Assoc. Prof. Dr. Milena Angelova is the Secretary General of AICB, a member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) since 2007 and its Vice-Chair for the period 2018-2020. She has been Vice-Chair of SGI Europe since 2011 at the Economic Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Assoc. Angelova has a number of specializations in prestigious European universities, Research Fellow 1st degree. She is a speaker on a number of topics, including policies to support small and medium-sized enterprises, investment of European structural and investment funds, combating the informal economy and undeclared work, corporate social responsibility, capital markets, the future of work, etc. He has been a member of ESC since 2006 and former chairman of the Committee on Macroeconomics, Budget and Finance of ESC.

Dimitris Dimitriadis is a long-standing member of the European Economic and Social
Committee (EESC) with extensive experience across economic governance, international
relations, macro-regional strategies, SME policy, and Euro-Mediterranean affairs.
Throughout his tenure, he has contributed actively to European policy debates as
rapporteur, co-rapporteur, study group member, and delegate in numerous committees,
follow-up bodies, and international missions.
Within the ECO Section, his work has covered macro-regional strategies, competitiveness,
access to finance, governance of EU instruments, economic security, and resilience. He has contributed to key opinions on the Recovery and Resilience Facility, EFSI and EFSI 2.0, AML and tax transparency, economic convergence, and EU macro-regional strategies, as well as major files such as the Investment Plan for Europe, the European Union Solidarity Fund, and SME and family business financing.
In the INT Section, he has worked on SME policy, the Digital Single Market, consumer
protection, European company law, and issues of trust, privacy, and digital transformation.
His involvement spans successive SME strategies, from “PME – Go Digital” to the Next
Generation SME Strategy and the Fit for 55 framework.
A central strand of his activity has been the promotion of environmental sustainability,
climate responsibility and water diplomacy as integral components of Europe’s internal and
external policies. He has consistently advocated for a holistic approach linking climate
action, energy transition, environmental protection and geopolitical stability. His work
underscores the importance of climate and water governance, resilience-building and
international cooperation, especially in the Mediterranean, Arctic and neighbouring regions, positioning environmental policy as a driver of peace, security and sustainable growth.
A central pillar of his activity has been the REX Section, where he developed strong
expertise in EU external relations, enlargement, the Western Balkans, the Euro-
Mediterranean region, and global geopolitical developments. He has contributed to
numerous opinions on EU–Turkey and EU–Serbia relations, accession perspectives, trade
and sustainable development, foreign investment screening, Global Gateway,
Mediterranean partnerships, civil society dialogue, and the geopolitical implications of the
energy transition. His work also addresses climate and water diplomacy, the Arctic,
deforestation, digital transition in the Mediterranean, ocean governance, and the socioeconomic impacts of global crises.
Beyond opinions, he has participated actively in Joint Consultative Committees and
follow-up bodies including EU–Turkey, EU–Serbia, EU–Montenegro, EU–Chile, EU–India,
EU–Brazil, Eastern Neighbours, East and South-East Asia, and the EU–ACP partnership. He has taken part in numerous Euromed summits, missions, and civil society dialogues
worldwide. Throughout his service, he has demonstrated a strong commitment to European integration, industrial competitiveness, international partnership building, and the promotion of democratic participation and civil society dialogue, contributing consistently to the EESC’s economic and international policymaking work.

Walter Kasempa works on migration and governance policy, with a focus on Africa and the African diaspora. He is the AU–IOM Migration Youth Ambassador for Southern Africa and a Global Youth Changemaker with IOM. He is the author of Borders to Bridges: Migration and the Dream of African Unity and regularly contributes to policy discussions on migration, Pan-Africanism, and inclusive governance. He is currently completing a Master’s degree in Human Rights, Governance and Development.

Ioannis VARDAKASTANIS is the President of the European Disability Forum (EDF), the umbrella organization representing the interests of persons with disabilities at the European level. He also serves as President of the National Confederation of Disabled People of Greece (N.C.D.P.), the leading organization of the Greek disability movement.

Born in 1957 on the Greek island of Zakynthos, Mr. Vardakastanis has dedicated his life to human rights advocacy, making significant contributions at national, European, and international levels. Since 2010, he has been a member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), representing the N.C.D.P. in Group III. He currently serves as Vice-President of the Section for Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion (ECO), one of the six specialized sections of the EESC, and as Co-Chair of the EU-Turkey Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee of the EESC. In Greece, he is also a member of the Economic and Social Council, the National Commission for Human Rights, and the National Accessibility Authority, through which he actively advocates for the rights and interests of Greek citizens with disabilities.