Hugo-Maria Schally

Hugo-Maria Schally holds a doctorate of law degree from the University of Graz/Austria and is a graduate of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna/Austria. Between 1981 and 1984 he practiced law in Klagenfurt, Austria. He worked for the United Nations Development Programme in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 1986/87, before joining the Austrian Ministry for Foreign Affairs. He served in the Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations in Geneva, in the Office of the Legal Adviser and in the Department for Economic Affairs and European Integration. Since 1998 he has held positions in the DGs for External Relations, Development and Environment of the European Commission.

Most recently he was head of unit for "Sustainable Production, Products and Consumption" in the Directorate for "Circular Economy and Green Growth" of DG Environment of the European Commission. He was responsible for the development and implementation of the EU Circular Economy Action Plan. This included inter alia the preparation and implementation of EU policies and instruments supporting the transition to a circular economy, such as inter alia EMAS, the European Eco-label, Green Public Procurement, the European Plastics Strategy, in particular the development of the “ Single Use Plastics Directive “ and the pilot project on the environmental footprint of products and organisations (PEF/OEF).

Since January 2019 he is head of unit for “Multilateral environmental cooperation “in the Directorate for “Global Sustainable Development “in DG Environment of the European Commission. He is coordinating and developing the ECs work in and collaboration with international environmental organisations and multilateral environmental agreements and the links between trade and environment. He is also in charge of EU policies and legislation regarding global deforestation and forest degradation, international trade in wildlife and the access to and sharing of the benefits derived from the utilisation of genetic resources.

In the course of his career he has been involved in the negotiation of multilateral environmental agreements and global conferences such as UNCED 1992, Rio+20, UNFCCC, UNCBD and the international Ozone Treaties serving also as president of the Implementation Committee of the Montreal Protocol. He has also been closely involved in work on trade and environment and the development and implementation of EU legislation in the area of environment.