Our team

Emmanuel KATRAKIS joined EuRIC in September 2014, at the time the European Recycling Industries’ Confederation was created. Since then, Emmanuel is working on the steady development of the Confederation and its efficient organization to act as the trusted interface between the recycling industry and European institutions. Prior to joining, he worked in an international law firm and two trade associations where he gained an in-depth experience in association management. Owing to his presence in Brussels for over ten years, he has developed a strong knowledge of European affairs and advocacy as well as a proven track-record in defending various industrial sectors. Emmanuel is a regular speaker in international conferences dealing with recycling and a member of different expert groups set up by European institutions aiming at supporting the transition towards a more circular economy.   Emmanuel is graduated in European law from the College of Europe in Bruges.

Julia BLEES joined EuRIC in December 2018. She is a fully qualified lawyer in Germany and holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from George Mason University in Virginia. In addition to her studies in the United States, she interned at the World Bank’s Legal Vice Presidency in Washington DC and previously worked in a Brussels-based consultancy advising multinational companies on environmental, health and safety (EHS) matters. At EuRIC, Julia focusses on regulatory, policy as well as legal issues of importance for the recycling industry.

Alejandro NAVAZAS joined EuRIC in January 2020. He is a biologist with a Master in Biotechnology from the University of Oviedo (Spain). After his 4 year collaboration as a research scientist at the Centre for Environmental Sciences (CMK, UHasselt, Belgium), he obtained a PhD in Biology and gained expertise in environmental topics focused on cleaning up wastes or harmful substances. At EuRIC, Alejandro addresses the technical issues that arise from the interface between chemicals, products and waste legislation.

Rikarnto BOUNTIS joined EuRIC in October 2020. He has a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Patra and a master’s degree in Waste and Resource Management from the University of the West of Scotland. He speaks fluent Greek, Italian and English. After completing his studies, he acted as a consultant in the energy sector for a British consultancy, and then he joined amfori (the leading global business association for open and sustainable trade), as an environmental expert. At EuRIC, Rikarnto is managing technical issues that emerge from the interface between waste, chemicals and product legislations as well as relevant BREFs.

Maria VERA-DURAN joined EuRIC in July 2021. She holds a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering and an MBA from the University of Malaga (Spain). She has been working as a project coordinator at the International Relations Office of the University of Malaga for almost 5 years, where she contributed to projects on managerial excellence and internationalization strategy. At EuRIC, she assists EU-funded projects, including project coordination and implementation of tasks, external communications and drafting of reports related to H2020.

Antoine STILO joined EuRIC in early 2022. After completing a French-German double degree program in Law (Cologne/Paris 1), he graduated from the University of Maastricht with a Master in European and International Law (LL.M.). Prior to joining EuRIC, he worked as EU Affairs Advisor at the Brussels Office of the German Waste Management Federation BDE. The policies he covered included the new Circular Economy Action Plan, the EU Batteries Regulation, the End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Directive and many others. At EuRIC, Antoine will focus on issues of waste shipment, taxonomy and ELVs.

Axelle LEGROS joined EuRIC in January 2022. After a bachelor’s degree in International Business and Sustainable Development, she pursued a Master’s degree in International Relations on top. She speaks fluent French and English, and intermediate level of Chinese and Spanish. Prior to joining our team, Axelle had experiences in international business as well as administrative and event planning. In EuRIC, she is in charge of administrative and logistic tasks such as keeping the website and the membership platform updated, organizing the events and office management.

Ben Kennard joined EuRIC in August 2022 as its Communication Advisor. He graduated with a degree in Economics, Politics and Law from Dublin City University and completed further study at the College of Europe. He has accumulated more than 7 years of experience in communications for a variety of different Brussels-based organisations. As part of implementing EuRIC’s communication strategy, his responsibilities include media relations, drafting newsletters and other material and supporting the communications activities of publicly funded EuRIC projects.