List of the CH-EU Committee's (permanent) members

Jean Russotto studied at the University of Lausanne, where he obtained a doctorate in law with a published thesis on the application of self-executing treaties in US law.

He is also a graduate of the College of Europe in Bruges and Harvard Law School.

Jean Russotto worked in Nestlé’s legal department in Vevey for five years, before leaving Switzerland for Belgium, where he is a member of the Brussels Bar.

He was successively managing partner of two US law firms, one in Minneapolis and the other in Washington DC.

For several decades, he has represented – and continues to represent, to this day in a personal capacity – numerous Swiss and other interests in Brussels, from the perspective of EU law; notably in the finance, pharmaceutical and agri-food sectors.

Researcher in European law, specialising in the law of the European Economic Area and other associations with the EU, at the Liechtenstein Institute in Bendern (LI). Legal adviser to the Government of Andorra on negotiations with the EU. Previously Deputy Head of Mission at the Liechtenstein Mission to the EU. Deputy Director-General of EFTA in Brussels. Lawyer.

Born in 1959, René Höltschi holds a PhD in Economics from the University of St Gallen (HSG). A journalist at the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) from 1988 to 2025, he spent most of his career in Paris, Vienna, Brussels and Berlin as an economic correspondent. From 1999 to 2018, he covered European Union news from Brussels as a correspondent. He now lives in Brussels once again.

Christine Kaddous is a professor of European and international law at the University of Geneva (LinkedIn profile). She is a lawyer and holds an LLM (Cantab) from the University of Cambridge (UK). She heads the Centre for European Legal Studies (CEJE, Centre for European Legal Studies) at the University of Geneva and the Master of Advanced Studies in European and International Governance (MEIG Programme, www.meig.ch). She is a visiting professor at the University of Paris-Panthéon-Assas. Her publications include numerous articles on relations between Switzerland and the EU. Christine Kaddous regularly acts as a consultant to companies, international organisations and governments in the fields of Swiss, European and international law (in particular business law, dispute resolution and arbitration) and provides training in international and European law to Swiss and international civil servants.

Born in 1961, Philippe Kenel holds a PhD in law, an LL.M. in European law (ULB) and a bachelor’s degree in political science. A qualified lawyer in Switzerland and Belgium, he is a partner at the law firm Valfor. Philippe Kenel is also President of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce for Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, President of the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism in Switzerland (Licra-Suisse), legal representative of Licra’s Permanent Representation to the European institutions, and a member of the Board of Directors of Licra in Belgium.

Roland Krimm holds a degree in Social Sciences from the University of Lausanne. He began his career as a print journalist in Switzerland. He went on to work in Brussels as a correspondent covering the European Union and NATO for both the print and broadcast media (Journal de Genève, Le Temps, RTS). From the media to diplomacy: until recently, he was the cantons’ representative at the Swiss Mission to the EU in Brussels. In this capacity, he took part in negotiations between Switzerland and the EU.

Joelle Kuntz, journalist and author. Her career, which began in Switzerland in 1970, took her to Portugal and then to Paris, where she covered European affairs and, in particular, the Common Market. She subsequently worked at *L’hebdo* and Télévision Suisse Romande as head of the foreign desk for *Téléjournal*, before becoming deputy editor-in-chief at *Le Nouveau Quotidien*, and then joining *Le Temps* as editor of the debate and opinion sections. In that newspaper, she published a weekly column focusing on history, followed by another, more personal one, on the vagaries of our human condition.

At the same time, she published several books: on Portugal, Les fusils et les urnes; on borders, Adieu à Terminus; on Switzerland, L’agrandissement; a brief history,La Suisse en clin d’œil, followed by an essay,La Suisse ou le génie de la dépendance. She has also written several books on ‘International Geneva’: Genève, une vocation internationale, Genève internationale, Cent ans d’architecture, and Genève, une place financière, histoire d’un défi (19th–21st centuries).

She was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva from 2008 to 2021

She currently chairs the Foundation for the Independence and Diversity of the Press (FIDI) in Geneva.

Born in 1985, Cenni Najy holds a PhD in political science (University of Geneva) and a Master’s degree from the College of Europe in international relations and EU diplomacy. He is also a senior associate at the Swiss Foreign Policy Forum (Foraus).

François Nordmann studied in Fribourg and Geneva. He joined the Federal Political Department in 1971. From 1974 to 1980, he served on the Municipal Council (Executive) of the City of Fribourg. After holding various posts in Bern, New York and Guatemala City, he served as Swiss Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1994–1999), to the UN in Geneva (2000–2002) and to France (2002–2007). He writes a weekly column for *Le Temps*, focusing on Swiss foreign policy.

Christophe Rapin has been a member of the Geneva Bar since 1999. He completed postgraduate training in European law and has also been a member of the Brussels Bar since 2001. He practises commercial law in Switzerland and Brussels, primarily in relation to trade between Switzerland and the European Union, and vice versa, whether in connection with the trade in goods or the cross-border provision of services. Specialising in regulatory law, he assists Swiss and European companies with their international trade in the pharmaceutical, luxury goods, veterinary products, financial services, automotive and energy sectors, as well as any other industry operating in regulated sectors. Christophe Rapin is an experienced practitioner in the legal relations between Switzerland and the European Union, both at an institutional level and in the context of commercial relations between companies. In particular, he has advised and represented Swiss business sectors during the ‘Bilaterals II’ negotiations. He is regularly consulted on the progress and foreseeable impacts of the negotiations currently under way. He served as president of the Swiss Competition Law Association for 10 years and is currently president of the International Competition Law League (LIDC).

Kathy Riklin, who holds a PhD in Natural Sciences from ETH Zurich, served as a National Councillor from 1999 to 2019 (PDC, the Centre), and was a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the EFTA–EU Delegation and the Committee on Science, Education and Culture.

She served on the University of Zurich Board from 2008 to 2015.

Today, Kathy Riklin is active within the Swiss Society for Foreign Policy.

She is President of Scaht (Swiss Centre for Applied Human Toxicology) and an individual member of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW). She has also been chair of Zurich’s Winter Relief organisation for many years.

Riklin is a member of the board of directors of SwissICT and also draws on her political network through the ‘Digital Sustainability’ group and the ePower – ICT for Switzerland initiative.

For many years, she has been primarily involved in climate and energy issues. From 2001 to 2021, she was Chair of the Advisory Council on Climate Change (OcCC).

A geologist with a PhD, she worked for 25 years as a secondary school teacher and served as Vice-Principal of the Kantonale Maturitätsschule für Erwachsene.