Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Union

  1. Home
  2. Wiki
Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Union
Spanish Permanent Representation
since 21 July 2021
StyleThe Most Excellent
Member ofCommittee of Permanent Representatives
Reports toSecretary of State for the European Union
ResidenceBoulevard du Régent, 52
1000 Brussels
NominatorThe Foreign Minister
AppointerThe Monarch
Inaugural holderCarlos de Miranda y Quartín, 4th Count of Casa Miranda
Formation9 December 1960; 64 years ago (9 December 1960)
DeputyDeputy Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Union
WebsiteSpanish Mission to the EU

The Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Union is a senior diplomat of the Spanish government representing the Kingdom of Spain before 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.[1]

Permanent Representation

[edit]

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.[1]

Interministerial Committee for the European Union Affairs

[edit]

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.[2]

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.[2]

History

[edit]

Origin

[edit]
Ambassador Carlos de Miranda y Quartín, 4th Count of Casa Miranda (left), presenting credentials to President Walter Hallstein. 1960

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.[3] Ullastres enjoyed great autonomy in managing European diplomatic relations[4] 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,[5] initiating long negotiations that would culminate years later, during the mandate of ambassador Gabriel Ferrán de Alfaro.

Representation to the EU

[edit]
Spanish ambassador to the EU, Francisco Javier Elorza Cavengt, handshaking Commissioner Hans van den Broek, 1995

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.[1]

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.[6]

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.[7]

List of ambassadors

[edit]

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

Ambassador
(Birth–Death) 		Term of office Prime Minister
(Tenure) 		Head of State
(Tenure) 		Ref.
Took office Left office Duration
1 Carlos de Miranda y Quartín
Count of Casa Miranda
(1895–1968) 		9 December 1960[a] 11 November 1964 3 years and 338 days
Francisco Franco

(1939–1975) 		[8]
2 José Núñez Iglesias
(1897–1984) 		21 November 1964 8 October 1965 321 days [9][10]
3 Alberto Ullastres
(1914–2001) 		8 October 1965 13 November 1976 11 years and 35 days [11][12]
Luis Carrero Blanco
(1973)
Carlos Arias Navarro
(1973–1976)

Juan Carlos I

(1975–2014)
Adolfo Suárez

(1976–1981)
4 Raimundo Bassols
(born 1926) 		13 November 1976 28 February 1981 4 years and 107 days [13][14]
5 Gabriel Ferrán de Alfaro
(born 1932) 		12 June 1981 28 November 1985 4 years and 169 days Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo

(1981–1982) 		[15][16]
Felipe González

(1982–1996)
6 Carlos Westendorp
(born 1937) 		31 December 1985 16 March 1991 5 years and 75 days [17][18]
7 Camilo Barcia García-Villamil
(1937–2018) 		28 March 1991 27 July 1994 3 years and 121 days [19][20]
8 Francisco Javier Elorza Cavengt
Marquess of Nerva
(born 1945) 		27 July 1994 24 June 2000 5 years and 333 days [21][22]
José María Aznar

(1996–2004)
9 Francisco Javier Conde de Saro
(born 1946) 		24 June 2000 7 September 2002 2 years and 75 days [23][24]
10 Carlos Bastarreche
(born 1950) 		7 September 2002 18 September 2010 8 years and 11 days [25][26]
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

(2004–2011)
11 Luis Planas
(born 1952) 		5 October 2010 31 December 2011 1 year and 87 days [27][28]
12 Alfonso Dastis
(born 1955) 		31 December 2011 4 November 2016 4 years and 309 days Mariano Rajoy

(2011–2018) 		[29][30]

Felipe VI

(2014–present)
13 Juan Pablo García-Berdoy
(born 1961) 		3 December 2016 21 July 2021 4 years and 230 days [31][32]
Pedro Sánchez

