Juan Jesús López Martinez, who is a collaborator in the cabinet of the Secretary of State for the European Union at the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a CIFE Alumnus of CIFE's Master in Advanced European and International Studies - Mediterranean Studies, shares insights into his professional activity and speaks about his study experience at CIFE.
What are the responsibilities of the State Secretariat for the EU within the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs?
The State Secretariat for the European Union is one of the four Secretariats of State within Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation. Its primary mission is to coordinate and implement Spain’s policy within the framework of the European Union.
Its main responsibilities include coordinating Spain’s positions before EU institutions, preparing and monitoring meetings of the Council of the European Union, ensuring coordination among ministries and public administrations on European affairs, following EU policies and enlargement processes, and helping shape Spain’s foreign policy towards EU Member States, candidate countries and other European partners. It is also responsible for coordinating Spain’s representation within the Council of Europe.
What is your main role?
As an Assistant within the Cabinet of the Secretary of State for the European Union, I support the Office in areas related to institutional coordination, communication and social media, monitoring national and European parliamentary affairs, internal administration, and the organisation of conferences and events.
More specifically, my responsibilities include drafting briefing notes and speech materials for the Secretary’s engagements with civil society representatives, private-sector stakeholders and institutional partners; monitoring activities in bodies such as Spain’s Joint Parliamentary Committee on the European Union, plenary debates in the European Parliament, and the European Commission’s Midday Briefings; and preparing background profiles and analytical briefs for bilateral meetings and official engagements.
Besides, our team is currently supporting the organisation of the Fifth Ministerial Conference on Feminist Foreign Policy, which is being hosted in Madrid following the successful 4th edition organised by our French colleagues.
To what extent did your multidisciplinary academic background at CIFE help you secure this position?
As a marine scientist by training, my undergraduate studies were far from and unrelated to social sciences and those areas in which I now work professionally. For me, CIFE’s Master in Advanced European and International Studies (MAEIS) - Mediterranean Studies represented a double gateway:
On the one hand, it allowed me to build the solid foundations in European studies and international relations that are essential for my current work. On the other hand, it provided me with complementary expertise in areas such as Mediterranean societies, project management, migration, conflict theory, history, economics, climate change and crisis management, among many others.
In practical terms, I went from being less prepared in these fields than a typical International Relations graduate to possessing specialised knowledge that distinguishes me from many professionals in this area, and that builds excellent synergies with my prior scientific background.
As a direct consequence of this training, I was granted admission to the Spanish Diplomatic School and subsequently selected for my current position within the Cabinet of the Secretary of State for the European Union.
During your Master at CIFE you had numerous exchanges with students, lecturers, diplomats and civil society representatives from five different countries (France, Tunisia, Senegal, Gambia and Türkiye). Would you say that this represented an asset for your career prospects?
Absolutely. In my daily work, I interact with international professionals whose backgrounds and countries of origin extend well beyond Europe. Having developed an open-minded outlook and acquired a basic understanding of a wide range of regions and societies through the programme is an invaluable asset.
Recently, while organising events marking Europe Day and the 40th anniversary of Spain’s and Portugal’s accession to the European Union, we worked closely with members of the diplomatic corps in Madrid from various countries. In such contexts, previous international experience, broad cultural awareness and professional networks across different parts of the world are extremely valuable
What stands out most for you from your year in the Mediterranean programme?
Without a doubt, the social, personal and educational dimensions.
On the social level, sharing such an intense experience with my classmates has allowed me to consider many of them family. We created countless memories together, remain in close contact and continue to organise reunions years after completing the programme.
On a personal level, my year in the MAEIS programme helped me grow in ways few other experiences have. Learning about the colonial legacy and the challenges of development cooperation in Dakar and Banjul directly from those who experience them every day; gaining first-hand insight into the integration and governance challenges of the Maghreb during my time in Tunis; exploring the history of European integration in Nice; and understanding Turkey’s political evolution through my stay in Istanbul were experiences I would hardly have imagined fitting into a single lifetime, let alone a single year.
In summary, CIFE’s MAEIS programme gave me a family spread across more than ten countries, a home in each of the programme’s five destinations, an extraordinary number of role models among its faculty, and a first-rate education that enjoys considerable recognition and prestige in the fields to which I wish to dedicate my career.