The Department of EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies at the College of Europe will hold the thirteenth edition of the annual “EU Diplomacy Lectures” in Bruges on Thursday, 15 October 2026, followed by a short Q&A session.
João Vale de Almeida, former EU Ambassador to the US, UN and UK
“EU diplomacy in an age of global challenges: Why it matters more than ever and how to make it more effective”
Reflecting on his 40 years career at the service of the European Union, half of which in senior diplomatic posts in Brussels, Washington, New York and London, Ambassador João VALE DE ALMEIDA will outline why EU diplomacy is more needed than ever today. “Domestic, transatlantic and global challenges are both an imperative and an incentive for more effective and more assertive EU diplomacy working to foster our values and interests”, he will say. This renewed impulse “needs however to be well focused and calibrated in order to not alienate Member States but rather maximise the collective impact of 27+1 diplomatic apparatuses” and fully correspond to the “diverse aspirations and concerns of public opinion throughout the Union”. In the challenging diplomatic world in which the EU has to operate, “the wealth brought by diversity is not a liability, it is an asset that we urgently need to put entirely at the service of the protection and promotion of our values and interests”, he will add.
Ambassador VALE DE ALMEIDA ’s lecture will develop and update his personal account and reflections included in his recent book “The Divorce of Nations” and provide his insights into current international topical files and actors, from Ukraine to Iran and from Putin to Trump, Xi and beyond.”
The Lecture will also be livestreamed. It will be followed by a drinks reception. Registration is required by 12 October 2026 (12h00 noon).
About the speaker
João VALE DE ALMEIDA is a senior European Union Ambassador who can look back on a 40-year international career. He was last posted in London, until November 2022, as the first EU Ambassador to the United Kingdom, after Brexit. Previously he was Ambassador to the United Nations (2015-2019) and Ambassador to the United States (2010-2014). Ambassador VALE DE ALMEIDA has practiced diplomacy at the highest level over the last two decades combining political, security, environmental and economic aspects. He has a vast experience in European and International affairs, including as the EU’s ‘Sherpa’ for G8 and G20 Summits and Chief of Staff of the President of the European Commission. He was also Director-General of DG RELEX in the European Commission. Upon retirement, in 2023 and 2024, he was an Adjunct Professor and a Visiting Fellow at the University of Columbia in New York and at the University of Cambridge, UK.
João VALE DE ALMEIDA is a keen promoter of public diplomacy and civil society engagement and has been an active public speaker in business and academic circles in Europe and in the United States. He is regularly interviewed by television, radio, and print media on geo-strategic issues and European affairs. He is a member of the Strategic Council of the European Policy Centre in Brussels and a trustee of the Oceano Azul Foundation in Lisbon. He holds a few corporate non-executive and advisory positions. His first book, “The Divorce of Nations: A Diplomat’s Inside View as the Global Order Collapses”, has recently been published in the UK and in Portugal.