EL PAÍS hosts forum event Spain in Europe: A Shared Future held on January 31 in Brussels

Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, spoke out on Wednesday against nationalisms  at the Forum Spain in Europe: A Shared Future, organized by EL PAÍS in Brussels, as part of the series of events España 40-40. He cited former French president François Mitterrand: "Nationalism is war". Meanwhile, the former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe González, called nationalist tendencies a "virus" and joined Juncker in calling for a more effective Europe that is responsive to its citizens. The forum opened with a conversation between Mario Vargas Llosa, Nobel Laureate for Literature, and Juan Luis Cebrian, academic and chair of El País, who spoke about the clash between enlightenment and identity as the confrontation that both Spain and Europe must now face in the short term. "If nationalism can be built, it also also be torn down," said Vargas Llosa. The forum, organized with the sponsorship of BBVA, Iberdrola, Iberia, NH Hotel Group, Repsol, Santander and Telefónica, was closed by Spain’s Foreign Minister, Alfonso Dastis, who lauded the complementarity of Spain and Europe.

Source: El País