Practitioner seminar series | The EEAS (European External Action Service) from the inside
Luis Fernandez de la Peña, Ambassador of Spain
Registration is required
During the course of the academic year 2024/25 IBEI hosts a series of lectures by practitioners in the field of international relations and development.
The practitioner seminar series is intended to give IBEI students and attendees an opportunity to engage with international professionals about their personal work experience, the organizations they represent, and to learn about possible career trajectories in international governmental and non-governmental organizations. Each lecture will allow ample room for questions and inputs from the audience.
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The EEAS (European External Action Service) from the inside
This seminar explores the international context in which the European External Action Service (EEAS) operates. It focuses on the transition from a bipolar to a multipolar world order, the strategic reorientation of the United States, and the return of geopolitics with Eurasia gaining prominence. These shifts directly affect the European Union, particularly in the debate over Strategic Autonomy, with EU relations with Russia and Turkey serving as key examples.
The seminar also examines the evolution of the EEAS, from early forms of European Political Cooperation through major treaties—such as the Single European Act, the Maastricht Treaty, and the Lisbon Treaty—to its formal establishment. It covers innovations in the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), the internal structure of the EEAS, its dual role in foreign policy and security and defence, and its coordination with the European Commission, Member States, and EU Delegations abroad.
Finally, the seminar considers the added value of the EEAS in specific policy areas, including sanctions policy, the Eastern Partnership, relations with Russia, and its role in the Iran nuclear negotiations (JCPOA).
Luis Felipe Fernández de la Peña served as the Ambassador of Spain from 2020 to 2021, during which time he was the Spanish Ambassador to Iran. From 2012 to 2016, he was the Managing Director for Europe and Central Asia in the European External Action Service (EEAS) of the European Union. In that role, he oversaw the EU’s relations with Russia, Turkey, the six countries of the Eastern Partnership, the Balkans, Central Asia, and non-EU Western European countries such as Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland. He also handled regional cooperation processes including those related to the Arctic, Baltic, and Black Sea regions, as well as the OSCE.
Between 2011 and 2012, he served as the Spanish Ambassador to Russia and was also accredited to Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, and Belarus. Prior to that, from 2010 to 2011, he held the position of Director General for North America, Asia, and the Pacific in the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 2008 to 2010, he served as Director General for Europe and North America in the same ministry.
From 2004 to 2008, he was the Spanish Ambassador to Turkey, with accreditation to Azerbaijan. Between 1998 and 2003, he served as the Spanish Ambassador to Slovenia. From 1993 to 1998, he was the Spanish Ambassador to Croatia and acted as the representative of the Spanish Presidency of the EU during the Dayton Peace negotiations.
Earlier in his career, from 1991 to 1993, he served as Deputy Political Director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain, participating in the negotiations of the Maastricht Treaty and representing Spain in the CSCE, the predecessor to the OSCE. Between 1981 and 1985, he was First Secretary at the Spanish Embassy in Bonn, in the Federal Republic of Germany.