EXPERTISE: public sector reform; energy, climate, and environmental policies; infrastructure
Erich Unterwurzacher, who is Austrian, has extensive experience in infrastructure financing, private sector development and strengthening public administrations, with focus on Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Balkans and the Black Sea Region.
Erich worked more than twenty years in the European Commission where he headed the Directorate within the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy which guides the implementation of Structural Funds/Cohesion Fund programmes in European Union (EU) Member States. Prior, Erich managed financial assistance to EU candidate countries, including Turkey, and led accession negotiations.
Between 1996 and 1999, he was with the International Energy Agency (IEA/OECD) in Paris and dealt with energy security matters and environmental policy, concentrating on the Balkans and Black Sea regions, where he worked already from 1987 to 1991, responsible for energy efficiency policy. From 1991 to 1994, he was with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), in charge of infrastructure project financing in Former Soviet Union countries and the Balkans.
As senior economist in the private sector and as Assistant Professor he focused on energy market studies and investment risks, environmental policies and resource efficiency.
Erich holds Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering and a Doctorate in Sciences, both from the Vienna University of Technology.
Expertise
· Good Governance and public sector reform
· Energy, climate and environmental policies
· Infrastructure and Private sector Financing
· Regional Policies
· Interaction with European institutions, especially the European Commission
