François Balate is an expert in EU affairs and politics, working particularly in the fields of social justice, democracy, human rights and sustainability. He is currently the Policy & Advocacy Director of the European Youth Forum and a former visiting professor at Science Po Lille (Institut d’Etudes Politiques). He also was in the leadership of Civil Society Europe. He is a graduate from the College of Europe and the Universite Libre de Bruxelles, where he also gave various lectures.