Please join the Atlantic Council for a private, off-the-record strategy session via video teleconference with H.E. D. Pedro Morenés Eulate, minister of defense of Spain. The event will take place on Monday, October 28, 2013 from 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. in the Atlantic Council’s Boardroom. Lunch will be served.

Given fiscal realities and multiple security challenges, including unrest in Northern Africa, terrorism, and an evolving security situation in and around the Mediterranean, Spain’s Ministry of Defense must chart a new course. It also must respond to the recently unveiled National Security Directive, which calls for Spain to maintain international influence, use deterrence to minimize risk, and transform its armed forces. With this background, Minister Morenés would like to discuss Spain’s role in transatlantic security, a strategy for Spain for the near- to medium-term, and how Spain should deal with threats and challenges emanating from Northern Africa. This meeting comes at a time when Spain needs to optimize the use of its scarce defense resources and prepare for the 2014 NATO Summit.

Minister Morenés was named minister of defense on December 21, 2011. Before this, from January to December 2011, he was the chairman of MBDA Spain and Segur Iberica. Previously, he was the chairman of the board of directors of “Construcciones Navales del Norte, SL” (Northern Naval Shipbuilding Ltd.) from 2009 to 2011. Finally, he served as the general secretary of the Businessmen Association from March 2005 to June 2010.