Byting back: The EU’s digital alliance with Latin America and the Caribbean
The EU can counter Chinese and Russian influence through a digital alliance with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean
Experts & Staff
José Ignacio Torreblanca
Head, ECFR Madrid
Senior Policy Fellow
Areas of expertise
Technology and geopolitics, EU strategic autonomy; disinformation and influence operations
Languages
Spanish, English
Biography
José Ignacio Torreblanca is a senior policy fellow and head of the Madrid office of the European Council on Foreign Relations, a position he has held since the launch of ECFR across Europe in 2007. Torreblanca is also Professor of Political Science at Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED) in Madrid.
He is a weekly columnist in EL MUNDO as author of the blog “Café Steiner” and a weekly contributor on RNE (Spanish National Radio) and RTVE. Previously, he was Editorial Director of EL PAIS where he also authored a weekly column in the International Section and a blog.
Torreblanca holds a PhD in Political Science from the Complutense University of Madrid.
28 Oct
Debate público sobre la Alianza Digital entre la Unión Europea y América Latina y el Caribe
En su reunión (virtual) del 2 de diciembre de 2021, los jefes de Estado y de Gobierno de la UE y América Latina y el Caribe…
The geopolitics of technology: How the EU can become a global player
The digital space is a key battleground in today’s global power struggles. For the EU to become a global player in the geopolitics of technology, it needs an ambitious external digital strategy – one that allows it to secure its interests, values, and standing in a world of intensifying geo-technological competition.
Ukraine, Europe, and the power of association: A new way to help aspiring EU states
A new compact could allow Ukraine, Balkans states and others to move closer to the EU and drive reform more powerfully than the current rigid rules
22 Mar
La Hora de la Sociedad Civil: Un Diálogo Transatlántico sobre Venezuela
Este debate fue una iniciativa del Foro Cívico, de la Oficina en Washington para Asuntos Latinoamericanos (WOLA), el Open Society Foundations (OSF) y el European…
Why Ukraine has won the right to join NATO
The new European security order should be based on Ukraine’s security, not Russia’s. This will require Ukraine to join NATO and the EU.
29 Mar
The birth of geopolitical Europe: In conversation with Josep Borrell
With the EU’s High Representative as our honoured guest, the panel will explore the birth of a geopolitical Europe and the new dimensions of European power with a focus on the tech, economic, and security terrains
Views from the capitals: Russia’s war on Ukraine
The conflict in Ukraine will change Europe forever. Experts from across ECFR’s network of offices describe the view of the war from Berlin, London, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Sofia, and Warsaw.
The virtual front line: How EU tech power can help Ukraine
The EU cannot play a direct military role in Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine. But, through its support for Ukraine in the digital realm, the union can establish itself as a leader in global tech geopolitics.
10 Mar
The EU and Japan: Strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific
In collaboration with the Embassy of Japan in Madrid, ECFR has organised a public virtual debate to explore how the EU and the Indo-Pacific can build a strategic alliance and how the EU-Japan relationship can drive this process
Publications
Byting back: The EU’s digital alliance with Latin America and the Caribbean
The EU can counter Chinese and Russian influence through a digital alliance with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean
The geopolitics of technology: How the EU can become a global player
The digital space is a key battleground in today’s global power struggles. For the EU to become a global player in the geopolitics of technology, it needs an ambitious external digital strategy – one that allows it to secure its interests, values, and standing in a world of intensifying geo-technological competition.
Geo-tech politics: Why technology shapes European power
New technologies are a significant force shaping international relations. If the EU wants to be more than a mediator between the US and China, it will need to change its mindset.
Europe’s digital sovereignty: From rulemaker to superpower in the age of US-China rivalry
The EU cannot continue to rely on its regulatory power but must become a tech superpower in its own right. Referees do not win the game.
Health sovereignty: How to build a resilient European response to pandemics
Europe must improve its early warning systems, supply chain resilience, medical R&D, and cyber security and technology, to act decisively in future emergencies
Together in trauma: Europeans and the world after covid-19
A new survey shows that, after the onset of the covid-19 crisis, there has been a rise in public support for unified EU action to tackle global threats
Border games: Has Spain found an answer to the populist challenge on migration?
Spain, and Europe, need a new story about migration – it remains to be seen how the country will put this into practice
How to govern a fragmented EU: What Europeans said at the ballot box
The results of the European election confront EU leaders with a considerable challenge: navigating a new, more fragmented, and polarised political environment
The Eurosceptic surge and how to respond to it
Pro-Europeans should create space for battles between competing visions of Europe
The continent-wide rise of Euroscepticism
Europeans are losing faith in the EU
Articles
Ukraine, Europe, and the power of association: A new way to help aspiring EU states
A new compact could allow Ukraine, Balkans states and others to move closer to the EU and drive reform more powerfully than the current rigid rules
Why Ukraine has won the right to join NATO
The new European security order should be based on Ukraine’s security, not Russia’s. This will require Ukraine to join NATO and the EU.
Views from the capitals: Russia’s war on Ukraine
The conflict in Ukraine will change Europe forever. Experts from across ECFR’s network of offices describe the view of the war from Berlin, London, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Sofia, and Warsaw.
The virtual front line: How EU tech power can help Ukraine
The EU cannot play a direct military role in Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine. But, through its support for Ukraine in the digital realm, the union can establish itself as a leader in global tech geopolitics.
This time is different: Spain, Morocco, and weaponised migration
By weaponising migration in Ceuta to advance its Western Sahara claim, Morocco has made several major mistakes. Spain is part of an EU that is not in a joking mood on irregular migration blackmail.
