Senior Adviser
Distinguished Policy Fellow
Technology and geopolitics, EU strategic autonomy; disinformation and influence operations
Spanish, English
Dr José Ignacio Torreblanca is a distinguished policy fellow at the geoeconomics and technology programme and senior adviser to the Madrid office at the European Council on Foreign Relations. He was the founding director of ECFR’s Madrid office, which he led from 2008 to 2025.
His work over recent years has focused on the geopolitics of technology, technological sovereignty, disinformation, and the relationship between technology and democracy. He is currently leading the research, policy and advocacy project “Defending the European Union from Technological Coercion”.
His recent publications on technology include “Technology and Connectivity” in The International Relations of the European Union (2026); “The Technological Awakening of the European Union” in Política Exterior (2026); “Defending EU Democracy and Sovereignty from the New Geopolitics of Technology” in CEBRI Journal (2025); “Connecting Regions, Closing Gaps, Building Sovereignty: The EU–Latin America and the Caribbean Digital Alliance” (2025); “The EU: A Force for (Digital) Good?” in Tech4Democracy (2023); “Social Networks and Democracy: Problems and Dilemmas of Regulating the Digital Ecosystem” in Siyasal: Journal of Political Sciences (2023); “The US–EU Trade and Technology Council: State of Play, Issues and Challenges” (with Raquel Jorge, Esade EcPol, 2022); and “Europe’s Digital Sovereignty” (co-edited with Carla Hobbs, 2020).
He holds a PhD in political science from the Complutense University of Madrid and is a senior lecturer at UNED, where he teaches graduate and postgraduate courses on the EU (see full list of publications). He has been a Fulbright scholar at George Washington University, a postdoctoral fellow at the European University Institute in Florence, and senior policy fellow at Spain’s Elcano Royal Institute.
He has written a weekly column, Café Steiner, in El Mundo since 2018. Previously, he was opinion editor at El País, where he wrote a weekly column and blog for ten years. He was awarded the Salvador de Madariaga Prize for European Journalism in 2015.
Germany was a model for the post-Franco rebuilding of Spanish democracy, and for a time was perhaps Spain’s most important ever partner. The switch to rivalry in recent years, and Spain’s failure to support Germany while it struggled with the financial implications of reunification, has meant that Madrid’s erstwhile allies in Berlin are distant at this hour of crisis
In the past, Germany has been both a model and a partner for Spain. But there have been deep-seated changes in how Berlin views southern Europe, and seen from Spain, it is as if Germany has decided southern Europe is a burden that prevents it from going global and needs to be dumped
At first glance the recent Franco-British treaty on defence looks like a model of pragmatism, tinged by a British desire to keep greater pan-EU defence cooperation at bay. But like so many European agreements over the last decades, this aspiration to preserve sovereignty may not prevent the treaty contributing to exactly that higher level of cooperation
Spain has a new minister of foreign affairs – Trinidad Jimenez. So what are the priorities? Firstly, to restore international confidence in Spain, but then to think of the long term challenges in a world that is changing quickly
Europe’s pathetic reaction to Liu Xiaobo’s Nobel peace prize showed an urge by EU leaders to not only render themselves internationally irrelevant, but also a determination to cover the EU itself in ridicule. Europe must decide whether it wants to play a role in the new world order, or bend like reeds in whichever direction the wind is blowing
Waging even one war and winning it is complicated enough. Not to mention waging three different wars and winning them. This is what faces the international forces in Afghanistan. (In English and Spanish)
The EU is finally looking for coherent ways to organise itself as a powerful actor on the world stage. This is necessary in a multi-polar world of rising powers – but Europe needs to remember that dealing with its challenges at home is a prerequisite for being taken seriously abroad
Everyone’s talking about the BRICs. But we shouldn’t forget about the territories trying to become states. Kosovo, Palestine, Taiwan and East Timor: they’re all looking for our attention, and in some cases make better ‘states’ that the recognised ones
Spain's footballing triumph at the World Cup came as a welcome distraction for the Spanish people. Their economy is a shambles; their politicians are struggling to do their jobs; and the Spanish presidency of the EU badly damaged their international reputation. But at least Spain's football team offer lessons as well as hope
The Political West (the US, Europe and Japan) are in the doldrums while the BRICs keep growing. A third of world economic growth in the last decade has taken place in BRIC countries. So far, so good for the BRICs. But what next?
