Team Leader

Alexandre Cordahi  

Mr Cordahi has 20 years of experience in some 36 countries, including EU candidate members. During this time he has worked in the capacity of banking lawyer covering legal transactions and reform (1982-1989), Head of Department & Senior Programme Legal Counsel in the International Development Law Organisation (IDLO, 1989-1998, Rome), Attorney of Law (Paris Bar), Team Leader and Senior Legal Expert (1998-to day). He has provided institutional consultancy and training to a broad range of institutions & clients throughout EU and non-EU member countries. He is a visiting lecturer in economic development law. His areas of expertise include legal reform, harmonization with EU law privatisation; banking and project finance, procurement issues, corporate and commercial law, contracts and training.

Mr Alexandre Cordahi is a graduate of the Faculty of  Law of Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris I) and of the Political Studies Institute of Paris. DEA (International Commercial Law and International Private Law 1980 Paris I-Panthéon-Sorbonne), Diploma of the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (with Honours 1976), Mediation Certificate Harvard Law Faculty (Nov.1993).  He has delivered numerous lectures and published articles in a range of publications. 

Mr Cordahi speaks six languages and is an active member of the Institut International de Droit d’Expression Française, the Union Internationale des Avocats, as well as of the Expert groups UNITAR, UNIDA, OHADA (harmonisation of business law in Africa), Club 103 (a Paris based bankers association), and AUPELF/UREF (an academic network related to entrepreneurship).

Contact: acordahi@club-internet.fr.   

Key Experts

Hans-Jürgen Zahorka - Senior Legal Advisor.

Mr Zahorka is active in many projects: as expert in economic law in Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkan, the C.I.S., China and African countries, at present in Russia as Senior Legal Advisor for approximation to EU law. Director of a think-tank on European economy (LIBERTAS – European Institute GmbH) in Stuttgart/Germany. Teaches European Affairs at MBA Schools and Universities of Applied Science in Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Belarus, but also in Kyrgyzstan. Extensive professional experience as solicitor and foreign chamber manager. Former Member of European Parliament. Member of TEAM EUROPE of the EU Commission, many publications. 

Contact: zahorka@gmx.de. 

More information: www.libertas-institut.com.  

Wim Timmermans

Francois Souty - key expert on competition policy and legislation. 

Dr. François SOUTY is Counsel for multilateral affairs (OECD, UNCTAD, WTO) at the Conseil de la concurrence (Competition Council or French Antitrust Commission),  PARIS and  Associate Professor of Law and Economics (Competition and Trade), Director of the post-graduate program on International Trade with Asia (China, Korea, Japan, Thailand and Indochina) at the University  of LA ROCHELLE , LA ROCHELLE, since January 1997. He is  the Coordinator for OECD countries at UNCTAD on Competition policy since 1995 and has been the Chairman of the IVth United Nations Review Conference on Competition Rules ( 2000-2004). From 1990 to 1996, he has served as chargé des affaires internationales de concurrence at the General Directorate of Competition, Consumers Affairs and Fraud Repression (« DGCCRF ») in the Ministry of Economics, Finance and Industry. From 1983 to 1990, he has been investigator and chief investigator on competition cases with the DGCCRF, both in regional units and at headquarters, being now a Departmental  Director at DGCCRF, on loan to the Competition Council. He has lectured in Economic History, European Law and Competition Law and Policy at the Universities of PARIS, NANTES, TOULOUSE, GRONINGEN (NETHERLANDS) and at the College of Europe (BRUGES, Belgium). Dr. SOUTY is the author of seven books on competition law and policies of the US, Germany, the UK, the EU, local government and competition policy, one book (in association) on the Protestants in the Atlantic Area (XVIth-XVIIth centuries). And he has written extensively in the fields of economic policies and economic history (esp. on the monopolies of the Dutch India Companies in the 17^th and 18^th centuries). His Ph.D thesis (Econ. History)  dealt with the Dutch India Companies in the XVIIIth Century.  He has written numerous papers on the Caribbean and East-Asian Histories and has recently authored a paper on Competition in the Tourism Industry for the World Tourism Organization. Dr. SOUTY was awarded the Distinction and Grade of  “Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite” (Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry) in November 2002. 

