After two years at the helm of the European Investment Bank, Nadia Calviño speaks with Marc López Plana, editor and director of 'Agenda Pública'. Within the current context of "enormous volatility" the EIB President identifies key aspects of the international chessboard, describes our present challenges, and recalls the most complicated moments during her time as Spain’s Minister of the Economy.

On the eve of one of the most significant European Council meetings in recent months, security experts Luiza Bialasiewicz and Monika Sus urge European leaders to recognise "the Europe we are currently living in". To ensure "economic and social protection", they argue that Europe must admit that "we are at war" and propose a package of measures that begins with understanding—and changing—the narrative around the issue.

Europe is reacting with surprise to Donald Trump’s new National Security Strategy, but perhaps it should examine itself first. As the editor and director of 'Agenda Pública' warns in this week’s European Compass, "Europe’s strategic weakness is not external, but internal – it’s born of the Union’s inability to act as a coherent political unit." This revelation of U.S. interventionist designs doesn’t signal a new era; it merely underlines a weakness that’s been developing for decades.

For Jeremy Cliffe, editorial director at the ECFR think tank, the administration’s National Security Strategy confirms that both Europe and Washington misunderstand their relationship. In his analysis, he argues that a "return to hard facts" is the only possible response for a Europe looking out for its own well-being.

The field of "Transatlantic policy" is relatively new in Spain. For this reason, J. P. Carroll presents the views of one of the think tanks that work with the PP and Vox. In his conversation with Mike Gonzalez, a Senior Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, they discuss Spain as an important country within "Western civilization," explain the role of these think tanks in Europe, and assess the continent’s politics from the perspective of the Republican Party.

In this week’s European Compass, Marc López Plana — editor and director of 'Agenda Pública' — considers how constructive dialogues between Spanish Socialists and the Partido Popular within the European institutions are in contrast with the evident polarization of Spain’s national politics. He also warns of a growing risk of "Spanishization" in European politics, underscoring Spain’s strategic responsibility at a time when the consensus that has sustained the European project is showing signs of weakness.

The world "has changed" and the European Union must adapt and step up, according to Ana Palacio – Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2002 to 2004 – and MEP Adrián Vázquez of the Partido Popular. In this conversation with Rodrigo Pinedo, vice president of 'Agenda Pública', they spoke with regret of setbacks to the rule of law and advised that 'double standards' not be applied to individual Member States based on the 'color' of their government. "A Commission that is seeking to survive politically within the Council will always have an easier time acting in opposition to the ugly ducklings," Vázquez warned.

Spain is having "a hard time reading its own strategic map," claims Marc López Plana. In this edition of European Compass, the director and editor of 'Agenda Pública' underlines the economic and political importance of the Mediterranean region for Spain. Data indicate that relations with this region are even more relevant than those with Latin America; López maintains that Spain should draw inspiration from the integration of Eastern Europe to build new confluences with Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.

Stefano Sannino, director-general for the European Commission, argues that the EU needs to "regard the Mediterranean not merely as a problem but as an opportunity." In this interview, he explains why "the future of this region is also the future of the EU," and how the new Pact for the Mediterranean seeks to integrate security, economy, education, and mobility into a common space.

Beatriz Méndez de Vigo, former secretary general of the National Intelligence Center (CNI), with one of the longest internal careers in the service, spoke with Marc López, editor and director of 'Agenda Pública'. Their conversation covered such fundamental issues as the culture of defense in Spain, European cooperation, technological challenges, and how the threats faced by democracies have been evolving.

Egor Kuroptev, a Russian analyst and director of the EK Strategic Communications Center, argues that the "peace plan" leaked in the United States is a document designed by Moscow to force Ukraine’s surrender. Kuroptev notes that Europe —and particularly Spain— despite facing the greatest threat since the Cold War, remains unprepared for the hybrid war that Russia is already waging on its territory.

In his weekly column, Marc López Plana — director and editor of 'Agenda Pública' — examines how the EU’s weakness in counterintelligence opens space for foreign actors (from Russia to Morocco to Huawei) to influence its institutions. His central thesis: Europe exercises considerable power but lacks the strategic apparatus required to safeguard it. Without such defenses, the very autonomy of Europe will remain at risk.

In the political heart of the United States, the conversation is about Spain, Europe and public policy. In a moment when the "end of the liberal order" is being debated and its challenges scrutinized, J. P. Carroll, Senior Fellow for National Security and Trade at the Rainey Center for Public Policy, offers an account of a series of events organized by the Spanish Public Policy Network (SPPN) in Washington, D.C., where Spain has acquired an unusually prominent role.

In this analysis, Marc López Plana, editor and director of 'Agenda Pública', argues that the recent adoption of the Omnibus Directive on administrative simplification – approved with broad support from the radical right, and without Social Democrats – “has become a political test” reflecting “a majority that no longer fits” in the new European legislature. According to López Plana, the EPP "is no longer willing to support the Commission’s agenda," signaling a silent leadership crisis that weakens Ursula von der Leyen.

MEPs Jonás Fernández (S&D) and Antonio López-Istúriz (EPP) joined 'Agenda Pública' in Brussels to look back on a political year marked by a Commission under question, greater fragmentation in Parliament, and international instability. Despite their differences, these two parliamentarians agreed on the principal challenges now facing Europe, including pressure from extreme factions and the difficulty in moving forward on integration, competitiveness, and defense.

