Farewell to Brussels

Leaving Brussels at times of pandemic makes the farewell very special. Those that have lived here for some years remember the dark days of terrorism lockdown, and feel, like me, some kind of repetition, yet the scale is now different for sure.

I would have preferred to leave ‘my Brussels’ under more normal circumstances.  I have wandered through twelve year ‘in Europe’,  putting the current discussion on the virus spread off my mental map. What were the people, events and learnings that made this time so special? I would like to thank Brussels and Belgium, my family in the ‘bubble’, for an exciting time.

Arriving in 2008 for IFRI, and the cat-deal

I arrived in 2008 as fellow of the IFRI energy research programme, and soon became the director of the Brussels office, succeeding my dear colleague then Pierre Defraigne, former Director General to Pascal Lamy. I commuted for one year from Paris, where I had been working at CERI and Sciences Po, the think tanks IFRI and IRIS, and teaching classes from EDHEC to EESC-EAP, HEC, IPAG, INSEEC, and also ENA and Sciences Po. Leaving Paris went in steps: I commuted for one year with the Thalys in convenient 1,21 hours, and got a bit in between the worlds of a nation state and the ‘non-identified political object’ that Europe is and was, according to Jacques Delors. My children, then at the age of 11 and 13, stated categorically that they would never leave Paris, explained that their new school in Brussels did not remind Hogwarts, as I tried to sell it, but rather a prison.  I successfully negotiated their move with each of them having a cat. I have to admit that I equally was in ‘manque’ of Paris in the beginning, reading French newspapers to make up for it, reminding the lights at the Seine. Brussels seemed more like a project, something unfinished, a bit Berlin type the Belgian way,  some areas scary if not even dangerous. My IFRI workplace was located in the Schuman area, in the same building as Le Monde, and I was surprised in the beginning that not everyone left the metro there- thinking all people in Brussels must work for Europe, and that Europe was indeed at Roundpoint Schuman. I even won the first prize for a novel on Roundpoint Schuman in 2057, written in late and lonely hours in my first commuting year.[1] Pierre Defraigne explained to me what Brussels was all about, and soon I discovered what is called the ‘bubble’: a unique place of exchange and excitement on all kinds of topics related to Europe. The representation of Greenland participates as enthusiastically as does the association for electricity. When blackmailing Brussels as ‘the bubble’ people mean generally that Europe is a Far-Away-From-Reality construction- reality being of course national. This is a contestable statement, and I have experienced in my years in Moscow or in Paris before that all countries have of course their ‘bubble’ too: it is therefore maybe a matter of bubble primacy or compatibility. Many of the smaller countries –Luxembourg, Denmark and indeed Belgium included- have always cherished a national bubble that worked osmotically with the European one.

Discovering electricity and leaving for EURELECTRIC

IFRI made me write a couple of books on gas infrastructure, Russia and the Ukrainian transit crisis, as well as work on European policy at large. Jacques Lesourne, scientific director of the IFRI energy programme, was always the one telling me what I would have to research on next. I would like to remind Jacques here with a deep thought and thanks: he sadly passed away in early 2020 and is missed by those who had the privilege to work with him. One day Jacques told me to work on electricity interconnections in Europe. I took the bet and discovered a world of near to speed of light (297.000 km/sec!), the hidden and so often disregarded world of essential infrastructure, their interfaces, virtual and real networks, as Barabasi[2] would classify them;  the impressive engineers, the pioneering work of Vincent Lagendijk entitled ‘Electrifying Europe’. A new world opened gently and warmly its doors, and I was not ready to leave it again. Being a political scientist with qualifications in economics, I had focused my research on transition countries in the East and governance – like the governance of enclaves- and was determined now to not only explore, but to contribute to the world in full swing,  that is and was the world of electricity. The first opportunity to do this was to become the Head of Energy Policy in EURELECTRIC, the sector association of utilities. Working groups of engineers from all European countries, understanding the difference between Francis- and Kaplan turbines for hydro and overall the paramount importance of hydropower, visiting power plants of all kinds, being on the Technical Advisory Board of VGB and talking about T 24, becoming part of the Brussels energy scene from inside- what a privilege!