(2018–present)
14 Marcos Alonso Alonso
(born 1970) 		21 July 2021 Incumbent 4 years and 70 days [33]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Office of the Prime Minister (13 February 1986). "Royal Decree 260/1986, of January 17, by which the Permanent Representation of Spain to the European Communities is created". www.boe.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-06-24.
  2. ^ a b Office of the Prime Minister (5 September 1985). "Real Decreto 1567/1985, de 2 de septiembre, por el que se crea la Comisión Interministerial para Asuntos Económicos relacionados con las Comunidades Europeas". www.boe.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  3. ^ Senante Berendes, Heidy Cristina (2002). España ante la integración europea (1962-1967): el largo proceso para la apertura de negociaciones [Spain and European integration (1962-1967): the long process leading to the opening of negotiations] (in Spanish). Alicante: University of Alicante. p. 278. ISBN 84-688-0090-2.
  4. ^ Pereira Castañares, Juan Carlos (2023). "La administración española ante el proceso de integración en las comunidades europeas (1976-1986)" [The Spanish administration in the process of integration into the European communities (1976-1986)]. Historia Actual Online (in Spanish) (61): 61. eISSN 1696-2060. ISSN 1696-2060 – via Dialnet. Indeed, Ullastres was going to be the central protagonist of a new stage of negotiations until November 1976. According to Solbes, he was a man with great power and influence both in the governments and in Franco himself, of whom he mentions the instructions received by the dictator when he sent him to Brussels: "Ullastres, you do what you want, but above all, do not let them get angry with us."
  5. ^ Pereira Castañares, Juan Carlos (2023). "La administración española ante el proceso de integración en las comunidades europeas (1976-1986)" [The Spanish administration in the process of integration into the European communities (1976-1986)]. Historia Actual Online (in Spanish) (61): 49. eISSN 1696-2060. ISSN 1696-2060 – via Dialnet.
  6. ^ Ministerio para las Administraciones Públicas (1995-12-23), Real Decreto 2077/1995, de 22 de diciembre, por el que se modifican los Reales Decretos 1485/1985, de 28 de agosto, por el que se determina la estructura orgánica básica del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y se suprime determinado organismo autónomo del Departamento; 1567/1985, de 2 de septiembre, por el que se crea la Comisión Interministerial para Asuntos Económicos relacionados con las Comunidades Europeas; 1568/1985, de 2 de septiembre, sobre modificación de la Comisión Delegada del Gobierno para Asuntos Económicos, y 260/1986, de 17 de enero, por el que se crea la representación permanente de España ante las Comunidades Europeas (in Spanish), pp. 36797–36799, retrieved 2025-09-26
  7. ^ "Timeline. Presidencies of the Council of the EU". Consilium. 2023. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  8. ^ "Decreto 3515/1964, de 29 de octubre, por el que se dispone cese en el cargo de Embajador de España en Bruselas don Carlos de Miranda y Quartin, Conde de Casa Miranda, por pase a otro destino" (PDF). www.boe.es. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  9. ^ "Decreto 3642/1964, de 13 de noviembre, por el que se designa Embajador de España en Bruselas a don José Núñez Iglesias" (PDF). www.boe.es. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  10. ^ "Decreto 2885/1965, de 21 de julio, por el que se dispone cese don José Núñez Iglesias en el cargo de Embajador de España ante la Comunidad Económica Europea, agradeciéndole los servicios prestados" (PDF). www.boe.es. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  11. ^ "Decreto 2886/1965, de 21 de julio, por el que se nombra Embajador de España ante la Comunidad Económica Europea a don Alberto Ullastres y Calvo" (PDF). www.boe.es. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  12. ^ "Real Decreto 2577/1976, de 12 de noviembre, por el que se dispone que don Alberto Ullastres y Calvo cese en el cargo de Embajador Jefe de la Misión de España ante las Comunidades Europeas, agradeciéndole los servicios prestados" (PDF). boe.es. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  13. ^ "Real Decreto 2581/1976, de 12 de noviembre, por el que se designa Embajador Jefe de la Misión de España ante las Comunidades Europeas a don Raimundo Bassols Jacas" (PDF). www.boe.es. