decisions that improve the lives of consumers.

Oldřich Jarolím has been working at the Czech Environmental Inspectorate since 2009. For a long time, he has been dealing with chemical legislation (REACH, CLP, BPR regulations etc.), among other things. He represents the Czech Republic in the ECHA Enforcement Forum.

Topi Turunen (LL.D.) is a senior researcher of environmental law at the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke) whose research has focused on circular economy legislation. Turunen has worked extensively on regulation regarding waste recovery, chemical management, plastics and critical raw materials.

Marianne is Brenntag representative in national sector organization Kemi & Life Science, European sector organisation, Fecc; chairman in Fecc's committee for circular economy and partner in projects on circular chemistry funded by the Danish ECO Innovation Program. 

Jérémy has an agriculture and food processing background and a PhD in polymer science. Since 2009, he worked as a Policy Officer both in France and at EU level, first on food chemical safety and then on plant protection products. Since 2020, he works for the Commission in the Unit GROW.F2 ‘Bio-economy, chemicals and cosmetics’. His files are on CLP, GHS and fertilising products.

Stefan Scheuer has been working with CHEM Trust as Chief EU Policy Advocate since December 2019.  Stefan Scheuer has extensive experience of shaping and influencing EU energy and environmental policies, including chemical and water policy. He works with his consultancy team to develop advocacy strategies and forge alliances to win political majorities for effective action.

Violaine Verougstraete studied medicine and toxicology at the Catholic University of Louvain, did a DEA in Public Health and obtained her PhD in Public Health in 2005 from the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium). She worked as a researcher at the Industrial Toxicology and Occupational Medicine Unit of the Catholic University of Louvain for 8 years. She joined Eurometaux in May 2005 as Health and Alloys Manager. Since January 1, 2012, she is Chemicals Management Director at Eurometaux, coordinating all chemicals management activities. She attends ECHA Risk Assessment Committee meetings as a regular stakeholder. She is teaching Human Toxicology at the RUG (Universiteit Gent) and Regulatory Toxicology at the UCL (Catholic University of Louvain, Faculty of Medicine).

Leigh is Chemical Watch News & Insight's Managing Editor and was previously in charge of our global business coverage. Prior to joining the company, Leigh wrote for the Press Association, ICIS and edie.net, covering a range of environmental and business related topics.

Cristina de Avila is Head of the Sustainable Chemicals Unit of the European Commission’s Environment Directorate-General, where she has been in charge of drafting the Commission’s Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, currently focusing on its implementation.

Dr. Klatt graduated as Ph.D. of Science from University of Goettingen in 1992. From 1992 until 1995 he was working at University of Goettingen as Senior Scientist. In 1995 he joined BASF SE and started in polymer research in the field of engineering plastics and flame retardants for polymers. After an interim research position from 2007 until 2014, Dr. Klatt returned to the field of product safety and took over the product stewardship group of dispersions and resins. He represents BASF in various associations including the European association for dispersions (EPDLA) and the European manufacturer of Acrylate based UV/EB Resins (UVEB). Dr. Klatt was one of the founders of the initiative of CEPI and ECPG to align on an internet-based questionnaire for information transfer along the value chain. He currently is President of the two CEFIC Sector groups EPDLA and UVEB and of ALIPA.

With an industrial regulatory compliance and chemical risk assessment background, Emma is a senior science advisor for Cruelty Free International. She looks at regulations triggering animal testing, in particular REACH, and is a stakeholder observer at a number of European fora: ECHA member state committee meetings; EU commission strategy meetings; and OECD discussions on hazard assessment strategies, test method guidelines and other guidance development.

Ruxandra defends industry interests towards legal and regulatory challenges to EU market access. Her practice is focused on EU regulatory law and litigation with a strong emphasis on product, environmental and sustainability regulations, across a large number of sectors ranging from raw materials (chemicals, minerals) to products such as electronics, consumer apparel, medical devices, cosmetics, food and food contact materials. Ruxandra also advises on supply-chain related matters, in particular environmental and regulatory. Although rules and regulations apply per jurisdiction, companies operate globally – her expertise and advice assist companies address global challenges and risks. Ruxandra’s litigation experience is extensive (she defended close to 100 actions before the European Court of Justice and before the Board of Appeal of ECHA), and she has formed and continues to act as a trusted advisor to more than 30 industry groups.

