Debate «European Resilience Roundtables: Lessons from Spain» 

Aspen Institute España hosts the debate “European Resilience Roundtables: Lessons from Spain”, with José Pardo de Santayana, retired Colonel of the Spanish Army, and Raül Blanco, Chief Strategy Officer at SAPA, and moderated by Salomé Santos, lawyer, independent strategic advisor and Aspen España Fellow. This debate session is part of the Program “European Resilience Roundtables: Cyber, Defense and Cloud as Strategic Infrastructure”, organised in collaboration with Aspen Institute Germany, Aspen Institute Central Europe and Aspen International Partners, and with the support of Microsoft.

This session will examine Spain’s technological resilience strategy, and its position within Europe. The resilience across the interconnected domains of cyberspace, digital defense infrastructure, and cloud infrastructure will be addressed, with particular attention to the country’s capacity to sustain strategic autonomy amid an increasingly unstable geopolitical environment.

The debate will follow the Aspen method and will bring together 30 participants from diverse sectors of society – political, corporate, technological, academic, and civil society. The session will be conducted in English and take place on Wednesday, September 30th at 9:30 am, in Casa de México (Madrid).

 “European Resilience Roundatbles: Cyber, Defense & Cloud as Strategic Infrastructure”

The collaborative program“European Resilience Roundatbles: Cyber, Defense & Cloud as Strategic Infrastructure”, involving Aspen Institutes across the European Union (EU) — including Spain, Germany, Central Europe, and the Aspen International Partners in Europe via Brussels — aims to produce a substantive contribution to current European debates on technological sovereignty and strategic resilience. At a moment when Europe faces unprecedented challenges across the cyber, defense, and cloud infrastructure domains, this initiative seeks to foster an open and plural dialogue at both the national and European levels, drawing lessons from interdisciplinary and open debates and reflections.

José Pardo de Santayana Gómez de Olea

José Pardo de Santayana Gómez de Olea is a retired Colonel of the Spanish Army. Since 2018, he has served as President of the Fundación Tomás Moro. He is currently Vice President of the Real Instituto Universitario de Estudios Europeos, part of San Pablo CEU University in Madrid. Throughout his military career, he served as Chief Analyst and Research Coordinator at the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies (2016 to 2025), as Defense Attaché at the Spanish embassies in Havana and Santo Domingo (2013 to 2016), as a General Staff officer of the Multinational Standby High Readiness Brigade for United Nations Operations (SHIRBRIG) in Copenhagen (2006 to 2009), and as a press officer at Eurocorps in Strasbourg (1989 to 2001), as well as a professor of strategy and military history at the Army’s Staff College (1996–98) and War College (2001–2006) in Madrid. He has taken part in 6 international missions in Angola, Haiti, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Kosovo.

Raül Blanco Díaz

Raül Blanco Díaz holds a degree in Economics from the University of Barcelona, a postgraduate qualification in Local and Regional Development from the University of Barcelona, and a postgraduate qualification in Financial English from Pompeu Fabra University – British Council. From June 2018 to December 2022, he served as Secretary General for Industry and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism. From February 2023 to January 2025, he was Chairman of Renfe. He is currently Chief Strategy Officer at SAPA, a Basque family-owned company that is a leading technological and industrial player in the Defense sector. He is also involved in other initiatives, including the Advisory Board of Glovo and the Board of Directors of Gipuzkoa Basket, and he is a trustee of the Fundación Barraquer in Barcelona. In the academic and teaching field, he has lectured at the Centre for International Studies of the University of Barcelona and at the Faculties of Economics and Business of Rovira i Virgili University and the University of Barcelona. He has also contributed to courses and seminars at other national and international institutions. He previously served as Chairman and Director General of the School of Industrial Organisation (EOI).