Eleni Hatziyanni holds a Ph.D. and a M.Sc. in Marine Ecology-Environmental Biology and a Diploma in Geology, while her Post Doc Research focused on Marine Spatial Planning and Integrated Coastal Zone Management.

Eleni Hatziyanni is a Policy Officer at the European Commission - DG Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Unit A3:Seabasin Strategies, Maritime Regional Cooperation and Maritime Security. She is contributing to the development of Maritime Policy and Blue Economy in the context of Sea-basin Strategies and Maritime Regional Cooperation, by focusing on the Mediterranean Basin, as well as on the European Strategy of Adriatic Ionian Region (EUSAIR).

Previously, she was the Director of Environment and Spatial Planning at the Region of Crete Greece where she worked for fifteen years, being also responsible for interregional cooperation and coordination of European Projects for the implementation of regional Smart Specialization Strategy. She is having also ten years’ previous experience in Marine Research (mainly in E&W Mediterranean and Black Sea), working for the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR). She has successfully cooperated with Local, Regional, European, and International Institutes, European Networks, and Policy Makers. She has participated in more than (100) Conferences (in Europe, US, Japan) with plenty of oral and poster presentations, and has many papers in peer-reviewed journals of scientific literature.