A new chapter for ESIP

The European Social Insurance Platform (ESIP), representing statutory social security institutions from 17 Member States and Switzerland, is delighted to announce that Mr Yannis Natsis has been appointed as Director of ESIP starting from 8 February 2022. He will take over this position from Dr Christine Dawson who is retiring after 20 years of successful work and advocacy on behalf of ESIP in Brussels. 

Reacting to his appointment, Yannis stated: “I am honoured and delighted to represent ESIP’s members. There are lots of opportunities ahead of us in EU policy-making to defend and reinforce solidarity-based social insurance systems and ESIP’s voice will be heard loud and clear.”

Yannis brings to ESIP 10 years of experience in EU advocacy and policymaking. Prior to joining ESIP, he led the advocacy for better and affordable medicines at the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA). In May 2019, he was appointed by EU Member States to the Management Board of the European Medicines Agency, until December 2021. Yannis previously worked for the TransAtlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) focusing on health and pharmaceutical policies. He was an investigative reporter for Greece's award-winning TV news programme "Fakeli". He holds a Master’s degree in International Conflict Analysis from the University of Kent, UK and a Bachelor’s degree in European Studies from Pantion University of Social and Political Sciences, Greece. Yannis is also a Board member of the European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG).

For Ilka Wölfle, ESIP's President, "Yannis Natsis with his wealth of experience, including his long-standing advocacy for affordable medicines, will be a huge asset to ESIP and a strong proponent of the interests of social security institutions in Europe".

ESIP’s members and staff are extremely grateful to the outgoing Director, Christine Dawson, for her dedication and hard work over the years. She contributed greatly to expanding the realm of expertise of ESIP across all branches of social security and the impact of ESIP’s advocacy towards the EU institutions and the wider stakeholder community.  

See our press release.