Experts & Staff
José Ignacio Torreblanca

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.

EU defence: the numbers don’t add up

The EU collectively spends an annual 200 billion euro on defence but squanders most of it on Cold War-style armies

Who is afraid of a ruthless Europe?

A survey carried out after the Irish referendum outlines a very worrying landscape for the future of European integration

The Naked Emperor

An analysis of the Irish ‘no’ to the Lisbon Treaty, published in El Pais. In Spanish and English

The prospect of an Irish ‘no’

The rejection of Lisbon by Irish voters would upset the delicate balance which has kept the much buffeted European ship afloat

An ugly face of Europe

Closing itself to immigration will not solve Europe’s problems, and it will impair its attractiveness as a model open society. An op-ed in Spanish and English

Spanish government must recognise Kosovo

To underscore its commitment to Balkan stability, the Spanish government should recognise Kosovo’s independence. An op-ed from El Pais, in Spanish

Zapatero: what next?

With a good international image and a key position in Europe, Latin America and the Mediterranean, there is an opportunity for Spain to play a more prominent global role which the new government should explore

More wisdom for Europe

Compared to its original formulation, the mandate given to Felipe Gonz?lez to chair an “Independent Reflection Group” amounts to a substantial shift

Publications

Articles

Showdown: What to expect from Spain’s general election

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

Ukraine one year on: When tech companies go to war

The war in Ukraine has reinforced the strategic role of global tech giants in defence and security policy. NATO and the EU should learn from this as they try to deter future aggressors

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

Podcasts

Events

In the media