Making the Conference on the Future of Europe Work

About the Speech:

In her address to the IIEA, Secretary Zacarias discusses the Conference on the Future of Europe. Until last month, State Secretary Ana Paula Zacarias was Co-Chair of the Executive Board of the Conference on the Future of Europe on behalf of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Secretary Zacarias will reflect on the Conference’s potential to strengthen solidarity in the Union and to build a more resilient Europe. She also addresses the importance of involving citizens, national parliaments, regional and local authorities, social partners and civil society in order to ensure that the Conference goes beyond Europe’s capitals and reaches every corner of the Union.

About the Speaker:

Ana Paula Zacarias has been the Secretary of State for European Affairs of Portugal since 2017. She has a distinguished career as a diplomat, serving as Head of the EU Delegations in Brazil and in Colombia and Ecuador, as Deputy Permanent Representative of Portugal to the EU and as Portugal’s Ambassador to Estonia, among other positions. She holds a degree in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Lisbon.