Symposium celebrates Spanish scholar’s legacy at Oxford

The debates between Europhiles and Eurosceptics will be nothing new to those familiar with the longstanding debate over Spain's role in a modern Europe. With Spain's term as president of the European Union ending in June, a symposium next week at Oxford's Taylor Institution will look backwards at one of Spain's earliest advocates of European integration, as well as forwards to Spain's continuing role in the EU. European integration has been a contested topic both historically and in recent political debates, and the symposium will mark Spain's presidency of the European Union and celebrate a pioneer of European integration and founder of the College of Europe in Bruges. Salvador de Madariaga was the first holder of the King Alfonso XIII Chair of Spanish Studies at Oxford, and the symposium hosted by Oxford's Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages aims to show how the debate over Europe in modern Spain has close parallels with Britain's own debates between Europhiles and Eurosceptics. The event will be held on Tuesday, 18 May at The Taylor Institution and is open to members of the public. Starting at 5pm it features a keynote lecture on the debate over Europe in modern Spain by Professor José Luis Abellán of Madrid's Universidad Complutense. The symposium will also include talks by Professor Isabel de Madariaga of the University of London on Madariaga's life as a statesman, scholar and writer, and by Dr María Rosa de Madariaga speaking about Madariaga's European vision.