The meeting was opened by Klaus-Heiner Lehne, Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee, Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding, representative of the Cyprus Presidency and former MEP Symeon Symeonides and ELI Council member Diana Wallis. Before the event, Sir John Thomas and another member of the ELI Working Party, Christiane Wendehorst, had a meeting with Klaus-Heiner Lehne, who is also co-rapporteur on the CESL, and Head of Unit Robert Bray. Christiane Wendehorst also had discussions with MEPs from Austria and Germany earlier in the day.