The US under Trump will seek new ways to coerce Europe economically. Here is how Europeans can resist the pressure and emerge stronger for it
Europe’s defensive measures to shield its democracies from hybrid attacks are no longer enough. If Europeans want to protect their peace and prosperity, the time has come for them to fight back
Brazil and Europe share many similarities: both seek autonomy amid escalating US-China tensions – while championing multilateralism and navigating democratic pressures for a values-based foreign policy. However, their potential for collaboration remains largely untapped
The EU is falling behind the US and China in the digital realm. It urgently needs a new agenda combining innovation, security, and influence for an age of geopoliticised technology
Middle powers are shaping a fragmented world for which Europe is ill prepared. To protect its interests and values, the EU needs a foreign policy strategy that emphasises its wide range of interdependencies
The EU can counter Chinese and Russian influence through a digital alliance with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean
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
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
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
Europe must improve its early warning systems, supply chain resilience, medical R&D, and cyber security and technology, to act decisively in future emergencies
The EU should apply two remedies to address political interference via X
The US has threatened Spain with a trade embargo for refusing it access to Spanish military bases. European leaders should use this moment to show they are capable of not bowing to Washington when it is against their interests
The US president is hell-bent on owning Greenland. Annexation could destroy not only NATO but the EU, if European leaders do not resolutely act
The EU has proposed simplifying and softening its digital regulation. This will only make the bloc more vulnerable to the coercion of America’s big tech firms
US tech giants are preparing to test the EU’s resolve, emboldened by support from the Trump administration. The EU will need to prepare itself for the inevitable clash to safeguard its democratic and technological future
Elon Musk and Donald Trump are setting out America’s new approach to digital technology—including social media and AI. The EU must understand their motivations and work with willing partners to curb negative influence in the global digital sphere
As technological competition between the US and China grows, the EU’s next technology agenda needs to be more assertive to maximise its global influence
The EU’s and Chile’s enhanced association agreement will strengthen Europeans’ place in the “à la carte” world. The bloc should continue to tackle its dependencies and build mutually beneficial relations with countries across the globe
Strategic autonomy is a defensive strategy that sends the wrong message to the world. The EU should instead accept that interdependencies are not only inevitable but desirable, and cultivate them with its allies and partners
While Spain’s People’s Party leads the polls, obscure alliances and voter concerns leave the country’s future direction – and its impact on next year’s European Parliament elections – uncertain
Mark Leonard welcomes Jeremy Shapiro and Nacho Torreblanca to discuss what Donald Trump’s capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro means for the world
Mark Leonard welcomes Tobias Gehrke and José Ignacio Torreblanca to explore Europe’s leverage against Donald Trump’s economic and technological coercion
Mark Leonard welcomes ECFR experts to unpack how Donald Trump’s presidency is reshaping Europe’s domestic politics and foreign policy
Mark Leonard welcomes Camille Lons, Marta Prochwicz Jazowska, Jana Puglierin, José Ignacio Torreblanca and Arturo Varvelli to discuss how European capitals are responding to Trump’s dramatic return to the White House
Mark Leonard welcomes José Ignacio Torreblanca and Pawel Zerka to discuss Brazil’s role in a changing world order
In this new episode, Vessela Tcherneva welcomes head of ECFR offices to discuss national implications of the EU elections
Mark Leonard welcomes Célia Belin, Piotr Buras, Jana Puglierin, Maria Simeonova, José Ignacio Torreblanca, and Arturo Varvelli to discuss the European Parliament elections and the future of European politics
Mark Leonard welcomes José Ignacio Torreblanca and Piotr Buras to discuss recent developments in Spanish and Polish politics and their impact on Europe
Mark Leonard welcomes the heads of ECFR’s national offices to discuss key players outside the traditional halls of European power
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?
Polityka Insight and ECFR Warsaw invite you to join us for the livestream of this year’s Warsaw European Conversation. When Europe was planning its 2021–2027 budget back in 2019, hardly anyone had heard of COVID-19, few could have imagined a full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine, and Donald Trump was defending himself against…
Un diálogo del European Council on Foreign Relations y Aspen Institute España. Los ponentes abordaron la tensión existente entre la simplificación normativa y la desregulación, la capacidad de la Unión Europea para exportar sus estándares regulatorios más allá de sus fronteras, los instrumentos jurídicos y estratégicos disponibles para hacer frente al poder…
The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) and the Paris-based Institute of Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) will co-chair the Think7 (T7) in 2026. The T7 is the official engagement group of the G7 for global think tanks and research centres. It aims at building a bridge between research and policymaking in a…
El European Council on Foreign Relations, en colaboración con la Fundación Carolina, organizó un debate público el pasado martes, 27 de mayo de 16:30 a 18:30 h CEST en la Sala Cervantes de Casa de América para presentar el informe “Conectando regiones, cerrando brechas, construyendo soberanía: La Alianza Digital UE-ALC. Recomendaciones de cara a la Cumbre UE-CELAC”. En un contexto marcado por la creciente confrontación…
As global power dynamics shift amid intensifying US-China rivalry, the rise of assertive middle powers, and increased scepticism toward the international rules-based order, Europe finds itself navigating new challenges in securing its global position. To avoid being drawn into a new Cold War dynamic, Europe must seek partnerships with emerging powers, especially those shaping…
El 20 de julio ECFR celebró una reunión virtual a puerta cerrada para intercambiar perspectivas sobre los resultados alcanzados en la Cumbre UE-CELAC del 17-18 julio y la posterior hoja de ruta durante la Presidencia española del Consejo de la UE
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 se comprometieron a lanzar en 2022 una Alianza Digital para fomentar una digitalización articulada en torno a los valores humanistas que ambas regiones comparten. Esta Alianza Digital, que también…
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
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 Council on Foreign Relations. Tuvo como objetivo escuchar las perspectivas de la sociedad civil venezolana sobre como Estados Unidos, la UE y otros actores internacionales se deben coordinen para…
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
Will Brown, Jana Kobzova, Nicu Popescu and José Ignacio Torreblanca on responding to Russian sabotage and subversion
A call for Ireland to opt out of work on the digital and fiscal dossiers during its EU Presidency
Agathe Demarais, Tobias Gehrke, José Ignacio Torreblanca on Europe’s options against US economic coercion
Agathe Demarais, Tobias Gehrke, and José Ignacio Torreblanca on how Trump’s US could use economic, energy, and technological leverage to put pressure on Europe
José Ignacio Torreblanca on increasing Anti-American sentiments in Spain
