Antonio López-Istúriz White
Encyclopedia
Antonio López-Istúriz White (born on 1 April 1970 in Pamplona
)is a Spanish
politician
and
Member of the European Parliament
with the People's Party
, Secretary-General of the European People's Party
as well as member of the executive committe of the Spanish People's Party
, Executive Secretary of the Christian Democrat International and Secretrary Treasurer of the Centre for European Studies
, the think-tank of the EPP
, Navarre
, to Spaniard father and American mother. Being still a child, his family moved to Palma de Mallorca
, Balearic Islands
, where they still live.
During his youth, he went to Madrid
to study law at the CEU San Pablo Catholic University
, where he also received a diploma in economic studies.
Besides Spanish, he speaks English, the language of his mother; French and Italian.
.
Between 1996 and 1997 he worked as coordinator of the education and culture section of the People’s Party in the Autonomous Community of Madrid.
In 1997 he travels to Brussels to work as an assistant to the People’s Party
delegation at the European Parliament
until 1999, when he was called by then President of the Spanish Government José María Aznar
to become his personal assistant, due to which he stayed in Madrid for almost four years.
In 2002 he gets back to Brussels as Secretary-General of the European People’s Party, succeeding another party fellow and former aide to Aznar: Alejandro Agag
. Two years later he is elected on the lists of his party as MEP, keeping both offices up to this date (2011).
he sits in the Committee on Legal Affairs
. He is a substitute for the Committee on Transport and Tourism
, a member of the Delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
and a substitute for the Delegation for relations with the countries of south-east Europe.
. As a member of the respective delegation in the European Parliament
and also as Secretary-General of the European People’s Party, he travels frequently to that country and holds meetings with politicians and other civil society actors.
López-Istúriz has shown political preference for the Republican Party
, in fact endorsing Senator John McCain
during the 2008 presidential elections campaign. Nevertheless, he has also met many democrat leaders and expressed his best wishes to Barack Obama
after the elections.
Besides holding several meetings with McCain, who is also the president of the International Republican Institute
, with which the EPP
works, López-Istúriz has met with republicans such as Senator Marco Rubio
and congressmen Paul Ryan
, Chris Smith, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
and Mario Díaz-Balart
. Along with the latest two and with former congressman Lincoln Díaz-Balart
, he has developed initiatives and activities in favour of Cuban democracy, a subject in which he shows interest as well.
He has also hold encounters with democrats such as congressman Albio Sires
and congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, the Presdent of the Democratic National Committee
, and also with some Obama advisors as Rick Holtzapple (Head of European Affairs of the White House), Mike Froman (Obama’s advisor for security affairs) and Miriam Sapiro (responsible of the government for commerce affairs).
In a blog entry of September 2011, he commemorated the tenth anniversary of 09/11, emphasizing the importance of US-EU cooperation and highlighting the work of the EPP
in this affair.
After the death of dissident Orlando Zapata in February 2010, after 85 days of hunger strike, a group of MEPs
including some of his Spaniards colleagues like Jaime Mayor Oreja
, José Ignacio Salafranca and Fracisco Millán Mon
, brought to the European Parliament
a resolution proposal expressing regret over the death of the activist and demanding the communist government the release of all political prisoners.
López-Istúriz adhered to the resolution and during the plenary debate he committed in the name of his party, to sustain the EU's common position on Cuba; he also expressed his solidarity towards Zapata Tamayo’s mother and relatives and his wish of seeing a free Cuba.
In September of that same year, he along Mayor Oreja and Salafranca took four of the 32 Cuban dissidents sent to Spain
by the Castro regime, to Brussels
in order for them to address the Human Right Committee of the European Parliament and to meet President of the Parliament Jerzy Buzek
. Under the initiative of López-Istúriz, they also participated in some European People’s Party activities.
López-Istúriz has maintained that the release of these political prisoners to Spain is actually a forced exile.
Also in 2010, the European Parliament
granted the Sakharov Prize
of human rights and freedom of thought to dissident Guillermo Fariñas
. López-Istúriz was one of the promotes of this move. During the whole process, he took the chance to criticise Spain’s socialist government for its intention to modify the EU's common position on Cuba saying that: “…With this prize, besides, the EU shows clearly its rejection to the Spanish government position and confirms its decision of not to modify the common position towards the island in place since 1996.”
