Composition of the council

The composition of the Federal Council for Sustainable Development (FRDO-CFDD) is defined in the Act of 5 May 1997 on coordination of federal policy on sustainable development and further elaborated in the Royal Decree of 18 July 2012.

The members of the FRDO-CFDD make up the General Assembly. 24 members have voting rights*.

1 honorary president

• Her Majesty the Queen of the Belgians

1 president*

• Patrick Dupriez

3 vice-presidents*

• Arnaud Collignon | Bart Vannetelbosch | Vanessa Biebel

3 representatives of the NGOs for environmental protection*

• Effectives: Eva JOSKIN (CANOPEA) | Stijn ROSIERS (BRAL) | Yelter BOLLEN (BBL)
• Substitutes: X (CANOPEA) | Cataline SENECHAL (IEB) | X (BBL)

3 representatives of the NGOs for development cooperation*

• Effectives: Nicolas VANNUFFEL (CNCD-11.11.11) | Naima CHARKAOUI (11.11.11) | Jonathan MATTHYSEN (Oxfam Belgium)
• Substitutes: Nicolas Bormann (CNCD-11.11.11) | Kiki BERKERS (11.11.11) | Alba Saray PÉREZ TERÁN (Oxfam Belgium)

6 representatives of the trade unions*

• Effectives: Joris VERSCHUEREN (SYNOVA) | Olivier VALENTIN (SYNOVA) | Luca CICCIA (CSC) | Thomas VAEL (ACV) | Philippe BORSU (FGTB) | Sacha DIERCKX (ABVV)
• Substitutes: Renaat HANSSENS (ACV) | Fien VANDAMME (ACV) | Maresa LE ROUX (SYNOVA) | Celien VANMOERKERKE (ABVV) | Maarten BOGHAERT (SYNOVA) | Caroline VERDOOT (FGTB)

6 representatives of the employers’ organisations*

• Effectives: Ineke DE BISSCHOP (VBO) | Silvia DOGA (UCM) | Françoise VAN TIGGELEN (FEB/ DETIC) | Tom VAN DEN BERGHE (FEB/ FEBELFIN) | Piet VANDEN ABEELE (UNIZO) | Lucie DARMS (FWA)
• Substitutes: Patrick VAN DEN BOSSCHE (AGORIA) | Anne-Sophie SNYERS (UCM) | Saskia WALRAEDT (Essenscia) | Pieter VERHELST (Boerenbond) | Monica DE JONGHE (FEB) | Vincent DEBLOCQ (FEBEG)

2 representatives of the youth organisations*

• Effectives: Joanna WILS (Vlaamse Jeugdraad) | Jean SERVAIS (Forum des Jeunes)
• Substitutes: Joran DE TAEYE (Vlaamse Jeugdraad) | Camille BIOT (Forum des Jeunes)

6 representatives of the scientific circles

• Prof. Delphine Misonne (UCLouvain)
• Prof. Jean-Pascal van Ypersele de Strihou (UCLouvain)
• Prof. Brent Bleys (UGent)
• Prof. Patrick Van Damme (UGent)
• Prof. Charline Urbain (ULB)
• x

a representative for each of the federal ministers

• Filip Cluyts (Bart De Wever, Prime Minister)
• Olivier Lohest (David Clarinval, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Employment, Economy and Agricultur)
• Emma Vermunicht (Maxime Prévot, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Development Cooperation)
• Sofie Defour (Frank Vandenbroucke, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Affairs and Public Health, in charge of combating Poverty)
• Filip Smet (Vincent Van Peteghem, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Budget, in charge of Administrative Simplification)
• Dirk Meire (Jan Jambon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finances and Pensions, in charge of the National Lottery and the Federal Cultural Institutions)
• Nelle Luyten (Annelies Verlinden, Minister of Justice, in charge of the North Sea)
• Stéphane Obeid (Bernard Quintin, Minister of Security and the Interior, in charge of Beliris)
• Karel-Jan Senave (Theo Francken, Minister of Defence, in charge of Foreign Trade)
• Emeline Huvelle (Jean-Luc Crucke, Minister of Mobility, Climate and Ecological Transition)
• Eugenia Bardaro (Vanessa Matz, Minister of the Modernisation of the Public Administration, in charge of Public Enterprises, Public Administration, Property Management of the State, Digitalisation and the Federal Scientific Institutions)
• Julie Kerckaert (Rob Beenders, Minister of Consumer Protection, the fight against Social Fraud, Persons with Disabilities and Equal Opportunities)
• X (Anneleen Van Bossuyt, Minister of Asylum and Migration, and of Social Integration, in charge of Major Cities Policy)
• Stien Schrauwen (Mathieu Bihet, Minister of Energy)
• Sarah De Doncker (Eléonore Simonet, Minister of Small Businesses, the Self-Employed and SMEs

