Meet our Team

Christel Delberghe has been Director General of EuroCommerce since November 2021. She acts in this role as the chief advocate for the retail and wholesale sector with the EU institutions, stakeholders and the media.

Full biography

Elen joined in 2004 and has been P.A. to the Director General since 2011. She provides support to the Director General in her daily activities, and coordinates the activities of the President, the Board of Directors and the General Assembly. Elen is French and has a university degree in languages (German and English).

Els works on food, non food and sustainability policies. She focuses on farm to fork and has led the sectors positioning on official controls, food safety, organic production, market surveillance, chemical regulation and more. Els is a Belgian national and alumna of Ghent University. She speaks Dutch, English and French.

Nick advises the EuroCommerce Environment Committee and is working on files related to circular economy, performance of products and responsible business conduct. He supports the Working Groups on waste, eco-design and energy labelling and responsible supply chain management at EuroCommerce. Nick is a German expat and has a background in political science.

Carla advises and works with EuroCommerce members on files related to product policy and sustainability, including textiles. She has gained wide experience from the private sector, both in consultancy and trade association, as well from civil society. Carla holds a LL.M. in European Law from Leiden University. She speaks Spanish and English.

Evi supports EuroCommerce members in Non-Food, Sustainability policies, and Chemicals. She has broad consulting experience in Brussels and international experience with the U.S. Department of State. She holds a law degree from the UK and Greece, along with a European Law Masters from Leiden University. Evi speaks Greek, English, and Spanish.

Maria join the EuroCommerce team as a Junior Adviser on Product Policy and Sustainability. She is a qualified lawyer in Greece and holds an LLM in European Law from the University of Pantheon-Assas in Paris, as well as an LLM in Maritime Law from the Law School of Athens. Prior to joining EuroCommerce, Maria served as a trainee at the European Commission and as a legal consultant at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Additionally, Maria has gained experience as a trainee lawyer at prominent law firms in Athens and at the Ministry of Justice of the Hellenic Republic. She speaks Greek, English, and French.

Equipped with a good understanding of the EU policy landscape and a comprehensive public affairs background, Sarah supports EuroCommerce members on food policy and sustainability. Sarah is committed to assisting EuroCommerce members in shaping a competitive and sustainable Europe. She has extensive experience in EU public affairs and holds two master’s degrees in European and International Governance and Public Affairs and Communications. Sarah is fluent in Dutch and English and has a good working knowledge of French.

Ilya and his team deal with digital, payments, single market and consumer policy. They run the IMCO and Payments committees. He worked previously for the Dutch Retail Association and as a public affairs consultant. Ilya is a Dutch national and studied Public Administration at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

Atze advises EuroCommerce and its members on Payments. Working with members, regulators, legislators and other merchant organisations, he strives to reduce costs of payments, coordinate influence on legislation (e.g. PSD2) and innovation (e.g. digital euro). He has a degree in Business Economics, worked 30+ years for bp, is Dutch and speaks several languages.

Fabiola is our Adviser on Digital and Consumer Policy. Before joining Eurocommerce, she gained experience in both public and private sector where she focused on digital markets and emerging technologies. Fabiola studied in six different universities across the EU and holds a master’s degree in law as well as in European Studies. Of Italian nationality, she is fluent in Italian, English and Spanish.

Júdit joined EuroCommerce after working in EU public affairs and European industry associations. Prior to that, she gained extensive experience in legislative and executive bodies at both national and EU levels. Júdit holds a Master’s degree in Law from Charles University in Prague and is fluent in Czech, English, German, and conversational in French.

Leena is EuroCommerce’s Director of Competitiveness coordinating advocacy on retail and wholesale ecosystem competitiveness. She is British and has a practical knowledge of EU policy-making from her experience as a legal and policy officer in the European Commission (DG GROW) and is a qualified UK lawyer.

Niccolo is advisor for competitiveness and commercial relations and coordinates the work of the EuroCommerce Supply Chain Committee on competition policy and business-to business trading practices. Niccolo is Italian and previously worked and studied in the United Kingdom.

Vanessa serves as an adviser to EuroCommerce wholesale members, advocating for the interests of the wholesale sector. She holds a master’s degree in European Business Law and has a background in foreign trade law from her work at an international law firm. Vanessa speaks German, English, and Spanish.

Valeryia brings extensive knowledge and expertise in industrial relations. She has 8 years of experience at one of the Brussels-based European Trade Union Federations (ETUCE) where among other things, she supported collective bargaining processes between national trade unions in the education sector and their respective counterparts in EU, non-EU countries on the European continent, as well as in Central Asia. Valeryia speaks English, Russian, and French.

Harald heads the EuroCommerce activities on international trade and taxation matters. His mission is to facilitate trade for importing and exporting companies and to simplify the tax systems. Harald is Austrian and holds degrees from the University of Vienna.

Raphaela will support the international Trade and Taxation team as an advisor. Before joining Eurocommerce, Raphaela gained experience at the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber where she worked across various political departments. She studied sociology and socio-economics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. Raphaela speaks German and English.

Daniela coordinates EuroCommerce’s Communication activities. She has launched vibrant campaign sites, published rich reports, organised interactive events and prepared insightful video stories for organisations in Brussels for almost 20 years. Daniela is a German expat and an alumna of Maastricht University.

Anna holds a Master's degree in French and English translation. She began her career in retail at Auchan Ukraine, progressing from Assistant in the Private Label department to Sport Category Buyer. She then worked as a Senior Account Manager at Glovo Ukraine, managing key partnerships with retail and grocery partners. In October 2022, Anna moved to Brussels for a Blue Book traineeship in the Communications team at the European Commission,  DG PMO. She is fluent in Ukrainian, Russian, and English, and also speaks Polish and French.

Sara holds a Bachelor in International Studies and in Political Science, as well as a Master’s in Communications and in EU Affairs. Before joining the team, she gained experience in communications management at a publishing house and in the Spanish Embassy in Cuba, and she has worked in the management of EU-funded projects in the field of energy storage. She has also been involved with multiple international NGOs and civil society organisations.

Joao brings extensive experience of the European Parliament, as an MEP and previously MEP assistant and policy advisor to the S&D group. Prior to this, Joao held advisory roles in Portugal to the minister of interior and as head of office of a mayor (Lumiar, Lisbon). Joao graduated in political sciences and international relations and holds a master’s degree in history, defense and international relations from the University institute of Lisbon. Of Portuguese origin, Joao is also fluent in English, Spanish, French and Italian.

Rafaella assists EuroCommerce's advocacy activities, supporting all policy areas. She is Brazilian-Italian and holds a M.S in European Public Affairs from Maastricht University. She combines her technical knowledge with her extensive experience working in various European countries. Rafaella is fluent in Portuguese, Italian, English, and Spanish, and she can communicate in German.

Fabienne has been working for more than 20 years within EuroCommerce. She negotiates all the contracts with suppliers related to the technical installations. She is in charge of the well-being at work and is also IT coordinator. Fabienne is a Belgian national and speaks French and English.