“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
Experts & Staff
José Ignacio Torreblanca
Head, ECFR Madrid
Senior Policy Fellow
Areas of expertise
Populism and euroscepticism in Europe; Common Foreign Security and Defence Policy; EU domestic politics; institutional reforms
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. His topics of focus include populism and euroscepticism in Europe, common foreign security and defence policy, and EU domestic politics and institutional reforms
Torreblanca was previously editorial director of the Spanish daily El Pais. His list of publications, articles, multimedia content and press interviews with ECFR is available below.
Stranger in Moscow: Borrell’s unwelcome visit
What lessons can be drawn from Josep Borrell’s controversial visit to Moscow?
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
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.
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
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?
Trump can’t tell the difference between dictatorship and democracy: An interview with Anne Applebaum and José Ignacio Torreblanca
ECFR’s José Ignacio Torreblanca in conversation with Applebaum about her latest book, The Twilight of Democracy
Publications
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
What is political union?
Three choices for a more integrated Europe
The euro crisis: a Spanish perspective
How does the euro crisis look from Madrid?
Spain after the elections: the ‘Germany of the South’?
Spain's election, caught between the euro crisis and Arab revolutions
Articles
“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
Trump can’t tell the difference between dictatorship and democracy: An interview with Anne Applebaum and José Ignacio Torreblanca
ECFR’s José Ignacio Torreblanca in conversation with Applebaum about her latest book, The Twilight of Democracy
Views from the capitals: Gas conflict in the eastern Mediterranean
Experts from ECFR’s national offices address the tensions in the eastern Mediterranean over gas reserves
George Soros: “I am proud of the enemies I have”
From Putin to Trump, to Viktor Orban and Xi Jinping, several world leaders accuse the Hungarian magnate of wanting to bring them down. In Spain, his main enemy is Vox.
“Strength has to start at home”: Interview with Borrell on the EU’s response to the coronavirus
The coronavirus pandemic started as a health crisis, but it will have long-term political, economic, and social implications. In an exclusive interview with the head of ECFR’s Madrid office, José Ignacio Torreblanca, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell assesses the European response to the crisis, its geopolitical consequences, and its effects on conflicts in Europe’s neighbourhood.
“The European Union is failing”: Exclusive Interview with Felipe González
Felipe González, former Prime Minister of the Spanish Government (1982-1996), was interviewed by José Ignacio Torreblanca, head of the Madrid Office and Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, as part of the series of interviews 'Spain and Europe in times of crisis'.
How Brussels could get crisis management right this time
The EU got it wrong in the financial crisis – and paid a heavy price. But this time could be different.
Video
The Four Crises of Europe: Felipe González and the European Elections
ECFR Madrid sits down with former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe González to discuss topics such as the state of the European Union ahead of May's European Parliament elections, the rise of Eurosceptic parties, Brexit, and relations with the US and Russia
How to restore democracy in Venezuela? Interview with Felipe González
ECFR Madrid in collaboration with Fundación Felipe González recorded a conversation between former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe González and Head of the ECFR Madrid Office José Ignacio Torreblanca on the situation in Venezuela and the legitimacy of Juan Guaidó’s claim to the presidency
José I. Torreblanca debate en TVE sobre la migración en el Mediterráneo
El director de ECFR Madrid participa en el programa El Debate de Televisión Española, en el que también intervino Francisco Martínez, secretario de Estado de Seguridad
The British problem – View from the Capitals
The heads of five of our national offices explain their national perspectives on a possible Brexit
Podcasts
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…
How to deal with our Western Balkan neighbours?
North Macedonia and Albania wanted to start negotiations with the EU after having been candidate countries since 2005 and 2014. But the enlargement plans seemed…
The crisis in Venezuela: What does Europe’s move mean?
Anthony Dworkin steps in for Mark Leonard and speaks with Jose Ignacio Torreblanca, Federica Paddeu, and Sergey Sukhankin, about what risks the recognition of Juan…
In the media
José Ignacio Torreblanca responds to POLITICO’s chief Europe correspondent Matthew Kartnitschnig’s comments against think-tankers in his comment piece “The Fake news loved by EU leaders”.
José Ignacio Torreblanca talks about the sanctions adopted by the Chinese government against a number of individuals and entities in the EU, in response to the sanctions adopted by the European Union against four chinese people responsible for the repression of the Uighur population in Xinjiang province.
José Ignacio Torreblanca is quoted in an article addressing the youth protests in Barcelona over the imprisonment of the rapper Pablo Hásel.
José Ignacio Torreblanca comments on the role played by the Spanish political party “Podemos” regarding the imprisonment of the rapper Pablo Hásel.
José Ignacio Torreblanca meditates on how vaccination has become another element of fragmentation, injustice and global inequality.