Contact: francois.souty@conseil-concurrence.fr.  

Short-Term Experts

Apostolos Anthimos 

Mr Apostolos Anthimos is an attorney at law at the Thessaloniki Bar Association. He graduated from the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki , and earned his Ph.D. in 2002. He is a visiting lecturer at the Democritus University in Thrace . He has a master of Laws from the University of Hanover . He has various publications in Greek, German and Spanish legal reviews, on issues related to International litigation, Arbitration and Dispute resolution, internet and e-commerce law, Commercial law and Civil Procedure. He has been a Short-term Expert in the Institution Building Program for Bulgaria BG 99/IB/JH/04, providing his legal assistance in the drafting of a general Act on the applicability of EC-legislation in International Private Law matters and was a member of the Working group on the regulation of International Private Law affairs. He speaks German, English and Spanish.

Contact: sympraxi@otenet.gr 

Sylvia Beamish - Public Relations consultant.

Ms Beamish has a B.A. from UCC in her native city of Cork, Ireland as well as an MBA from the City University, Seattle, USA and a postgraduate PR diploma from the Institute of Public Relations in Britain. She has extensive journalistic experience, including for the Economist Intelligence Unit and Financial Times energy newsletters. She has been working as a PR consultant since 1997 and has planned, coordinated and implemented public outreach and PR campaigns in a wide range of countries in Eastern Europe. In Armenia, where she has worked on the public information activities of the Ministry of Social Welfare, the Ministry received the UN reward in 2003 for Most Transparent State Institution. She also organises local and international events and conferences – including ministerial meetings – and delivers practical trainings in effective media relations and how to develop a PR campaign. 

Contact: sylviabeamish@eircom.net.   

Roger Errera - French expert on Personal Data Protection. 

Mr Errera is a graduate of ENA and Ecole Superieure d'Administration. During the past decades he had been a member of many (inter)national organisations, including the European Commission and Council of Europe and has many years of experience working on projects in Eastern Europe. His key areas of expertise are: Constitutional and administrative law and European law, as well as elaboration and drafting of regulations and training of public officials.

Jerôme Franck - French expert on consumer protection. 

Mr Franck has a diploma of political sciences from the Institute for Political Studies in Strasbourg, a Masters degree in Business Law from the Strasbourg Faculty of law and Superieur in consumer law Montpellier Faculty of Law. 

He has worked as Deputy Director of UFC-Que choisir and as Treasurer of BEUC (European Consumer Organisation). For the last 10 years he has worked as an attorney in Paris (currently partner in the law firm Fourgoux). Apart from representing clients in significant consumer cases, he has published surveys and delivered trainings and lectures.

Contact: franck.fourgoux@wanadoo.fr. 

Nathalie Gasperini - medium-term French-British legal expert.

Ms Gasperini works in the field of company law, focusing on the approximation of the new proposed Macedonian Company Law with EU company law directives. Ms Gasperini studied political science and French and Italian literature at the University of Cambridge and law at the College of Law in London, prior to obtaining a post-graduate degree in European Law specialising in EU commercial legislation at the Université de Paris II. She is dually qualified as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales and as an Avocat of the Barreau de Paris where she is currently practicing in the area of commercial law and general civil law. Her work experience has primarily been obtained in both the British and French jurisdictions as well as in Brussels where she worked in the legal service of the European Commission in the State Aid, Anti-Dumping, Business and Competition and External Relations units.

Contact: nathalie.gasperini@wanadoo.fr.

Xavier Ghelber - French expert on public enterprises and utilities.  

Member of the Paris Bar, Xavier GHELBER is a former Senior official of a UN Agency. After a seven years practice as a Lawyer in Paris With Jeantet et ASSOCIES , He created and was the managing director of a foreign branch of JEANTET & ASSOCIES Law Firm abroad. He has extensive experience and special expertise in local administration transportation, environment, privatization, corporate restructuring, and more generally development and business law.  He worked mainly as legal expert and project manager on behalf of the World Bank, but also of governmental bodies, or of the European Union. Xavier GHELBER has a B.A. of Romanian language and civilisation ( Paris-Sorbonne University ).