For over 24 years Claudio Mereu has been focusing on EU Regulatory law, with an emphasis on the chemicals (REACH), pesticides, biocides and life sciences industry sectors. Claudio handles product approval and registration processes in the EU, related litigation before European and national courts, as well as ECHA’s Board of Appeal, and counsels companies on a wide range of business law matters relating to their international agreements and commercial presence in Europe. His expertise covers all aspects of product stewardship, regulations and restrictions (including notification, data protection, mutual recognition, classification & labelling, marketing and use restrictions, parallel imports, environmental liability, product recalls and data compensation negotiations, amongst others). Claudio is highly recommended as a Tier1 lawyer by Legal500 and Chambers Europe, and is a regular speaker and panelist at international conferences.

Kamelija Milosev is a Subject Matter Expert specializing in EU chemicals, biocides, and medical device legislation and has been with Enhesa since 2019. She obtained her European Law Bachelor’s degree from the University of Maastricht and her Master of Law degree in Innovation, Technology and the Law from the University of Edinburgh, where she found herself most interested in the topics of bioethics and medical technology law. Her expertise is predominantly focused around the EU REACH, CLP, BPR and MDR – as she hopes to make sense of these complex pieces of legislation to companies, be it through personalized impact consultations, topic-specific trainings, best practice guidance, webinars, or conference events. Through a combination of legal acumen, practical experience and common sense, Kamelija helps companies build and maintain a change-proof, sustainable and most importantly -compliant- products portfolio.

Jean-Philippe Montfort is a partner at Mayer Brown based in Brussels, and the leader of Mayer Brown’s REACH and EU product regulatory team. Jean-Philippe provides strategic advice, as well as advocacy and litigation support to companies and trade associations in the defense of their substances under various REACH and CLP processes. Jean-Philippe is widely recognised as a very innovative, yet pragmatic legal advisor and litigator. He has a very successful track record before the European Courts and the Board of Appeal of ECHA, with landmark wins, such as the recent “TiO2” case.

Since 2023, Adrian Beard takes care of advocacy and sustainability issues for flame retardants in the Segment Electro-Mobility & Electronics in the Business Unit Additives & Adsorbents. Before, he also led the flame retardants marketing team within the Business Unit Additives of Clariant, a Swiss based specialty chemical company. He is a senior expert in fire safety and environmental properties of phosphorus-based flame retardants.

Esther Agyeman-Budu is a highly accomplished professional in the field of public affairs, with expertise in regulatory affairs and strategic communication. She currently holds the position of Senior Manager and serves as the Resin Cluster leader at Cefic, which is the leading representative body for the chemical industry in Europe. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing various Sector Groups, including the Phosphorus, Inorganic, and Nitrogen Flame Retardants Association (pinfa). Esther has also held positions at prominent organizations such as Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft Business Solutions, and within academia. She earned her Ph.D. in Communication from Kent State University.

Anne Chloe Devic holds a Master's degree in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering with a focus on Polymers from the Ecole Nationale Superieure de Chimie in Montpellier, France. From 2020 to 2022, she served as Senior Innovation Manager at the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) in Brussels. Currently, she is the CEO of SSbD Consulting Europe SL, specialising in Safe and Sustainable-by-Design solutions. With prior experience at ICI, Huntsman, and Repsol in various R&D management roles, Anne Chloe worked to shape innovation policies and funding opportunities at Cefic. She also represented advanced materials and coordinated 17 SusChem National Technology Platforms for the European platform. Today, she supports Cefic in the IRISS project, overseeing seven value chains in textiles, energy, automotive, construction, electronics, packaging, and fragrances.

Peter Sellar has extensive experience advising clients on EU environmental, social and governance law, including on general chemicals, biocides and pesticides, ecodesign, electronic and electrical equipment, cosmetics, medical devices and medical products law, as well as on the circular economy and sustainability law.

Linda-Jean is a Netherlands based partner in ERM who specialises in sustainable products and circularity, and on advising on EU policy and strategy through a business resilience and enterprise lens. During her 15 years’ experience, including in industry, she has gained a strong track record in EU regulatory and business strategic services across multiple industry sectors. Linda-Jean is a member of ERM’s global PFAS risk management team and advises businesses and industry associations on the proposed EU ban of >10,000 PFAS substances and how to develop robust strategies to address the associated business risks.