The ambassador permanent representative of Spain to the European Union is the official representative of the Kingdom of Spain to the institutions of the European Union. As such, it is the official responsible for carrying out the guidelines established by the Minister of Foreign Affairs or, by delegation, by the Secretary of State for the European Union.

Permanent Representation The Permanent Representation depends administratively and economically on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Secretariat of State for the European Union. The law defines it as "the accredited body, representative and management, by Spain to the European Union and ensure the presence of Spain in the institutions and bodies dependent on it."

The mission is headed by the Ambassador Permanent Representative. As a collaborator and substitute for the Ambassador, there is a Deputy Ambassador Permanent Representative, who is also appointed by the Government, at the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and after hearing the Interministerial Committee for the European Union Affairs. The representation is also made up of the Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to the Political and Security Committee (PSC).

Apart from the aforementioned senior positions, the representation is composed of lesser diplomatic personnel such as advisers, embassy secretaries and attachés, who are freely appointed by the minister. Non-diplomatic personnel are appointed by the foreign minister at the proposal of the ministerial department that requests it.

Interministerial Committee for the European Union Affairs Following Spain's accession into the European Communities, the Interministerial Committee for European Union Affairs was established in September 1985. The committee's work focuses on coordinating the actions of the General State Administration in matters related to the European Union and examining and resolving, where appropriate, EU affairs that affect more than one ministerial department and do not require referral to the Government Delegated Committee for Economic Affairs. If any of these issues arise, due to their importance or because a member of the committee requests it, they must be referred to the aforementioned delegated committee.

The Interministerial Committee is chaired by the Secretary of State for the European Union, while the First Deputy Chair is the Secretary of State for Economy and Business Support. This committee also includes the other senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responsible for European policy, as well as the undersecretaries of all government departments.

History

Origin

The origin of the Spanish Representation to the European Union dates back to 1960, when Carlos de Miranda y Quartín, 4th Count of Casa Miranda, ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg, was entrusted with representing Spanish interests within the European Economic Community. He also represented Spain within the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Atomic Energy Community.

Since 1965, this position was separated from the Embassy in Brussels, with the former trade minister, Alberto Ullastres, being appointed ambassador. Ullastres enjoyed great autonomy in managing European diplomatic relations and, under his leadership, important treaties such as the Preferential Trade Agreement between Spain and the European Economic Community of 1970 were negotiated.

Later, prime minister Adolfo Suárez entrusted Raimundo Bassols with representing and negotiating, together with minister Marcelino Oreja, 1st Marquess of Oreja, Spain's entry into the organization. It was they who, in July 1977, formally requested accession to the Communities, initiating long negotiations that would culminate years later, during the mandate of ambassador Gabriel Ferrán de Alfaro.

Representation to the EU

In late 1985, Spain and the European Communities finalized the negotiations for the admission of Spain in the Communities. The Accession Treaty was signed on 12 June 1985. At the same time, the Spanish government transformed the Mission of Spain to the European Communities into the Permanent Representation of Spain to the European Communities, similar to the diplomatic missions of the rest of the member states of the European Union.

With the signing of the Treaty of the European Union in Maastricht in 1992, the European Communities disappear and the current European Union is properly created, so the name of the Permanent Representation is changed to the current Permanent Representation of Spain to the European Union in December 1995.

Spain has presided over the Council of the European Union on five occasions: January–June 1989, July–December 1995, January–June 2002, January–June 2010 and July–December 2023.

List of ambassadors For the purposes of this list, the date of publication of the appointment or dismissal in the Official State Gazette is taken into account.

AmbassadorTerm of officePrime MinisterHead of State1Carlos de Miranda y Quartín9 December 196011 November 1964Francisco Franco2José Núñez Iglesias21 November 19648 October 19653Alberto Ullastres8 October 196513 November 1976Luis Carrero BlancoCarlos Arias NavarroJuan Carlos IAdolfo Suárez4Raimundo Bassols13 November 197628 February 19815Gabriel Ferrán de Alfaro12 June 198128 November 1985Leopoldo Calvo-SoteloFelipe González6Carlos Westendorp31 December 198516 March 19917Camilo Barcia García-Villamil28 March 199127 July 19948Francisco Javier Elorza y Cavengt27 July 199424 June 2000José María Aznar9Francisco Javier Conde de Saro24 June 20007 September 200210Carlos Bastarreche7 September 200218 September 2010José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero11Luis Planas5 October 201031 December 201112Alfonso Dastis31 December 20114 November 2016Mariano RajoyFelipe VI13Juan Pablo García-Berdoy3 December 201621 July 2021Pedro Sánchez14Marcos Alonso Alonso21 July 2021Incumbent

List of deputy ambassadors

Camilo Barcia García-Villamil (1979 – 22 June 1985) Francisco Javier Elorza y Cavengt, 4th Marquess of Nerva (17 March 1986 – 3 April 1991) Carlos Bastarreche (3 April 1991 – 14 May 1996) Miguel Ángel Navarro Portera (14 May 1996 – 11 January 2003) Cristóbal González-Aller Jurado (11 January 2003 – 4 September 2010) José Pascual Marco Martínez (4 September 2010 – 1 August 2015) Juan de Arístegui Laborde (1 August 2015 – 12 February 2020) Raúl Santiago Fuentes Milani (12 February 2020 – 3 July 2024) Oriol Escalas Nolla (3 July 2024 – present)

List of representatives to the Political and Security Committee Created the Political and Security Committee by the Treaty of Amsterdam, in 2000 it was created a Representation to it, with its officeholder having the rank of ambassador. Since 2012, this Representation is part of the Permanent Representation to the EU.

Manuel Lorenzo García-Ormaechea (18 March 2000 – 27 March 2001) Carlos María Casajuana Palet (27 March 2001 – 1 May 2004) Alfonso Lucini Mateo (1 May 2004 – 19 July 2008) Carlos Enrique Fernández-Arias Minuesa (2 August 2008 – 11 February 2012) Nicolás Pascual de la Parte (11 February 2012 – 22 April 2017) Manuel Antonio Acerete Gómez (22 April 2017 – 23 June 2021) María Elena Gómez Castro (23 June 2021 – 31 July 2024) Guillermo Ardizone García (31 July 2024 – present)

References

Notes