Alan Gourdon - French expert on state aid.  

Member of the Paris Bar, Alain GOURDON is a former Judge as  Head counsellor at the Cour des Comptes  (State Audit Office) from 1981 to 1996, he was detached at the following functions: Counsellor at the Morocco Supreme Court (1961-1963), General Inspector for the United Nations (GIU). He has been in charge of auditing and controlling French Public Enterprises prior to their privatization, in the Energy sector (Electricité de France, Charbonnage de France, Potasses d’Alsace, Bureau de recherches géologiques et minières et ministères) and in the Transport Sector (Ports ans Aeroports belonging to Chambers of Commerce), as well as the main National Public Insurance Companies.Alain GOURDON has also led several missions in various countries concerning public finances, local development and decentralization.

Lothar Hahn - Austrian expert working on IT, Organisation and Market Surveillance. 

Mr Hahn has graduated in Business Informatics at Vienna University. His professional career was related to the private sector (e.g. Philips Data Systems) and the long-term experience in projects related to public sector reforms in the Eastern European countries. In this context he served from 2001-2003 in the Macedonian Government (SEI), responsible for the co-ordination and monitoring of (all ministries) legal approximation in line with SAA priorities and preparation of national strategies for adoption of the Acquis. His fields of specialties cover various interrelated issues, such as General Management, EU Accession Strategies, public administration reform, public finance SW Design; Chairman CPR/University of Innsbruck, Lecturer.

Contact: lothar.m.hahn@gmx.net. 

Ute Hirschburger - Economic & IT Expert.

Diploma in Business Administration, Managing Director of LIBERTAS - European Institute GmbH in Germany since 1992, after having been Assistant Vice President of a Munich-based consulting joint stock company. Took part in many projects in Slovenia, Romania, Czech Republic etc. Member of TEAM EUROPE of the EU Commission. Many publications, among which editor of business journals, several books on the Euro and E-Business.

Contact: hirschburger@libertas-institut.com. 

More information: www.libertas-institut.com. 

Anthony Little - British expert on capacity building and training development.  

Mr Little has got his Master of Business Administration diploma at Warwick University in 1995. He has a proven success record in analysing, designing and delivery of adult training in civil servants environments. He has detailed experience with the H/R and management problems in CEE and SEE countries. His spectrum reached from facilitation down to self & time management as well as communication skills in order to foster constructive intersectoral & departmental cooperation and agreement on commonly developed concepts. He is director/owner of Little & Van de Geer Limited Company.

Contact: AnthonyPeterLittle@compuserve.com. 

Joseph McArdle - Irish expert on commercial legislation. 

Mr McArdle has a law degree from the National University of Ireland and is a Barrister-at-Law of Kings Inns, Dublin and the Middle Temple, London. Mr. McArdle is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He has held judicial posts in Nigeria and Kenya. Mr McArdle has been a legal officer in the Department of Health and Social Security in Great Britain and a Senior Administrator in the Secretariat of the Council of Ministers in Brussels for six years in the Foreign Affairs Directorate General. Mr McArdle has worked in the private sector in Ireland for many years specialising in company law, financial services and regulation. Since 1994, he has been a legal consultant on technical assistance projects in the Baltic states, the former socialist countries of central Europe, the Russian Federation, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Montenegro and Macedonia with particular emphasis on EU legislation (commercial legislation, competition and telecommunications).

Contact: jinete99@hotmail.com. 

Andreas Mueller - Austrian expert on food and product safety. 

Mr Mueller graduated from a technical high school in food technology and hygiene. He works since 1983 in the Market Inspectorates of the City of Vienna. He is member of the Plenary of the Codex Commission, of the Association of European Group of Food Safety and Consumer Protection (EWFC) for which he served as a general secretary from 1998/2002. He joined the KAROLUS programme on behalf of EIPA and worked on several European working groups of food safety and hygiene. He is the acting Deputy Director of the Market Inspectorates of the City of Vienna.

