The ESDN Steering Group

Due to an initiative in the framework of the Austrian EU Presidency, the ESDN Steering Group was established in a constituting meeting in Vienna in February 2006.

The ESDN Steering Group oversees network-related operations, i.e. it finances and mandates the ESDN Office and it provides guidance for the activities of the ESDN. Currently, the ESDN Steering Group consists of representatives from eight European countries:

Austria:

	Wolfram Tertschnig Head of the Department Sustainable Development and Environmental Subsidies, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (co-chair of the Steering Group)
	Elisabeth Freytag Head of the European Policy Department, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (co-chair of the Steering Group)

Belgium:

Dieter Vander Beke Federal Public Planning Service for Sustainable Development

Finland:

Sauli Rouhinen Director, Sustainable Development, Ministry of the Environment

France:

Catherine Larrieu Head of the Sustainable Development Delegation; Ministry for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Spatial Planning

Germany:

	Jörg Mayer-Ries Division General Aspects of Environmental Policy, Sustainability and Environmental Protection Strategies; Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety
	Christian Doering EU Coordination Group, Federal Foreign Office

The Netherlands:

Inge Lardinois Senior Programme Manager for Sustainable Development, Netherlands Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment

Switzerland:

Daniel Wachter Head of Sustainable Development Section, Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE)

The UK:

Alexia Flowerday Sustainable Development Unit Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

Observer status:

Currently, the European Commission holds an observer status in the ESDN Steering Group.