José de Pierpont
Deputy Head of Mission @ Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium in Spain
Bio
José de Pierpont is currently Minister-Counsellor of the Embassy of Belgium in Spain (since August 2021). He holds a degree in Economics from the University of Louvain, as well as master's degrees in Management Sciences and in Economics. He has been a career diplomat since February 2007 and was previously posted to Bucharest (Romania, 2008-2011), Tunis (Tunisia, 2011-2015) and Vienna (Austria, 2017-2021). He served as Deputy Spokesperson of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2015 to 2017. He also worked at the consulting firms Arthur Andersen (Belgium, 2001-2003) and McKinsey & Company (Belgium, 2005-2006). He served at the Namur-Europe-Wallonie agency (Belgium, 2004-2005) and in Gambia for the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF - Gambia, 2006-2007).
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Opening Session: challenges for democracy in Europe
This session will address the main advances, opportunities, setbacks and current challenges of democracy and democratic institutions in Europe, identifying the common and specific values that characterise European democracies, but also the different practices and conceptions that coexist throughout the continent. It will conclude with a joint reflection on what can be done from the different actors (institutions, activists, civil society and citizenry) and also jointly to protect and strengthen our democracies.