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Back to school – what’s on the EU agenda for September?

Friday 28 August 2026

Online briefing call

Back to school – what’s on the EU agenda for September?

We resumed our Friday morning briefings to take a look at the hot topics on the EU agenda in September.

Managing Directors Chris Glück, Dustin Benton, and Max Powell discussed:

– What’s top of mind as EU policy makers return from the summer break?
– What do we expect from von der Leyen’s State of the European Union speech?
– What’s next in the EU-China trade tensions?
– How far have EU budget talks progressed?
– How strong is the momentum for a new energy windfall tax?

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Joseph Steward

Director

Joseph works across Forefront’s digital assets and UK political teams. He joined Forefront from the FCA, where he worked on developing the UK’s crypto policy, with a particular focus on stablecoins. During his time at the FCA he also covered UK strategy and engagement in the Asia-Pacific region and was seconded to HM Treasury ahead of the 2024 general election to support the government transition and cover US and Canada financial services policy. He holds a degree in politics from University College London, which included a year at the Higher School of Economics in Saint Petersburg.

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Jessica Hazel

Senior Analyst

Jess works on coverage of Energy and Sustainability policy, typically focusing on activities in the UK market.

She previously worked as a Hydrogen Policy Official for the Scottish Government, covering a range of different policy areas in her time there. 

Jess completed her MSc in Environment and Development at the University of Edinburgh.

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Manon Quénel

Associate Director

Manon works on the coverage of the EU sustainability policy focusing on the sustainable finance agenda and corporate accountability rules.

Before joining Forefront, Manon worked for a Brussels-based public affairs consultancy where she was supporting corporate clients navigate the EU political and regulatory landscape, focusing on the Green Deal and the financial services’ agenda. Previously, she worked in the policy department of the French Economic and Social Council in Paris and interned in the European Parliament in Brussels.

Manon holds a dual degree of master’s in public administration from SciencesPo Strabourg and York University and a specialized master in EU studies from Universite Libre de Bruxelles.

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James Nation

Managing Director

James is a Managing Director of UK Politics. He previously worked as the Deputy Head of the Number 10 Policy Unit from 2022 until May 2024 and before that was a Special Adviser to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Recently, he led the team responsible for the Conservative Party Manifesto in the 2024 General Election campaign. Earlier in his career, James worked as a civil servant in MHCLG and the Treasury, following on from a role in tax and fiscal policy at the CBI. 

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Ksenia Duxfield-Karyakina

Managing Director

Ksenia is the Managing Director of Emerging Technology at Forefront. She has spent most of her career in technology policy, working across the UK, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Emerging Markets. Her expertise spans AI, data governance, cloud, content, and fintech policy areas.

Before joining Forefront, Ksenia led public policy and regulatory affairs for Google Cloud in Europe, and was responsible for YouTube Policy in APAC and Eurasia, based out of Hong Kong. Prior to entering the big tech industry, Ksenia worked in financial services, focusing on anti-fraud and policies addressing financial crime within the OECD ecosystem. She is a journalist by training and holds a PhD in new media economics. Ksenia is a parent to two daughters, an art lover, and an avid reader (of paper books).

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Dustin Benton

Managing Director

Dustin is the MD of sustainability at Forefront. Previously, he was policy director at Green Alliance, leading its work across energy, resources, and the natural environment. He previously worked at Defra, where he was chief analytical advisor to Henry Dimbleby’s National Food Strategy and led the department’s analysis of food vulnerability. Earlier in his career, Dustin led on climate and renewables at the Campaign to Protect Rural England. He holds an MA in Political Thought and Theory from the University of Birmingham and an MA in International Relations and French from the University of St Andrews.

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Max Kemp

Associate Director

Max works in the EU team on energy & net zero, with a focus on industrial policy. He joins Forefront with several years’ experience in industry associations, first advising local energy companies on EU policy and then representing the glass sector on energy issues. He has also worked in legal and policy consulting for the EU institutions. 