, where both of them held meetings and press conferences.
López-Istúriz has insisted in the importance of self-employed workers to overcome the financial crisis, generate employment and distribute the resources.
In a written question to the European Commission
, he highlighted the importance of understanding the differences between self-employed workers and SMEs, in order to design efficient policies for both sectors and insisted in the importance of participation of self-employed workers associations in the European and national social dialogue process.
López-Istúriz has said reiteratively that he favours the adoption of an EU patent, but opposes the use of those three languages letting Spanish aside. Confronting the argument that it is about reducing costs –it is in fact translation costs that make current patents in Europe expensive- he has said in the Parliament
plenary that then the registry should be done only in English, dropping the French and German too.
During that same intervention, he was very critical with the use of the enhanced co-operation
mechanism to avoid Spanish and Italian opposition, emphasizing that such measure cannot be taken as a way to legitimize two-speed Europe.
Nevertheless, the enhanced cooperation, proposed in this matter by another EPP
MEP, Klaus-Heiner Lehne
, was approved on the 15 of February 2010 by 471 votes in favour, 160 against and 42 abstentions, and was approved by the Council on 10th March.
The process of definitive adoption of the patent is currently paralyzed.
Pamplona
Pamplona is the historial capital city of Navarre, in Spain, and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the running of the bulls is one of the main attractions...
)is a Spanish
Politics of Spain
The politics of Spain take place in the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy, whereby the Monarch is the Head of State and the President of the Government is the head of government in a multi-party system. Executive power is vested in the government...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and
Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
with the People's Party
People's Party (Spain)
The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
, Secretary-General of the European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
as well as member of the executive committe of the Spanish People's Party
People's Party (Spain)
The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
, Executive Secretary of the Christian Democrat International and Secretrary Treasurer of the Centre for European Studies
Centre for European Studies
Centre for European Studies is the name of several organisations involved in the field of European Studies:* The Centre for European Studies at Aberystwyth University* The Centre for European Studies of University College London...
, the think-tank of the EPP
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
First years and education
López-Istúriz was born in PamplonaPamplona
Pamplona is the historial capital city of Navarre, in Spain, and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the running of the bulls is one of the main attractions...
, Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
, to Spaniard father and American mother. Being still a child, his family moved to Palma de Mallorca
Palma de Mallorca
Palma is the major city and port on the island of Majorca and capital city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. The names Ciutat de Mallorca and Ciutat were used before the War of the Spanish Succession and are still used by people in Majorca. However, the official name...
, Balearic Islands
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
, where they still live.
During his youth, he went to Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
to study law at the CEU San Pablo Catholic University
CEU San Pablo University
CEU San Pablo University, , is a private, Catholic university located in Madrid and campus in Madrid and Alcorcón.It is run by the CEU Foundation.-History:...
, where he also received a diploma in economic studies.
Besides Spanish, he speaks English, the language of his mother; French and Italian.
Political career
During his years as a college student, he began to involve in politics by becomimg a member of Nuevas Generaciones (New Generations), the youth organization of the People’s PartyPeople's Party (Spain)
The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
.
Between 1996 and 1997 he worked as coordinator of the education and culture section of the People’s Party in the Autonomous Community of Madrid.
In 1997 he travels to Brussels to work as an assistant to the People’s Party
People's Party (Spain)
The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
delegation at the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
until 1999, when he was called by then President of the Spanish Government José María Aznar
José María Aznar
José María Alfredo Aznar López served as the Prime Minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He is on the board of directors of News Corporation.-Early life:...
to become his personal assistant, due to which he stayed in Madrid for almost four years.
In 2002 he gets back to Brussels as Secretary-General of the European People’s Party, succeeding another party fellow and former aide to Aznar: Alejandro Agag
Alejandro Agag
Alejandro Tarik Agag Longo was born in Madrid on the 18th September 1970 to an Algerian Belgian father Youssef Agag, who was a banker, and a Spanish mother....
. Two years later he is elected on the lists of his party as MEP, keeping both offices up to this date (2011).
