On October 15, Transatlantic Dialogue Center together with Eurodefense Joven España organized an international conference entitled “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its impact on Europe” in Madrid.
The conference brought together experts, academics, officials and other key actors from Spain and Ukraine to facilitate the exchange of ideas, experiences and best practices on how to address the challenges arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Spain and the European Union in general.
The event began with welcoming remarks by Sergiy Pogoreltsev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Kingdom of Spain (Embajada de Ucrania en el Reino de España), Oleksandr Slyvchuk , Coordinator of the Spain and Latin America Cooperation Program of the Transatlantic Dialogue Center, and Amín Lejarza de Bilbao Essalhi, President of Eurodefense Joven España.
The first panel discussion “Relations between Spain and Ukraine since the Russian invasion” focused on cooperation between Spain and Ukraine in key areas such as economy, politics and defence, especially in the context of the war. Experts raised the question about the economic, political and social impact of Russia’s invasion in Ukraine and how it has affected both Ukraine and the rest of Europe, especially Spain. The panel was moderated by Jorge Raya Pons, journalist, head of the international section at El Español .
The participants of the discussion:
– Galyna Solovei, Associate Professor, Department of International Relations, Kyiv National University Mohyla Academy in Ukraine, Professor, Universidad Pontificia de Comillas in Madrid;
– Carlos Moreno Blanco, Director General for North America, Eastern Europe, Asia and the Pacific, Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation;
– Jose Torreblanca, Director of the Madrid office of the think tank European Councilon Foreign Relations;
– Marc Marginedas , journalist, war correspondent, El Periódico;
– Ana Alonso, journalist, Warsaw correspondent for El Independiente.
In the second session of the conference, titled “War Economy: The Russian Invasion in Ukraine,” experts explored the impact of the war on the global economy, especially in Europe and Russia. They discussed the risks, long-term projections, and possible implications for economic and geopolitical stability. The panel was moderated by Jorge Jraissati, president of the Economic Inclusion Group and researcher at the IESE Business School.
The participants in the second panel were:
– José Manuel Amor, Managing Partner of Economic and Market Analysis at Afi;
– Hugo Zunzarren, Professor of Economic Intelligence, Autonomous University of Madrid – Institute of Forensic Sciences;
– Gustavo Díaz Matey, PhD contract professor at the Faculty of Political Science and Sociology, Complutense University of Madrid, has held the position of Business Intelligence Manager at ICEX Spain Export and Investment;
– Manuel José Gazapo Lapayese, Director of Institutional Relations at UNIVERSAE, PhD in International Relations and international analyst;
– Luis Garvía Vega, Director of the Master in Risk Management at ICADE, Professor of financial markets at IEB, NYU, ICADE.
The organization of this conference is part of the Project “Echoes of Ukraine: Amplifying Voices in Spain” led by the TDC team with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation and the European Union.
