Former Belgian Minister of Energy, Tinne Van der Straeten, will assume the position of Chief Executive Officer of WindEurope on February 2nd. WindEurope is the leading European wind energy association of which RES Serbia is a member. Tinne Van der Straeten brings extensive experience in shaping energy policy at both the national and European level, WindEurope announced.
Having served as Belgium’s Energy Minister from 2020 to 2025, Tinne Van der Straten oversaw Belgium’s wind energy expansion, including a broad consensus on Belgium’s response to the energy crisis in 2022. She has led European energy cooperation, chairing the North Sea Energy Cooperation in 2020 and at the start of 2025, the European Energy Council in 2024 and vice-chairing the IEA Ministerial meeting in 2022. Most recently, Van der Straeten served as a Member of the Belgian Parliament.
– I’m honoured to be appointed CEO of WindEurope, and grateful for the trust placed in me. It’s a responsibility I take on with determination at a defining moment for Europe. Wind energy is central to Europe’s energy independence, industrial competitiveness and climate ambitions. Wind is a home-grown and scalable technology. It delivers affordable power, strengthens energy independence and sustains a competitive industrial base with high-quality jobs across Europe – said incoming WindEurope CEO.
Henrik Andersen, WindEurope Chairman stated that Tinne Van der Straeten, as one of the most influential energy leaders in Europe, ensured that wind energy remained high on the political agenda in her home country Belgium and across the EU.
– She has collaborated across industry and government to shape energy policy and build positive long-term investment frameworks that enable sustainable wind deployment. I look forward to working with Tinne as she leads WindEurope forward and supports Europe’s journey to a more competitive, homegrown energy system together with its members – said Chairman of WindEurope.
The WindEurope Board thanks former CEO Giles Dickson for his 10 years of the leadership of Giles Dickson, who is well known to the Serbian public, having twice participated in RES Serbia conferences.
Giles Dickson at the RES SERBIA 2023 conference
Europe must shake its dependence on imported fossil fuels
As CEO of WindEurope, Tinne Van der Straeten will focus on ensuring Europe gets the most from wind to deliver affordability, industrial competitiveness and energy security.
– Faced with mounting geopolitical challenges, Europe must shake its dependence on imported fossil fuels. Wind is uniquely placed to deliver that. A renewables-based energy system, with wind at its core, will save Europe up to €1.6tn, even when counting the grid and backup costs – said WindEurope.
From WindEurope said that to reap these benefits Europe must deliver on the Clean Industrial Deal, accelerate the buildout of home-grown and competitive renewables and ramp up the electrification of its economy.
Today wind energy generates 20% of all electricity consumed in Europe. With the right policies, this will rise to 34% by 2030 and more than 50% by 2050, was said by WindEurope.
WindEurope also alerts that Europe is not building enough new wind energy. The EU installed 13 GW of new capacity in 2025. This is less than half of what Europe needs to deliver its 2030 energy security and climate targets.
– The wind sector is at a turning point. The industry is ready to accelerate and to provide more than 600,000 jobs by 2030. But it is held back by permitting issues and infrastructure delays. I look forward to working with all stakeholders to help unlock the full potential of wind energy for Europe – said Tinne Van der Straeten.