Joseph Steward

Director

Joseph works across Forefront’s digital assets and UK political teams. He joined Forefront from the FCA, where he worked on developing the UK’s crypto policy, with a particular focus on stablecoins. During his time at the FCA he also covered UK strategy and engagement in the Asia-Pacific region and was seconded to HM Treasury ahead of the 2024 general election to support the government transition and cover US and Canada financial services policy. He holds a degree in politics from University College London, which included a year at the Higher School of Economics in Saint Petersburg.

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Ramona Visenescu

Associate Director

Ramona is an Associate Director focusing on sustainable finance and circular economy. Ramona previously worked in Brussels at Teneo, where she also covered ESG legislative priorities and interned at the European Commission in DG Economy and Finance. She earned her Bachelor degree in International Relations and European Studies from the University of Bucharest and completed an Advanced Master in Financial Markets at the Solvay Brussels School of Economics & Management.

Pietro Candia

Associate Director

Pietro works across EU Politics and is based in Brussels. Before joining Forefront, he interned in other political risk advisory firms and worked in the government relations division of a major oil corporation. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Politics from Georgetown University and a Master’s degree in European and International Public Policy from LSE.

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Imogen Stead

Senior Analyst

Imogen works across the Emerging Tech service, covering EU, UK and multilateral policy and regulatory developments in AI and critical technologies. She previously worked on Forefront’s UK Politics note, with a focus on post-Brexit trading relations and foreign policy, and has prior experience of policy and stakeholder management in two UK Civil Service departments. She holds a BA, MPhil and DPhil in Classics from the University of Oxford. 

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Michele Grassi

Analyst

Michele works on EU digital assets policy and Italian politics. He previously interned as MEP assistant at the European Parliament and as a Policy analyst at the Lombardy Regional Council. Michele holds a double degree MSc in European Public Policy from LSE and Bocconi University.

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Pascal LeTendre-Hanns

Director

Pascal leads on Forefront’s Energy & Net Zero and Sustainability insights. Pascal previously worked in the Paris-based pro-European think tank, EuropaNova. He is leading sustainability policy coverage and following political developments in France and Spain. He graduated from UCL with a First Class Honours degree in European Social and Political Studies, specialising in international relations and French, which included a year at Sciences Po Paris. 

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Charles d’Arcy-Irvine

Director

Charles works on political and policy insight advising businesses across different industries. He previously worked in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, as an official at HM Treasury, as a political adviser to George Osborne, and in real estate. He holds a master’s degree in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and is a Trustee of the Epping Forest Schools Partnership Trust. 

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Christopher Glück

Managing Director

Chris leads Forefront’s EU political analysis and insights team. He previously led Hanbury’s EU Public Affairs work. Previously, Chris worked on EU financial services policy in HM Treasury and as policy advisor for Jakob von Weizsäcker in the European Parliament. Chris holds a master’s degree from the College of Europe and read history at the University of Munich. 

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Matt Gravelle

Managing Director

Matt leads on the Financial Services and Digital Assets team.  He joined in late 2024 from Kraken, a leading cryptoasset exchange, where he was Head of Policy and Government Relations for the UK and APAC.

Matt has worked in financial services policy since moving to London in 2013. Before his time at Kraken, he spent more than 5 years as a Director in Standard Chartered’s regulatory affairs team, where he focused on crypto and broader markets regulation across the bank’s global footprint. He previously held policy roles at Deutsche Bank and CME Group.  

Matt is originally from Ottawa, Canada, where he worked for the Canadian government and a policy think tank before moving to the UK. Matt studied at Queen’s University (BA) and McMaster (MA) in Ontario and the University of British Columbia (PhD) in Vancouver.

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Gergely Polner

Managing Director

Gergely heads Forefront’s EU team. He was previously Head of EU Affairs at Standard Chartered Bank and at the British Bankers Association. Before his City career, he spent eight years at the EU institutions, including as a spokesperson for the EU Council Presidency and Head of UK Public Affairs for the European Parliament. While at the EU Institutions, Gergely worked on the EU’s sanctions regime and the regulatory reform in financial services. He started his career as a lawyer and built a successful legal translation business.

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James Bergeron

Senior Adviser

James Bergeron leads Forefront’s defence analysis and advice. He is a former US Navy submarine officer and law professor, he has served as the political advisor to ten senior US and NATO commanders.