News

Former EC Director Catharina Sikow-Magny joins the Florence School of Regulation

DG ENER Director - Green Transition & Energy System Integration is appointed EUI Part-time Professor

Aug 30, 2024

We are delighted to announce that Catharina Sikow-Magny, former Director for Green Transition & Energy System Integration at DG Energy (European Commission), will be joining the Florence School of Regulation at the EUI’s Schuman Centre as a Part-time Professor.

Catharina Sikow-Magny joined the European Commission in 1997 and was the Director responsible for Green Transition and Energy System Integration in the Directorate General for Energy until retiring in 2024. Before that, she led Units in charge of Consumers, Local Initiatives, Just Transition as well as of Networks and Regional Initiatives. She has as well worked on international transport, trans-European network policy and financing, internalisation of external costs, and strategic policy research. Before joining the Commission, Catharina was a team leader and chief economist in the private sector in Finland. She has also worked for the United Nations Development Programme in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She holds a Master of Economics degree from the Aalto University, Finland.

From the European Commission to the European University Institute

In her new role, Professor Catharina Sikow-Magny will bring her invaluable expertise to the EUI’s Florence School of Regulation, contributing to the executive education portfolio, policy dialogue and research activities.

Catharina declared: “After 27 years as civil servant in the European Commission, I am super excited to start a new chapter at Florence School of Regulation where I can work with a wonderful dynamic and idea-rich team and focus again on thinking, research and training to support policy. Energy transition has reached a point when the easy decisions have been taken and the open questions on market design and regulation, financing of infrastructure, etc. can only be solved with input from research.”

Following many years of close collaboration with the FSR (teaching in online courses, speaking at the main events, and participating in the policy workshops), her appointment is expected to strengthen the cooperation further, fostering deeper insights into energy policy and regulation and enhancing the school’s role in shaping the future of European energy policy.

“At FSR we like to do impactful research. We are fortunate to have colleagues with exceptional track records as civil servants in regulatory agencies and European institutions among our faculty. Catharina perfectly fits in that tradition” says FSR Director, Leonardo Meeus. “We are very happy she is joining our expert community as a part-time professor.”