Former President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso visits the EUI

José Manuel Barroso, the former President of the European Commission, will visit the EUI for a series of events the week of 16 April. President Barroso was the eleventh President of the Commission, serving for a decade between 2004 and 2014 before being succeeded by Jean-Claude Juncker. He previously served two years as the Prime Minister of Portugal.

On 16 April, President Barroso will firstly speak at a new series organised by the Institute in collaboration with the Fondazione Cassa Di Risparmio Di Firenze, which aims to address the 'big picture' issues facing Europe today, and bring them to the public. President Barroso will debate with Professor Ulrike Guerot, from the Danube University Krems, who advocates the establishment of a fully-fledged European Republic. The event will take place in Florence city centre on 16 April, and is open to everyone.

Also on 16 April, President Barroso will take part in an Executive Training Seminar organized by the School of Transnational Governance, entitled ‘Leadership Challenged: Politics and Policy-Making in the European Union at a Time of Crisis’. This event is by application only and not open to the public.

On 20 April, President Barroso will be the latest participant in the School of Transnational Governance’s ‘Leaders Beyond the State’ series,  in which EU institutional leaders visit the EUI to discuss their experiences of European government and leadership. President Barroso will be interviewed about his experiences leading the Commission by Florian Eder, author of POLITICO’s Brussels Playbook, as well as one researcher from each EUI department. All are encouraged to attend, and there will be an open Q&A at the end. Hans-Gert Pöttering, the former President of the European Parliament, and Jean-Claude Trichet, ex-President of the ECB, have already visited the Institute to take part in this series.

President Barroso will also take part in the Historical Archives of the European Union's new oral history project, in which historians conduct interviews with transnational leaders for research purposes. The interviews will be archived, offering a valuable insight into the leadership experiences of figures like Barroso and hopefully revealing a bit about their time at the helm of Europe's various institutions in the larger context of European integration.