Responsibilities in the European Parliament
In the European ParliamentEuropean Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
he sits in the Committee on Legal Affairs
Committee on Legal Affairs
The Committee on Legal Affairs is a committee of the European Parliament.It is preparing many crucial decisions of the European Parliament. It met on 20 and 21 June 2005 and debated and voted on the Directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions.-External links:*...
. He is a substitute for the Committee on Transport and Tourism
Committee on Transport and Tourism
The Committee on Transport and Tourism is a committee within the European Parliament.-External links:* Present Chairman is British Labour MEP Brian Simpson...
, a member of the Delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
The ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly was created to bring together the elected representatives of the European Union and the elected representatives of the African, Caribbean and Pacific states that have signed the Cotonou Agreement.Since the entry into force of the Treaty on European Union...
and a substitute for the Delegation for relations with the countries of south-east Europe.
Relationship with the United States
López-Istúriz has been always very interested in trans-Atlantic relationships, especially with the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As a member of the respective delegation in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
and also as Secretary-General of the European People’s Party, he travels frequently to that country and holds meetings with politicians and other civil society actors.
López-Istúriz has shown political preference for the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, in fact endorsing Senator John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
during the 2008 presidential elections campaign. Nevertheless, he has also met many democrat leaders and expressed his best wishes to Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
after the elections.
Besides holding several meetings with McCain, who is also the president of the International Republican Institute
International Republican Institute
Founded in 1983, the International Republican Institute is an organization, funded by the United States government, that conducts international political programs, sometimes labeled 'democratization programs'....
, with which the EPP
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
works, López-Istúriz has met with republicans such as Senator Marco Rubio
Marco Rubio
Marco Antonio Rubio is the junior United States Senator from Florida . A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives ....
and congressmen Paul Ryan
Paul Ryan
Paul Ryan may refer to:* Paul Ryan , member of the U.S. House of Representatives* Paul Ryan , music agent for The Agency, former Cradle of Filth guitarist* Paul Ryan , comics artist...
, Chris Smith, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1989. She is a member of the Republican Party....
and Mario Díaz-Balart
Mario Diaz-Balart
Mario Rafael Diaz-Balart Caballero is the current U.S. Representative for , serving since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected in 2010 to succeed his brother, Lincoln Diaz-Balart. The district includes the city of Hialeah, along with several of Miami's southwestern suburbs...
. Along with the latest two and with former congressman Lincoln Díaz-Balart
Lincoln Diaz-Balart
Lincoln Rafael Díaz-Balart was the U.S. Representative for from 1993 to 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. He previously served in the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate...
, he has developed initiatives and activities in favour of Cuban democracy, a subject in which he shows interest as well.
He has also hold encounters with democrats such as congressman Albio Sires
Albio Sires
Albio Sires is the U.S. Representative for , serving since a special election in 2006. The district includes most of Jersey City, as well as most of the Latino neighborhoods of Newark. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
and congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, the Presdent of the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
, and also with some Obama advisors as Rick Holtzapple (Head of European Affairs of the White House), Mike Froman (Obama’s advisor for security affairs) and Miriam Sapiro (responsible of the government for commerce affairs).
In a blog entry of September 2011, he commemorated the tenth anniversary of 09/11, emphasizing the importance of US-EU cooperation and highlighting the work of the EPP
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
in this affair.
Relationship with Cuban dissidents
Other subject in which López-Istúriz has been active is Cuban democracy and the Cuban dissident movement.After the death of dissident Orlando Zapata in February 2010, after 85 days of hunger strike, a group of MEPs
MEPS
MEPS can refer to:* Military Entrance Processing Station* Marine Ecology Progress Series, a scientific journal dealing mostly with research in the field of marine ecology.* Methode d’Evaluation des Produits Securitaire “bancaires”...
including some of his Spaniards colleagues like Jaime Mayor Oreja
Jaime Mayor Oreja
Jaime Mayor Oreja, is a €Spain|Spanish]] politician who served as Interior Minister in the People's Party government of José María Aznar before resigning in February 2001 to stand for Basque President on 13 May 2001, a post he failed to win. He is known for his strongly anti-ETA views.He graduated...