Given the established utilities early days’ push back on the new entrants like wind and solar, or aggregators, I dared to set up a group ‘black and white’ between EURELECTRIC and the Renewables associations, as to overcome prejudices and to align on direction. The biggest challenge during the EURELECTRIC time was indeed Fukushima, and the coordination of the European response. Hans ten Berge, the dear colleagues at EURELECTRIC, David Parker from Energy UK, Fulvio Conti from ENEL, Johannes Teyssen, Vera Brenzel, Oluf Ulseth- impressive people I had the privilege to closely work with. With those, supported by Mc Kinsey, and an inspired team -Giuseppe Lorubio, Pierre Schlosser we could deliver in 2013 a ground breaking work on utilities in the energy transition: Utilities – powerhouses of innovation. It is still worth a read and has been referred to extensively. I learnt from the many interviews we did with our membership that utilities all across Europe shared a similar perception of the direction of travel: value creation would move from generation to networks and innovation solutions.[3]

ENTSO-E and the magic world of power networks

In March 2015 I joined ENTSO-E, the European network of transmission system operators, that had been set up only some five years ago. Heading corporate affairs there meant to contribute to developing a common storyline, a vision of the European TSOs, and also to improve the perception of what was seen by some as intransparent, and unduly powerful in the Brussels energy game. It was an honor to work with such leaders as Pierre Bornard, Nick Winsor, Ben Voorhorst, Konstantin Staschus, Joachim Vanzetta, Zbynek Boldis, Bente Hagem, the inspiring leaders of the TSO family gathering through Board and Assembly meetings from Estonia to Portugal:Taavi Veskimagi,  Yves Zumwald, Manon van Beek, Thomas Egebo, Klaus Kleinekorte, Boris Schucht, Jukka Ruusunen should be mentioned here, to name just a few.

TSO-DSO interaction, but also RD were part of my responsibility, leading a committed and outstanding team. We established an independent Advisory Council to make up for the perceived lack of transparency. The transparency platform was up and running in 2015, network codes entered into force two years later. Power supply risks were successfully managed through daily cooperation, last but not least at an even more important regional level.  I would like to thank my dear colleagues and ENTSO-E members here for their openness, trust and the many insights I could gain, and the responsibility they entrusted me with. And I would like to thank the family from the ‘bubble’: the dear colleagues from the other associations, like WindEurope, SolarpowerEurope, SmartEn -Giles Dickson, Walburga Hemetsburger, Frauke Thies-, Antonella from RGI, and indeed from the institutions Klaus Dieter Borchardt, Claude Turmes, but also Jerzy Buzek for their insights, and our many discussions and the common work. And I wish Laurent Schmitt, Joachim Vanzetta, Pascale Fonck, Herve Laffaye and Zbynek Boldis  and of course ENTSO-Es management team all the success they deserve in Brussels.

Moving on to Smart Wires: keeping Networks, prioritise innovation and changing countries!

Now, in this new decade, I am very glad to take off for a new adventure: joining SmartWires.  I leave associations, that come with their own challenges, for a company: more speed, more business, and a new world and innovative culture to discover. Smart Wires, an exciting global company headquartered in the US, with a European office, has entrusted me with the role of a General Manager for Germany, and responsibility also in wider Europe. Germany has been the avant-garde in the energy transition and has to look for solutions as to get the 2.0 power system up and running. The add ins on the retail power price are half of the bill, so that action is needed, hand in hand with the TSOs and DSOs, regulator and government, civil society and of course partners at regional and EU level. Germany is a hub, with nine neighbours. Getting even more innovative solutions into Germany’s future network: voila, what shall keep me busy, with my impressive new colleagues Michael Walsh, Marie Hayden, Mark Norton and Daniel Schweer; without forgetting the visionary leadership of global Smart Wires through Gregg Rothenberg and Haroon Inam.

What I loved in Brussels and will take home

While I explored the world of electricity and the bubble my children grew up, finished the excellent Catteau Athenee public school, and went to study in Germany and the US. The years in Brussels had helped them understand inside out multiculturalism, benefit from an outstanding education, and become part of an experimental innovative life that one discovers only with time. Hidden behind a certain neglect it takes time for everyone to discover that Brussels is in itself an experiment. When walking regularly on a Sunday evening from Schuman to home in the center of the city I observed each time a kind of a silent procession made up of hundreds of slowly moving people, bown heads for many, with their trolleys. They returned from their bubble as to enter again the life in between Europe and national. These scenes reminded me always of Fritz Langs ‘Metropolis.’  And here is also all the difference between Brussels and Paris or Berlin: a place meandering between Belgian and European- more Belgian on the weekend, more European in the week- and altogether also commuting itself in between worlds.

During my time in Brussels the city considerably changed: from to-be renovated houses and metro stations to a new and fancy look. The polluting Boulevard Anspach was suddenly closed and opened for a beautiful pedestrian area that reunited places, divided before by the fast moving traffic. Culture and cinema continued to flourish, as such movies as ‘The brand new testament’ prove as much as the success of Stromae’s ‘Alors on dance’ and many more.

I am leaving with my electricity world in the backpack, and the discovery of a wonderful capital that is as real as is its bubble.

[1] https://issuu.com/shift-mag/docs/tkintxxa-xx06-06---shiftmag-04-lr

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert-László_Barabási; Albert-Laszlo Barabasi has pioneered ‘network science’ and published widely on it.

[3] ttps://www.eurelectric.org/media/1798/utilties_powerhouse_of_innovation_full_report_final-2013-104-0001-01-e.pdf