Time: 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The transcendental changes that the European continent is undergoing and the possible shift of the centre of gravity of world affairs to Eurasia constitute the backdrop for this seminar dedicated to the role of Central Asia on the international scene. On this occasion, diplomats and scholars of different origins will come together to give their views on the main actors and dynamics that are operating today in this region and to debate, with special emphasis, two issues of great international importance: that of energy resources and that of transnational threats. The seminar constitutes an opportune event for becoming familiar with the priorities of the 2007 Spanish presidency of the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe), a meeting point for the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian community.

Following the recent accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union, this workshop has the objectives of promoting an exchange of information and group debate on the implications of the new legal situation of Romanians and Bulgarians in Spain. Among the aspects to be analysed are their free circulation, their right to vote in municipal elections and the administration of their residence permits.

Presentation of a study of opinions elaborated by the Centro de Investigación y Docencia de México (CIDE), based on a survey of public opinion and the opinions of Mexican leaders on Mexico’s foreign policy and the international system of states. By Covadonga Meseguer, researcher at CIDE and visiting lecturer at the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI).

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Presentation of the book, led by its co-ordinator, Manuel Alcántara, Professor of Political Science, Director of the Instituto Interuniversitario de Estudios de Iberoamérica y Portugal, University of Salamanca; Josep Mª Sanahuja Bonfill, Dean of the College of Political Science and Sociology, Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and Carles Ramió, Permanent Lecturer in Political Science and Administration in the Department of Political and Social Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), and Director of the CIDOB Foundation’s Latin America Programme. Some of the core aspects of this study, the result of a research project based on interviews of a representative sample of lawmakers from 17 Latin American countries and carried out by a team of researchers from the Instituto Interuniversitario de Estudios de Iberoamérica y Portugal at the University of Salamanca, are: continued commitment to democracy on the part of the political class, the validity of the categorisation of the terms “right” and “left” and the limited preparation for politics detected in an important number of legislators.

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