, José Ignacio Salafranca and Fracisco Millán Mon
Francisco José Millán Mon
Francisco José Millán Mon is a Spanish politician andMember of the European Parliament with the People's Party, part of the European People's Party and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs....
, brought to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
a resolution proposal expressing regret over the death of the activist and demanding the communist government the release of all political prisoners.
López-Istúriz adhered to the resolution and during the plenary debate he committed in the name of his party, to sustain the EU's common position on Cuba; he also expressed his solidarity towards Zapata Tamayo’s mother and relatives and his wish of seeing a free Cuba.
In September of that same year, he along Mayor Oreja and Salafranca took four of the 32 Cuban dissidents sent to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
by the Castro regime, to Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
in order for them to address the Human Right Committee of the European Parliament and to meet President of the Parliament Jerzy Buzek
Jerzy Buzek
Jerzy Karol Buzek is a Polish engineer, academic lecturer and politician who was the ninth post-Cold War Prime Minister of Poland from 1997 to 2001...
. Under the initiative of López-Istúriz, they also participated in some European People’s Party activities.
López-Istúriz has maintained that the release of these political prisoners to Spain is actually a forced exile.
Also in 2010, the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
granted the Sakharov Prize
Sakharov Prize
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named after Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, was established in December 1988 by the European Parliament as a means to honour individuals or organisations who have dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought...
of human rights and freedom of thought to dissident Guillermo Fariñas
Guillermo Fariñas
Guillermo Fariñas Hernández is a Cuban doctor of psychology, independent journalist and political dissident in Cuba. He has conducted 23 hunger strikes over the years to protest various elements of the Cuban regime. He has stated that he is ready to die in the struggle against censorship in...
. López-Istúriz was one of the promotes of this move. During the whole process, he took the chance to criticise Spain’s socialist government for its intention to modify the EU's common position on Cuba saying that: “…With this prize, besides, the EU shows clearly its rejection to the Spanish government position and confirms its decision of not to modify the common position towards the island in place since 1996.”
Self-Employed Workers
López-Istúriz has developed an intense job promoting self-employed workers, especially Spaniards. He has met in several occasion with the heads of the Spanish National Federation of Associations of Self-Employed Workers (ATA) and invited its president to the European ParliamentEuropean Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, where both of them held meetings and press conferences.
López-Istúriz has insisted in the importance of self-employed workers to overcome the financial crisis, generate employment and distribute the resources.
In a written question to the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
, he highlighted the importance of understanding the differences between self-employed workers and SMEs, in order to design efficient policies for both sectors and insisted in the importance of participation of self-employed workers associations in the European and national social dialogue process.
EU Patent
During the debate on the EU patent, López-Istúriz has joined his Spanish and Italian colleagues in opposing the proposed measure of registering the patents only in three languages: English, French and German.López-Istúriz has said reiteratively that he favours the adoption of an EU patent, but opposes the use of those three languages letting Spanish aside. Confronting the argument that it is about reducing costs –it is in fact translation costs that make current patents in Europe expensive- he has said in the Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
plenary that then the registry should be done only in English, dropping the French and German too.
During that same intervention, he was very critical with the use of the enhanced co-operation
Enhanced co-operation
In the European Union , enhanced cooperation is a procedure where a minimum of nine EU member states are allowed to establish advanced integration or cooperation in an area within EU structures but without the other members being involved...
mechanism to avoid Spanish and Italian opposition, emphasizing that such measure cannot be taken as a way to legitimize two-speed Europe.
Nevertheless, the enhanced cooperation, proposed in this matter by another EPP
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
MEP, Klaus-Heiner Lehne
Klaus-Heiner Lehne
Klaus-Heiner Lehne is a German politician and Member of the European Parliament for North Rhine-Westphalia. He is a member of the conservative Christian Democratic Union, part of the European People's Party.-References:...
, was approved on the 15 of February 2010 by 471 votes in favour, 160 against and 42 abstentions, and was approved by the Council on 10th March.
The process of definitive adoption of the patent is currently paralyzed.
Decorations
- Officer of the Order of Bernardo O'Higgins (ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
) - Order of the Star of Jordan