Home alone: The UK’s foreign policy after Brexit
The UK appears to have gone full circle in its approach to the rest of the world – and to have found no answers along the way
“Spain is back”: An interview with Arancha González Laya
In an interview with the head of ECFR’s Madrid office, the Spanish foreign minister discusses how her country is adapting to the global challenges of the twenty-first century
Referees don’t win games: Europe and the digital great game
The challenge for the EU is to match the innovation levels of the US and China and to defend its interests and principles against the American tech giants
The other contagion: Why the US Capitol attack is a warning to populists
From now on, citizens will understand much more clearly why it is said that democracies die bit by bit, until they suddenly succumb and it is too late
Views from the Capitals: What Biden’s victory means for Europe
What will a Biden administration herald for Europe? The heads of ECFR’s seven offices report on the mood in the capitals
Podcasts
The geopolitics of technology
The EU is often described as a “regulatory superpower” benefitting from the so-called “Brussels effect.” But is the bloc also able to set its own rules and standards when it comes to new technologies?
Understanding the conflict in Western Sahara
What is the Western Sahara conflict is all about, and how will the most recent developments between Morocco and Spain influence this conflict?
Stranger in Moscow: Borrell’s unwelcome visit
What lessons can be drawn from Josep Borrell’s controversial visit to Moscow?
An interview with Anne Applebaum and José Ignacio Torreblanca
Head of ECFR’s Madrid Office, Jose Ignacio Torreblanca talks to the American historian, a Pulitzer Prize winner for Gulag, and expert on authoritarian populism about…
Anxious allies: European sovereignty after the US election
How much impact does the future US president have on the very concept of European sovereignty? Will the idea and initiatives to build more strategic autonomy in Europe be put back to bed with Joe Biden in the White House?
Conquering the cyber sphere: How the EU can build digital sovereignty
Europe’s digital transformation and sovereignty has become a question of existential importance. But what does it actually mean to be digital sovereign? Host Mark Leonard…
The EU’s budget and recovery fund deal – a historic moment for Europe?
The over 90-hour European Council summit in Brussels ended with a deal on a €1.82 trillion financial package. What does…
Europe’s way out of the coronavirus crisis: from self-interest to solidarity?
The coronavirus crisis brought about financial hardship for the European Union, and many agree that a recovery fund would be needed to overcome it. In…
Bonding over coronabonds? How the financial question divides Europe
The EU members states have been caught up in a heated discussion on possible European ‘coronabonds’, a joint debt assistance by the Union to help…
Corona Angst – How the virus puts the European Project and globalisation at risk
Recently declared a global pandemic, it is undeniable that the coronavirus will be a global political, social, financial and economic crisis – requiring actions that…
Events
28 Oct
Debate público sobre la Alianza Digital entre la Unión Europea y América Latina y el Caribe
En su reunión (virtual) del 2 de diciembre de 2021, los jefes de Estado y de Gobierno de la UE y América Latina y el Caribe…
29 Mar
The birth of geopolitical Europe: In conversation with Josep Borrell
With the EU’s High Representative as our honoured guest, the panel will explore the birth of a geopolitical Europe and the new dimensions of European power with a focus on the tech, economic, and security terrains
22 Mar
La Hora de la Sociedad Civil: Un Diálogo Transatlántico sobre Venezuela
Este debate fue una iniciativa del Foro Cívico, de la Oficina en Washington para Asuntos Latinoamericanos (WOLA), el Open Society Foundations (OSF) y el European…
10 Mar
The EU and Japan: Strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific
In collaboration with the Embassy of Japan in Madrid, ECFR has organised a public virtual debate to explore how the EU and the Indo-Pacific can build a strategic alliance and how the EU-Japan relationship can drive this process
14 Dec
Cooperación Tecnológica Transatlántica: Cómo hacer que el Consejo de Comercio y Tecnología sea un éxito
Esta es la primera reunión de nuestra iniciativa en ECFR diseñada para acompañar a las negociaciones oficiales del Consejo de Comercio y Tecnología (TTC) entre…
7 Jun
La Crisis Hispano-Marroquí
Con motivo de la escalada de tensión en las relaciones bilaterales entre España y Marruecos, y ante la previsible duración de la presente crisis, ECFR…
9 Dec
Una amistad llamada Europa. Recoger el testigo
No hay aspiraciones colectivas sin inspiración, ni futuro sin memoria. Seguir construyendo Europa sobre relaciones de confianza es hoy más necesario que nunca.
25 Nov
In the media
Russia and China have rolled out the red carpet for South American leaders, feeding the region with billions of euros in investment
Carla Hobbs and José Ignacio Torreblanca comment on the presence of Russia and China in Latin America and the Caribbean
Let’s be realistic about the challenges posed by the fragmentation of politics in the United States
Domestic politics in partner countries could hinder progress in international tech cooperation, noted José Ignacio Torreblanca
The current context justifies the idea that the TTC should focus on technology’s global governance to counter the misuse of digital technologies by authoritarian governments
José Ignacio Torreblanca explains the importance for Europe and the US to work together to set democratic and rule-based standards within the Trade and Technology Council (Ttc) meeting, held on 15 and 16 May 2022 in Paris.
The more the process of decoupling Russia and China from the European Union and the rest of the West deepens, the more strategic Latin America will become
José Ignacio Torreblanca on the growing importance of a strategic alliance between Europe and Latin America
Without the invasion of Ukraine, they would still be aligned with Putin because the Russian narrative of delegitimizing the European Union is comfortable to them
José Ignacio Torreblanca on the impact the Russian invasion of Ukraine has had on far-right political movements across Europe