A meeting place for reflection and debate
Confirmed Speakers 2023
2023 edition
  • Alberto Núñez Feijóo​
    President of the Popular Party and opposition leade
  • Alex Romero
    Co-founder Constella Intelligence
  • Alfonso Rueda
    President of the Regional Goverment of Galicia
  • Alicia García Herrero
    Senior en Bruegel
  • Álvaro Nadal
    Ex-minister of Industry (2016-2018) and ex-head of the Economic Office of the President of the Government (2011-2016)
  • Andrés Allamand
    Ibero-American General Secretary
  • Antón Costas
    President of the Economic and Social Council
  • Arancha González Laya
    Ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union, and Cooperation 2020-2021
  • Áurea Moltó
    Director of the Elcano Network
  • Ana Pastor Julián
    Ex-minister of Health and Consumer Affairs (2002-2004) and of Public Works (2011-2016)
  • Carlos López Blanco
    Senior Adviser Flint Global & Presidente of Fundación ESYS
  • Chris Dodd
    Senator, Special Presidential Advisor for the Americas
  • Cristina Herrero
    President of the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF)
  • Cris Turner
    Vice-president and Government Affairs at Google
  • Costanza Rizzacasa d’Orsogna
    Journalist and writer. Author of the book “La cancel culture nella cultura americana”
  • Dani Rodrik
    Professor of Political Economy at Harvard and Princess of Asturias Award for Social Sciences
  • Emiliano García Page
    President of the Regional Goverment of Castilla-La Mancha
  • Fernando Clavijo
    President of the Regional Government of Canary Islands
  • Héctor Flórez
    President of Deloitte Spain
  • José Juan Ruíz
    President of Elcano Royal Institute
  • Juan Carlos Escotet Rodríguez
    President of ABANCA
  • Luis Gallego
    CEO of IAG Group
  • Luis Garicano Gabilondo
    Professor of Public Policy London School of Economics
  • Marc Murtra
    President of Indra
  • Margaritis Schinas
    Vice-President of the European Commission
  • Mariano Rajoy
    Ex-president Spain (2011-2018)
  • Mario Ruiz-Tagle
    CEO of Iberdrola Spain
  • Marta Fernández Currás
    Secretary of State for Budgets and Expenditure (2011-2016)
  • Maite Rico
    Deputy Director at the Spanish daily El Mundo
  • Michael Grant Ignatieff
    Writer, professor and Rector Emeritus of the Central European University of Vienna
  • Miriam González Durántez
    International lawyer
  • Óscar García Maceiras
    CEO Inditex
  • Pablo Hernández de Cos
    Governor of Banco de España
  • Peter Boghossian
    Philosopher, Founding Faculty Fellow (University of Austin)
  • Pilar del Castillo
    Member of the European Parliament, Data Act Speaker
  • Pablo Trueba
    President of Marsh Spain
  • Paloma Baena
    Ex-director at OCDE and BID, and IE’s professor
  • Rafael Doménech
    BBVA Research Head of Economic Analysis y Catedrático de Fundamentos del Análisis Economicos en la UV
  • Ramón Jáuregui
    President of the Euroamerica Foundation
  • Rick R. Suárez
    President of Astrazeneca Spain
  • Robin Niblett
    Distinguished Fellow of Chatham House and Senior Adviser at Hakluyt
  • Rocío Martínez Sampere
    Director of the Felipe González Foundation
  • Sebastián Piñera
    Ex-president of Chile (2010-2014 y 2018-2022)
  • Trinidad Jiménez
    Ex-minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (2010-2011)
2023 Programme
    • Thursday, September 28th
    • 16.30 h Opening session Amancio López, President of Hotusa Group
      Alfonso Rueda, President of the Regional Goverment of Galicia