Contact: am@m59.maqwien.gv.at, manvie@aon.at. 

Jacques Poyer - Short-term French expert on market inspectorates and competition.

Mr Poyer has extensive professional experience as civil servant in French Ministry of Economy. He worked in the Direction Générale de la concurrence, de la consommation, et de la répression des fraudes ( General directorate for competition, consumers affairs and frauds control ) in different places Paris, Lyon and now Blois as a director of regional unit. Mr Poyer is active in different fields: competition, consumers affairs and quality and safety of products and services. He worked three years in European Commission (1990-1993) as a rapporteur at the Merger Task Force and at the Conseil de la Concurrence in France (Competition council) from 1993 to 2000) in charge of mergers cases and cartels cases. He is interested in Central and Southeast Europe for years and has written several papers on competition (in particular about Croatian competition politic).

Contact: jacques.poyer@dgccrf.finances.gouv.fr.

Sophie Quintin Adali - Short-term French expert for the public economic law component (public enterprises, services of general interests, municipalities and decentralisation). 

Mrs Quintin Adali holds a BA (Université Catholique de l’Ouest, Angers France ), a Postgraduate Diploma in International Law and Relations from the University College of Wales and LL.M in International Public Law and European Law from the University of Bristol (UK). She is currently pursuing doctoral studies at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara (Turkey) focusing on the EU integration framework as a conflict resolution framework. She has 7 years of experience working in the Balkan region (BiH and FYROM) on IDP return issues, judicial reform and accession issues with extensive management and advising experience with local authorities. 

Contact: squintinfr@yahoo.co.uk. 

Renaud Sorieul - French expert on arbitration.

Renaud Sorieul is a Senior Legal Officer at the International Trade Law Branch of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, where he serves as the deputy to the Secretary of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).  He was actively involved in the work of the UNCITRAL Working Group on International Payments, which prepared the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Credit Transfers (adopted in 1992).  Between 1992 and 2002, he served as Secretary of the UNCITRAL Working Group on Electronic Commerce, which prepared the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce (adopted in June 1996), and the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures, (finalized in July 2001).  He is currently the Secretary of the UNCITRAL Working Group dealing with issues of arbitration and conciliation and the Secretary of the UNCITRAL Working Group dealing with issues of transport law. Since March 1996, Mr. Sorieul has been constantly re-elected as a Legal Rapporteur to the Working Party on Facilitation of International Trade Procedures (WP.4), then as a Legal Liaison Rapporteur of the Centre for the Facilitation of Procedures and Practices for Administration, Commerce and Transport (CEFACT) of the Economic Commission for Europe.  That United Nations body is responsible for the development of UN/EDIFACT standards. A French national, Mr. Sorieul holds degrees in private law from the University of Paris (Paris II) and the diploma of the Paris Institute of Political Sciences.  A member of the French judiciary since 1981, he served as a magistrate in first degree law courts (1981-1985), and was subsequently appointed a member of the International Criminal Law Division at the Ministry of Justice (1985-1987).  He was then seconded to serve as head of the legal office of the Directorate-General of Energy and Mines, at the Ministry of Industry (1987-1989).  Since the end of 1989, he has been seconded to serve at the International Trade Law Branch of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, which functions as the Secretariat of UNCITRAL. Mr. Sorieul has written and lectured extensively on various aspects of the work of UNCITRAL.

Contact: renaud.sorieul@uncitral.org. 

More information: www.uncitral.org. 

Norbert Wimmer - Austrian expert working on public enterprises and utilities.  

Mr Wimmer chairs the Institute for Public Law, Finance Law and Political Science at the University of Innsbruck and is the vice chair of the Centre for Public Reform at the University as well as a former member of the constitutional courts of Liechtenstein and Austria. 

He worked in many European, CEE & SEE countries as key legal expert. His approach to the problems stems from a perfect mix of well established academic principles paired with more than 10 years of practical experience from political life, serving as Deputy Mayor of the City of Innsbruck, capital of Tyrol.  

