This years's Guests of Honour
Mr. Koen LENAERTS
President Court of Justice EU
President Court of Justice EU
Born in 1954;
lic. iuris, Ph.D. in Law (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven); Master in Public Administration (Harvard University); Lecturer (1979-83);
Professor of European Law, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (since 1983), Professor at Harvard Law School (1989), Professor at the College of Europe, Bruges (1984-89);
member of the Brussels Bar (1986-89);
Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU)
- Legal Secretary at the CJEU (1984-85);
- Judge at the Court of First Instance EC (1989-03);
- Judge at the CJEU since 7/10/2003);
- Vice-President of CJEU (9/10/2012 - 7/10/15);
- President of the CJEU since 8/10/2015
Mr. Eddy DE SMIJTER
Head of Intenational Relations Unit in DG Competition
Head of Intenational Relations Unit in DG Competition
Born in 1961;
Until 2001 teaching and research in European law at the universities of Leuven (BE) and Tilburg (NL);
Joined the European Commission in 2001 as a member of the team that negotiated Regulation 1/2003 on the implementation of the EU competition rules;
Since October 2016 Head of the International Relations Unit in DG Competition at the European Commission.
Mr. Rob HEIRBOUT
Journalist at VRT
Journalist at VRT
Born in 1967;
Master in Law and in Communication Sciences (University of Ghent);
Started as Jounalist at VRT (Flemmish public Radio and Television Broadcast) in 1993;
since 2002 Europe expert with VRT newsroom editors;
He follows the European Parliament, the Commission, the Council as well as European summits.
Former Guests of Honour
Herman VAN ROMPUY
President of the EU Council
President of the EU Council
Master Economy & Bac Philosophy University of Leuven;
President of the Council of the EU (2009-14);
Prime Minister of Belgium (2008-09);
Minister of Budget (1993-99)
Guest lecture (9 March 2017):
Past and the Future of the EU
Mark
EYSKENS
EYSKENS
Emeritus Prof. dr. the University of Leuven;
Former Prime Minister of Belgium;
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and representative to negotiation of the EU Treaty in Maastricht;
Guest lecture - 6 March 2018:
The EU in a globalized World
Frans
VAN DAELE
VAN DAELE
Diplomat in Athens, Ambassador in Rome, Ambassador at the UN New York (1972-91);
EU Ambassador (1997-2002);
Ambassador in Washington, Permanent Representative at NATO (2002-13);
Head of Office of the President of the EU Council (2009-13)
Councelor to king Filip I (2013-17)
Guest lecture - 6 March 2018
Anneleen
VAN BOSSUYT
VAN BOSSUYT
LLM (Ghent, BE) & Master EU Law (Rennes, FR)
Belgian MEP - ECR, 2015-19 and a member of
- Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection,
- Delegation for relations with the United State,Since 2019 Member of Belgian Federal Parliament
Member of
- Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection,
- Delegation for relations with the United StateShe took the role of President of the Mock EP during the ILW of 2014, '15 and '16
Andrey
KOVATCHEV
KOVATCHEV
Phd in Biology (Saarland University, DE)
Bulgarian MEP - EPP, since 2009; and member of
- the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection
- Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including DisinformationGuest Lecture (2 March 2019): European Parliament behind the Scene.
Eva
LIEVENS
LIEVENS
Prof. dr. UGhent - Faculty of Law & Criminology;
Focus in her research relates to
- Legal impact of the design and deployment of technology in today’s society,
- Human and children’s rights in the digital environmentGuest Lecture (17 March 2014) Legal aspects in EU context and Danger of Social Media for yougsters.
Kathleen
VAN BREMPT
VAN BREMPT
Master in Sociology
Belgian MEP - S&D 2000-03 and since 2009
- Committee on International Trade
- Delegation for relations with the Maghreb countriesMinister in the Flemish Government (2004-09)
State Secretary in the Belgian Federal Government (2003-04)
Hosted the ILW-students in the European Parliament in 2020
Tim
CORTHAUT
CORTHAUT
Prof. dr. in EU Constitutional Law at University of Leuven - Fac of Law, since 2010;
Auditor (Magistrate) at the Council of State, since 2011;
Guest lecture (5 March 2018): The Legislative proces in the EU, the role of the EP and the draft of legislative documents.