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  14. ^ "Real Decreto 285/1981, de 27 de febrero, por el que se dispone que don Raimundo Bassols Jacas cese en el cargo de Embajador de España ante las Comunidades Europeas, por pase a otro destino, agradeciéndole los servicios prestados" (PDF). www.boe.es. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  15. ^ "Real Decreto 1106/1981, de 5 de junio, por el que se designa Embajador-Jefe de la Misión de España ante las Comunidades Europeas a don Gabriel Ferrán de Alfaro" (PDF). www.boe.es. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  16. ^ "Real Decreto 2226/1985, de 27 de noviembre, por el que se dispone que don Gabriel Ferrán de Alfaro cese en el cargo de Embajador-Jefe de la Misión de España ante las Comunidades Europeas, por pase a otro destino, agradeciéndole los servicios prestados" (PDF). www.boe.es. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  17. ^ "ROYAL DECREE 2448/1985, of December 27, by which Don Carlos Westendorp and Head Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Communities are appointed" (PDF).
  18. ^ "Real Decreto 328/1991, de 15 de marzo, por el que se dispone el cese de don Carlos Westendorp y Cabeza como Embajador Representante Permanente de España ante las Comunidades Europeas, por pase a otro destino, agradeciéndole los servicios prestados" (PDF). www.boe.es. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  19. ^ "ROYAL DECREE 390/1991. of March 22, by which Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain before the European Communities is designated, Mr. Camilo Barcía García-Villamil" (PDF).
  20. ^ "ROYAL DECREE 1698/1994, of July 22, which provides for the cessation of Don Camilo Barcia García-VilIamll as Ambassador Representative of Spain to the European Communities" (PDF).
  21. ^ "ROYAL DECREE 1701/1994, of July 22, by which Don Francisco Javier EJorza Cavengt is appointed Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Communities" (PDF).
  22. ^ "ROYAL DECREE 1197/2000, of June 23, which provides for the cessation of Mr. Francisco Javier Elorza Cavengt as Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Union" (PDF).
  23. ^ "ROYAL DECREE 1197/2000, of June 23, which provides for the cessation of Mr. Francisco Javier Elorza Cavengt as Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Union" (PDF).
  24. ^ "ROYAL DECREE 928/2002, of September 6, which provides for the cessation of Mr. Francisco Javier Conde de Saro as Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Union" (PDF).
  25. ^ "ROYAL DECREE 933/2002, of September 6, by which Ambassador Carlos Bastarreche Sagües is designated permanent representative of Spain to the European Union" (PDF).
  26. ^ "Royal Decree 1166/2010, of September 17, which provides for the cessation of Mr. Carlos Bastarreche Sagües as Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Union" (PDF).
  27. ^ "Royal Decree 1230/2010, of October 4, which appoints Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Union to Mr. Luis Planas Puchades" (PDF).
  28. ^ "Royal Decree 1924/2011, of December 30, which provides for the cessation of Mr. Luis Planas Puchades as Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Union" (PDF).
  29. ^ "Royal Decree 1925/2011, of December 30, which appoints Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Union to Mr. Alfonso María Dastis Quecedo" (PDF).
  30. ^ "Real Decreto 417/2016, de 3 de noviembre, por el que se nombran Ministros del Gobierno". boe.es. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  31. ^ "Royal Decree 611/2016, of December 2, which appoints Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Union to Mr. Juan Pablo García-Berdoy y Cerezo" (PDF).
  32. ^ "Real Decreto 604/2021, de 20 de julio, por el que se dispone el cese de don Juan Pablo García-Berdoy y Cerezo como Embajador Representante Permanente de España ante la Unión Europea". boe.es. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  33. ^ "Royal Decree 618/2021, of July 20, which appoints Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Union to Mr. Marcos Alonso Alonso" (PDF).

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Date on which credentials were presented.