Contact: Norbert.Wimmer@uibk.ac.at 

Local Team

Panel of Senior Experts

Milan Nedkov, Ph. D.  - Senior Legal Expert.

After his graduation at the Faculty of Law in Skopje Mr Nedkov worked for the Ministry of Interior and Secretariat for Legislation of the Executive Council. He was on a specialiyation in  the Institute for Social Studies in Belgrade. In 1960 Mr Nedkov was elected assistant at the Facultiy of Law in Skopje and became a PhD in 1965. In 1974 he was elected professor at the Faculty of Law. Mr Nedkov taught the subjects Management Science and Trade Status Law on undergraduate studies as well as at the journaltistic studies and at the Facultiy of Philosophy in Skopje. At the prostraduate studies he taught several courses in Political Sciences and Trade Status Law. Mr Nedkov was head of the Department for Political Researches at the Institute for Sociological and Political/Legal Research in Skopje for many years, director of this Institute for four years and editor-in-chief of the magazine for theoretical issues "Views" for many years. Publication of many studies and textbooks as well as many articles and essays. 

Since 1994 Mr Nedkov has been judge of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Macedonia and between 1997 and 2000 he was President of the Constitutional Court.

Junior Experts

Darko Janevski - Junior Legal Expert. 

Mr Janevski is a graduate of the Law Faculty in Skopje in and has served his apprenticeship working in an attorney’s office and as an assistant on 2 other EU funded projects during which he gained practical legal knowledge in the areas of administrative and financial law. He has almost 5 years experience in the NGO sector.  During 3 of which he was President of Youth Educational Forum, a position which provided him with additional project management, leadership and training experience. 

Goce Adamceski - Junior Legal Expert.  

Mr Adamceski is a graduate of the Law Faculty in Skopje in 2000 and has an M.A. in South-Eastern European Studies obtained from the Athens State University in 2001. Mr Adamceski has worked in the Government’s Sector for European Integration, as well as on EU funded project in the Ministry of Agriculture as legal analyst. He has extensive knowledge of, and closely follows, the EU legislation in a number of sectors areas. During his studies he was active member of several youth NGOs.  

Contact: gadamceski@yahoo.com

Julijana Dimovska - Junior Legal Expert. 

Ms Dimovska is a graduate of the Law Faculty in Skopje and has a post-graduate LLM in International Business Law from the CEU studies in Budapest. She has worked for 3 years in the representation office of the Greek consulting company ROKAS & Partners. Her area of specialisation is the provision of legal consultation on all aspects of corporate, commercial and banking legislation. She is an active member of the NGO MAG, which serves to promote & protect the cultural heritage.  

Contact: djuci@yahoo.com

Staff

Magdalena Makrevska - Office Manager 2003.  

Ms Makrevska is a graduate of the Law Faculty in Skopje. Following an internship in a local attorney’s office she has worked as an assistant/office manager on several EU funded projects. In addition to her legal knowledge in international law and minority rights, she has widespread experience in administrative matters and procurement.  

Maja Kambovska - Legal Translator.  

Ms Kambovska is a student at the Law Faculty in Skopje and has studied for one year in the USA. She has completed an internship in Parliament and worked as an assistant on another EU funded project. She has extensive experience in translating and proofreading legal documents and interpreting legal drafting sessions. She is an active member of several NGOs.

Tamara Radovanovik - Office Manager 2004.

Ms Radovanovik is a graduate of the Faculty of International Political Science, Bologna University in 2002. She has worked in the NGO sector, and plays an active role in the NGO coalition Citizens for the Citizens. One of the major accomplishments of the NGO, in which she herself has participated, was the monitoring of the parliamentary elections and organisation of the international youth conference Stability on the Balkans and European Values held in Krushevo 2003.

Contact: radovtam@rocketmail.com 

Elena Pehcevska - Office Manager April - Mai 2004

Danilo Mandic - Stagiaire 2004

Mr Mandic is a graduate of the Law Faculty in Skopje in 2004. 

Concact: dandanilo@yahoo.com 

Technical Assistance to Draft Trade Law

An EU-funded Project managed by the European Agency for Reconstruction