Deputy State Minister of Georgia on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration. 1998-99 Deputy Minister of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations,
1999-2000 Minister of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations, 2000-04 Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2004 Deputy State Minister (Deputy Chief of the Government), 2004 Minister of State and Minister of Integration with European structures. She also has an great academic experience as the Assistant Professor of Economics Department of the Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, teaching International trade policy and commercial diplomacy and European Integration for the Master’s degree students and as a lecturer at the Georgian Institute of Public Administration (GIPA), Course for the Master’s degree students – Trade and Development. She is a member of the American Society of Public Administration, a member of the Georgian Information Society, board member of International Trade Policy and Law Center and a chairperson of the Government Commission for Gender Equality.
Experts - European integration
Tamar Beruchashvili
Eva Dvořáková
In 1997 finished studies in History of International Relations at the Faculty of Philosophy of the Charles University in Prague; from 1998 to 2001 worked at the International Relations and European Integration Department of the Czech Ministry of the Interior; since October 2001 has been working for the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Central European Department (October 2001-September 2002 – desk officer for Hungary and Visegrad Cooperation, since October 2002 head of the Unit for V4 Countries, Baltic States and Slovenia).
Magdalena Góra
Currently working at the Institute of European Studies, Jagiellonian University, Kraków and is at present the visiting researcher at the Centre for European Studies, Lund University, Sweden. She holds a PhD in Political Science from the Jagiellonian University, and her doctoral thesis (2007) concerned the issues of relations between Poland and Israel after World War II. Her academic interests include processes of collective identity formation in the context of EU enlargement, the European Union as an actor in international relations, contemporary Polish foreign policy. She participates in several research projects. She also co-edited volumes: "Collective Identity and Democracy in the Enlarging Europe" (with Zdzisław Mach and Katarzyna Zielińska) (2012); "Democracy, State and Society. European integration in Central and Eastern Europe" (Katarzyna Zielińska) (2011).
Krzysztof Kopytko
The first secretary of the deparment of institutional and legal issues of the Polish Permanent Representation to the European Union on Brussels. Former director of the Department of International Cooperation and European Integration of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Poland.
Kai-Olaf Lang
Research fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs of the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), Berlin, Germany. Head of research unit on European Integration; previously research fellow of the Federal Institute for Eastern and International Studies (Bundesinstitut für internationale und ostwissenschaftliche Studien, BIOst), Cologne, Germany. His fields of specialization include Countries of Central and Eastern Europe: transformation, political developments, foreign and security policy, bilateral relations with Germany; EU enlargement and implications; security issues in CEE. In recent years he has carried out research concerning foreign and security policies of those countries, problems regarding accession of CEE countries to EU and domestic problems of the countries; European Neighborhood Policy. He holds a diploma in public administration and a doctorate in political sciences. Member of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Osteuropakunde; Member of German-Polish Kopernikus-Group; Member of Editorial Board of Przegląd Zachodni (Poznan), Advisory Board of Aspen Review Central Europe (Prague). He holds a Bene Merito award by Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski.
Maria Staszkiewicz
Director of Association for International Affairs in Prague. She has degrees in Linguistics (Katowice), International Relations (Krakow) and European Studies (Bonn). After study periods abroad (Munich and Prague), she moved to Brussels to take up a post in the Secretariat General of the Council of the EU. Her last assignment was within the Crisis Management and Planning Directorate. She is interested in the EU external relations and political communication. Participated in the 5th edition of the Visegrad Summer School, currently project partner.
Maciej Szpunar
Undersecretary of State for legal and treaty affairs. Born in 1971 in Kraków. Graduated from the University of Silesia in Katowice, the Faculty of Law and Administration. In 1996 completed post-graduate studies at the Law Department of the College of Europe in Bruges, followed by Ph.D. studies at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the Silesia University in Katowice. Bar traineeship completed in 2001 with an exam and listing at the Bar Register in Katowice. In 2009 obtained a habilitation in Legal Science (specialization: Law of the EU and private international law). From 1996 on, an associate lecturer and professor at the Chair of Civil Law and Private International Law of the Silesia University in Katowice. 2001-2004: an associate in a legal partnership. 2008-2009: an Undersecretary of State in the Office of the Committee for European Integration. Scolar in such institutions as e.g. the Centre of European Legal Studies at the University of Cambridge, the Institute of European Legal Studies “Fernand Dehousse” and the European University Institute in Florence. A Member of the Editorial Board of such periodicals as the “Problems of Private International Law”, the “European Judicial Review” and the “New Europe – Natolin Review”. Active in social associations and organisations: ex. a Member of the Board of “Polish Association for European Law” (FIDE). An author of many publications in the field of European law, civil law, international commercial law and international private law. Free time interests: history; free time activities: sailing, skiing and volleyball. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mr. Maciej Szpunar is responsible for representing the Polish government before judicial bodies of the EU and the EFTA Court. Fluent in both English and French.