      Josep Piqué Award
      Intervention of H.M. the King Felipe VI of Spain
    • 18.00 h Spanish wine
    • 18.30 h The future of globalization Dani Rodrik, Professor of Political Economy at Harvard and Princess of Asturias Award for Social Sciences
      Pablo Hernández de Cos, Governor of Banco de España
      Antón Costas, President of the Economic and Social Council
    • 20.30 h Dinner
    • Friday, September 29th
    • 9.00 h An agenda for Spain Mario Ruiz-Tagle, CEO of Iberdrola Spain
      Juan Carlos Escotet Rodríguez,President of ABANCA
      Luis Gallego, CEO of IAG Group
      Héctor Flórez, President of Deloitte Spain
      Paloma Baena, Ex-director at OCDE and BID, and IE’s professor
    • 10.15 h Data and artificial intelligence at the center of it all Óscar García Maceiras, Managing Director at Inditex
      Pilar del Castillo, Member of the European Parliament, Data Act Speaker
      Alex Romero, Co-founder of Constella Intelligence
      Cris Turner, Vice-president and Government Affairs at Google
      Carlos López Blanco, Senior Adviser at Flint Global & President of Fundación ESYS
    • 11.30 h Coffee break
    • 12.00 h Presidents' dialogue: Governance in modern societies Mariano Rajoy, Ex-president Spain (2011-2018)
      Sebastián Piñera, Ex-president of Chile (2010-2014 y 2018-2022)
      Trinidad Jiménez, Ex-minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (2010-2011)
    • 13.00 h Strengthening democratic values. Freedom of speech Peter Boghossian, Philosopher, Founding Faculty Fellow (University of Austin)
      Miriam González Durántez, International lawyer
      Costanza Rizzacasa d’Orsogna, Journalist and writer. Author of the book “La cancel culture nella cultura americana”
      Maite Rico, Deputy Director at the Spanish daily El Mundo
    • 14.30 h Lunch
    • 16.30 h The return of geography: the new world geopolitics and its consequences Arancha González Laya, Ex-minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union, and Cooperation (2020-2021)
      Alicia García Herrero, Senior at Bruegel
      Robin Niblett, Distinguished Fellow of Chatham House and Senior Adviser at Hakluyt
      Álvaro Nadal, Ex-minister of Industry (2016-2018) and ex-head of the Economic Office of the President of the Government (2011-2016)
      José Juan Ruíz, President of Elcano Royal Institut
    • 17.45 h New European tax rules Cristina Herrero, President of the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF)
      Rafael Doménech, BBVA Research Head of Economic Analysis y Catedrático de Fundamentos del Análisis Economicos en la UV
      Luis Garicano, Professor of Public Policy London School of Economics
      Marta Fernández Currás, Ex-secretary of State for Budgets and Expenditure (2011-2016)
    • 20.30 h Dinner
    • Saturday, September 30th
    • 9.00 h An agenda for Spain Marc Murtra. President of Indra 
      Pablo Trueba, Chief Executive Officer - Marsh Spain
      Rick R. Suárez, President of AstraZeneca Spain
      Ana Pastor Juliá, Ex-minister of Health and Consumer Affairs (2002-2004) and of Public Works (2011-2016)
    • 10.00 h The role of Ibero-America in the new world geography Chris Dodd, Senator, Special Presidential Advisor for the Americas
      Andrés Allamand, Ibero-American General Secretary
      Ramón Jáuregui, President of the Euroamerica Foundation
      Áurea Moltó, Director of the Elcano Network
    • 11.00 h An agenda for Spain: from the autonomies Alfonso Rueda, President of the Regional Goverment of Galicia
      Emiliano García Page, President of the Regional Goverment of Castilla-La Mancha
      Fernando Clavijo, President of the Regional Government of Canary Island
      Rocío Martínez Sampere, Director of the Felipe González Foundation
    • 12.00 h Lecture Alberto Núñez Feijóo, President of the Popular Party and opposition leader
    • 12.30 hCoffe-break
    • 13.00 h Closing session Hope and the human project Michael Ignatieff, Rector Emeritus of Central European University in Vienna

      Global transformations, European responses Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President of the European Commission
    • 14.00 h Lunch
New edition from September 28th to 30th
Main ideas Foro La Toja - Vinculo Atlántico 2023
Before Putin ordered his tanks into Ukraine in February 2022, the world economy's globalisation process was already experiencing a significant slowdown. Despite the undisputed benefits of global economic integration, dissenters and critics of the process have increased in recent years.

The boom of global trade has led to an undeniable improvement in world poverty ratios; millions of people in developing countries have left extreme poverty behind, and the most vulnerable classes in developed societies have been able to access much cheaper goods. The same can be said for the swift spread of technological progress and the development experienced by emerging economies. Globalisation has been an unquestionable success, but it failed when it came to ensuring the correct redistribution of wealth, and it didn't manage to extend democracy throughout the world as it was initially predicted to do. Putin's regime and his invasion of Ukraine are further proof of the failure of using globalisation as a way to bring democracy and human rights to societies that don't enjoy them.

The social unrest created by the financial crisis of the last decade and the tussle between the USA and China for economic and strategic world dominance had already caused a slowdown in globalisation and recent events have further exacerbated the process. Trump's “America First” ideology was followed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which heightened trade tensions with the enforcement of all kinds of restrictions on the exchange of medical supplies; things worsened when governments began defining their strategic national sectors where protectionist restrictions and policies needed to be applied.

Lastly, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with the trade sanctions imposed and serious issues this has caused in the entire world's energy and grain markets, has ended up consolidating this new age defined by globalisation's limitations, as well as a new model of economic and strategic relationships throughout the world. Beyond a definitive conclusion to the war in Ukraine – which will never end in a victory for the aggressor country – we are facing something more profound than the battle for world leadership between two dominant powers. A new, alternative order to the one established by the world after the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall is being mapped out. The Western Bloc, which Biden is leading much more proactively than Trump, has bolstered its support of democratic values by offering the Ukrainian resistance robust backing. However, a group of countries (with China as its undisputed leader) continues to rise against and pose challenges to this Bloc. This group of countries strives to create a safe world for autocracies on an equal footing with democratic values. In addition, they've been able to harness trade and cooperation to achieve greater penetration in what is known as the Global South: basically Latin America and Africa.

The new order that is being unveiled affects all kinds of aspects: energy, infrastructure and digital developments, the fight against climate change, industry and raw material markets, and particularly the rare metal market. The new words in vogue in the business world are “reshoring”, “nearshoring” and “friendshoring”. They all entail a strategic review in which economic optimisation is less relevant than the concept of safety and proximity. Governments are also openly discussing protectionist measures for their strategic sectors.

Despite these problems, a complete breakdown of the close, complex economic relations woven throughout globalisation doesn't appear to be possible and, in any case, it isn't desirable as its consequences would be extremely serious; estimates suggest the losses could range between 2% and 7% of global GDP, and the most vulnerable classes would be those most affected. For this reason, consideration must be paid to the new bases of international relations and bonds of trust between countries, which will allow us to ensure ordered coexistence in a more fragmented world.
/