"The genocide in Gaza is a collective crime facilitated by the states that support Israel." With this quote from the UN report as a starting point, Hana Jalloul, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, analyzes the role of the European Union in the fragile peace agreement in Gaza and the ethical challenges of its external action.

European and Moroccan politics converge in what has been called ‘the Moroccan dossier’: a strategic test of Spain’s ability to act as an autonomous player in southern Europe. Internal political polarization between the PSOE, the PP, and Vox is preventing the formation of a consistent foreign policy – precisely when Europe needs leadership in North Africa, given France’s departure from the Sahel.

Derek Guy (@dieworkwear) is one of the most respected voices when it comes to fashion. His knowledge of men’s clothing has made him a reference for politicians, businesspeople, and athletes, about whose style he often comments and offers advice online. Among the figures he most admires is King Felipe VI, whom he says has "restrained and consistent taste." In a conversation with 'Agenda Pública' reporter Jorge de Diego, Guy talks about his success on social media, housing, and how to build a wardrobe on minimum wage.

"All for war, but without war." That's how Antonio Legaz, defense and intelligence analyst at Indra, describes Washington’s strategy toward Venezuela: an "unnamed intervention" that combines maximum pressure, covert operations, and internal attrition. "Trump can honestly say he’s not planning a war," Legaz writes, "because he’s doing everything except what international law formally recognizes as an armed conflict."

"If Europe wants to break the vicious circle—failure in housing → mistrust → fragmentation → political incapacity → further failure in housing—it needs to combine three ingredients," warns Marc López Plana in his weekly European Compass. "A broad political consensus on housing as a right. Stable majorities and long-term commitments," he concludes.

Marc López Plana, editor and director of 'Agenda Pública', analyzes how Giorgia Meloni has achieved what Alberto Núñez Feijóo aspires to: uniting the right without fractures, holding the center while containing radicalism, and exercising strong leadership. "Meloni has turned pragmatism into her best strategy for power," writes López Plana.

Foreign Affairs Minister José Manuel Albares speaks with Marc López Plana, editor and director of 'Agenda Pública', about Spain’s international projection and the role of foreign policy in the domestic debate. "Trump has a genuine interest in achieving peace in Ukraine and Gaza", the minister states in this interview.

"Spain has gone from distrusting banks to debating them every day," remarks Marc López Plana, editor and director of 'Agenda Pública'. BBVA’s recent bid to forcibly acquire Sabadell has reconfigured not just the financial map, but the symbolic one: banking is again at the center of a national conversation in which economics, politics, and European identity intersect.

"The European Union is the necessary anchor for the economic and political project of the PP," argues Marc López Plana, editor and director of 'Agenda Pública', in this analysis of political player Alberto Núñez Feijóo. "I’m a progressive citizen seeking to comprehend – above the daily noise of Spanish politics – a figure who could become the next President of the Government," says López Plana, "from the conviction that understanding Feijóo may also be a way of understanding an essential part of Spain."

Following the recent peace agreement, a cessation of bombardment in Gaza, and the return of the hostages to Israel, Member of the European Parliament Adrián Vázquez Lázara (PP) celebrates the "resurgence of the hope of someday achieving a just and lasting peace based on the coexistence of two states." He also points out that this conflict "requires a much greater degree of analysis than many have shown over these last two years."

In a conversation moderated by Marc López Plana Editor and Director of 'Agenda Pública', Jamil Anderlini, Regional Director 'POLITICO Europe', and Amanda Sloat, former security advisor in the Biden administration and professor at IE Madrid, discuss the current challenges facing Europe. The discussion, held at La Toja Forum, revolved around the rise of far-right parties, the implications of transatlantic political movements, the role of the United States and China in European and global politics, and Spain’s position in an increasingly complex international landscape.

Between the vitality of its margins and the paralysis of its center, the UN celebrates its 80th General Assembly in New York, caught between a lack of resources, Security Council deadlocks, the pressure of new challenges such as climate change and artificial intelligence, and the urgent need to modernize and decentralize its agencies. This is how Alexis Roig, a researcher at the United Nations University, sums up the current state of the UN, its future, and the possible reforms that could lead to a better-functioning organization.

Ursula von der Leyen has just survived the third motion of censure against her Commission. European correspondent Bernardo de Miguel gathers statements from several experts to analyse "the discredit the EU is exposed to" if the political situation is not brought under control. A year after starting her second term, von der Leyen has gone from “being compared to Jacques Delors” to seeing how Draghi is now regarded as "a sort of shadow president of the Commission" as a result of the German’s weakness.

French financial analyst Faÿçal Hafied, a specialist in industrial policies, deep tech technologies, and the defense sector, provides his insights for 'Agenda Pública' on "Indra’s planned acquisition of Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&E)". He sheds light on both "the sovereign interest and the industrial synergies of the deal, sharing his own calculations, and proposes several financial structuring options aimed at mitigating the risks of independence, governance, and execution" surrounding this strategic operation.

The US economy is paralysed by the inability to pass a budget: the federal government has "shut down." Desmond Lachman, an analyst at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), explains that a prolonged shutdown would "highlight Washington’s political polarisation and increase economic uncertainty." The consequences range from the political —due to the "lack of political will to address its debt problem"— to the economic, as the current budget deficit "would bring the public debt-to-GDP ratio to 128%, similar to that of Greece."