Carlos Bastarreche, new external advisor of AEB and CECA for European affairs
Carlos Bastarreche is a Spanish diplomat with extensive European experience since 1979. Between 2002 and 2010, he served as Spain’s Permanent Representative Ambassador to the European Union. He has also been Ambassador of Spain to France and the United Kingdom.
The Spanish banking sector is called to play a key role in channeling European aid. The networks of credit institutions can provide knowledge of the productive fabric, technological capacity, and geographic reach. In summary, an additional distribution and financing capacity that would multiply the effects of the Recovery Plan.
The financial sector has played a crucial role in channeling monetary policy and public initiatives to boost the real economy, maintaining the provision of liquidity to businesses and families during the crisis. Measures such as moratoriums (legal and sectoral), advances on pensions and benefits from SEPE, or financing linked to the ICO guarantee lines, demonstrate the effective contribution made by banking in recent months.
The banking system is also expected to have a relevant role in implementing the approved fiscal stimulus measures. To this end, following the presentation of the Recovery Plan Spain Can, AEB and CECA have jointly decided to have Carlos Bastarreche represent them to promote the collaboration of banking in this key initiative for the modernization of the Spanish productive fabric.
Carlos Bastarreche, a law graduate, joined the diplomatic career in 1976. Born in Madrid, he has been a privileged witness to the process of European construction. He served as secretary in the Consular and Commercial Representation in Romania, secretary in Spain’s Mission to the European Communities, and advisor in the State Secretariat for Relations with the European Communities. In 1985, he was appointed Deputy Director General for Community Coordination for Institutional Relations and later became Director General of Community Legal and Institutional Coordination and Deputy Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Communities. In 1996, he took the position of Secretary General for Foreign Policy and for the European Union, and subsequently, Secretary General for European Affairs. From 2002 to 2010, he was the Permanent Representative Ambassador of Spain to the European Union. Between 2010 and 2014, he was the Ambassador of Spain in France. He later worked as the Head of Institutional Relations of Airbus in Spain. In the last five years, he has served as Ambassador in the United Kingdom.
