Europe Lunch

Though the Lisbon Treaty has rejected the proposed post of a Minister of Foreign Affairs for the European Union, it has taken a substantial step forward with respect to common mechanisms for the management of the Union's external relations. In a world that is increasingly multi-polar, Europe has to take a more active role in defending its interests, as well as the values behind the process of European integration. In this context, the Consell Català del Moviment Europeu and the CIDOB Foundation have invited the Director General of External Relations of the European Commission to speak at a Europe Lunch.

Eneko Landáburu is the highest-ranking Spanish civil servant in the Commission. Over the course of his long career in Europe, he has held posts of great responsibility in the European Commission, and at crucial moments. He was the Director General of Regional Policy and Cohesion from 1986 to 2000 - a period that was particularly intense for the cohesion policy and the progressive convergence of the regions of Southern Europe and the old East Germany toward the other Member States. He was Director General for Enlargement from 2002 to 2003 - a crucial period in terms of the preparation of Europe’s great enlargement in 2004. Since 2003, he has been Director General of External Relations, a post that places him at the forefront of Europe’s growing diplomatic machinery, and of relations with virtually the entire planet.