Mrs Fenna Beekmans is director of Europa decentraal, a Dutch non-profit knowledge centre on EU legislation, which gives advice and provides information on the application of EU regulations to local and regional governments. She has over 15 years of experience in the field of implementation of European legislation as well as the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), working both for government institutions and for businesses and consultancy firms. Fenna Beekmans has developed great expertise in the effects of European law on local and regional governments, as well as in European funds and (European) project management. Currently, she is also an appointed member of the REFIT Platform of the European Commission in her personal capacity. The REFIT Platform is a forum in which member states and stakeholders have a dialogue on how European legislation can be improved. Agreed opinions of the Platform are formally presented to the European Commission and are taken into account in the drafting of the Commission’s Work Programme.