European Commission appoints new Head of Representation in Madrid

The European Commission has appointed Aránzazu Beristain Ibarrola as Head of the European Commission Representation in Madrid. She brings almost 30 years of experience in diplomatic and European affairs to the job and takes up her new duties today.

Mrs Beristain Ibarrola has been acting Head of the Representation in Madrid since March 2015, having previously combined the roles of Deputy Head of Representation and Head of the Communication Sector.

She first joined the Commission in 1986 as an administrator in the Directorate-General responsible for fisheries policy, and subsequently worked in the private offices of Commissioners Oreja, Matutes and Vice-President Marin.

In 1994, Mrs Beristain Ibarrola moved to the Representation in Madrid as Head of Political and Institutional Relations, and from there to the Paris Representation where she worked as Head of the Communication Sector. Between 2008 and 2010, she was seconded to the Spanish Government to support the preparations for the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU, returning to Brussels in September 2010 as Head of Sector of Policy Analysis and Reporting in DG Communication. She returned to the Commission Representation in Madrid in January 2013.

Prior to taking up work in the Commission, Mrs Beristain Ibarrola worked for three years as Economic Counsellor at the US Embassy in Madrid.

Mrs Beristain Ibarrola holds a degree in Economics from the University of Bilbao and a certificate of Advanced European Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.

Background

The Commission has Representations in all 28 EU Member States as well as Regional Offices in Barcelona, Belfast, Bonn, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Marseille, Milan, Munich and Wroclaw. The Representations are the Commission's eyes, ears and speak for the Commission on the ground in all EU Member States. They interact with national authorities and stakeholders and inform the media and the public about EU policies. The Representations report to the Commission's headquarters on significant developments in the Member States.

For more information

http://ec.europa.eu/spain/index_es.htm

IP/16/192

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