a representative for every Region or Community

• Annabelle Mockel (Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft)
• Myriam Hilgers (Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest)
• Sandrine Yodts (French community)
• Ilse Dries (Vlaams Gewest)
• Liesbeth Schruers (Vlaamse Gemeenschap)
• Natacha Zuinen (Walloon Region)

other observers

• Jean-Louis Six (observing member of the bureau in the name of HM the Queen)
• Maggi Poppe (Nederlandstalige Vrouwenraad)
• Dieter Vander Beke (Federaal Instituut voor Duurzame Ontwikkeling)
• Cédric Van de Walle (Federaal Instituut voor Duurzame Ontwikkeling)
• Patricia Delbaere (Federaal Planbureau)
• Arnaud Deplae (CESE)
• Jan Verheeke (Milieu- en Natuurraad van Vlaanderen, MiNa-raad)
• Céline Mouffe (Centrale Raad voor het Bedrijfsleven, CRB)
• Pieter Kerremans (Sociaal-Economische Raad van Vlaanderen, SERV)
• Marie-Hélène Lahaye (Brupartners)
• Bastien Fievet (CERBC-RLBHG)
• Henk Van Hootegem (Combat Poverty, Insecurity and Social Exclusion Service)
• Salma Haouach (Conseil des Femmes Francophones de Belgique asbl)
• Thomas Stoerk (National Bank of Belgium)
• Olivier Magritte and Charlotte Aelbrecht (Belgian Disability Forum)

Pool of associate scientists

In order to strengthen the scientific quality of the Council’s work, the FRDO-CFDD Bureau decided to set up a pool of associate scientists. They will be able to participate in different processes as scientists, for example by giving a presentation to the members on the state of knowledge on a specific topic for which they have the necessary scientific expertise.

Here is the updated list of members of the Pool of Associate Scientists:

• Joris Beckers (University Antwerp)
• Anne Bergmans (University Antwerp)
• Barbara Briers (University Antwerp)
• Andrea Catellani (UCLouvain)
• Veroline Cauberghe (University Ghent)
• Simon Chabrillat (Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy)
• Maarten Crivits (UGent)
• Estelle De Bruyn (Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage)
• Jacques de Gerlache (GreenFacts)
• Liselotte De Ligne (University Ghent)
• Wannes Hubau (University Ghent)
• Luc Int Panis (Flemish Institution for Technological Research)
• Wouter Lefebvre (Flemish Institution for Technological Research)
• Sébastien Lizin (University Hasselt)
• Bernard Longdoz (University Liege)
• Alice Mouton (University Liege)
• Adeline Otto (Catholique University of Louvain)
• Marijke Steeman (University Ghent)
• Michel Van Camp (Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences)
• Massimiliano Virgilio (Royal Museum for Central Africa)
• Karen Allacker (KULeuven)
• Farid Dahdouh-Guebas (Université Libre de Bruxelles)
• Caroline Nieberding (UCLouvain)

In order to avoid any conflict of interest, the secretariat maintains a list of declarations of interest. These are made available to the citizen on detailed request (mail@fro-cfdd.be).

Would you like to be a member of the pool? The FRDO-CFDD periodically opens the door to new candidates. Simply send an e-mail to mail@frdo-cfdd.be, and you will receive all the necessary information.