European Commission

Press release

Brussels, 21 December 2012

European Commission appoints new Head of the Regional Office in Barcelona

Ferran Tarradellas Espuny will take up office as Head of the European Commission Regional Office in Barcelona on 1 January 2013.

Mr. Tarradellas joined the European Commission in 2000 initially working as a media contact in the Directorate General for Energy and Transport. He then held the posts of Spokesman for Energy and later for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis response, working closely with Commissioners Andris Piebalgs and Kristalina Georgieva, respectively. He currently works in the Press Department of the Representation of the European Commission in Madrid.

Before joining the European Commission he worked as a journalist for different media, including Catalan newspaper Avui, the news agency Europe Today, the magazine El Sol and as a freelancer for other local newspapers in Spain and Andorra.

Ferran Tarradellas holds a bachelor in Journalism and in Modern History.

Mr Tarradellas' journalistic background and his long experience in different areas of the European Commission will enable the Commission's Office in Barcelona to play a key role in communicating with local citizens and the media and help to boost relations between the European Commission and the Governments and Parliaments of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, as well as local authorities and other stakeholders.

Background

The Commission has representations in all 27 EU Member States and Regional Offices in Barcelona, Belfast, Bonn, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Marseille, Milan, Munich and Wrocław. They inform the media and public about EU policies and report to the Commission on significant developments in the country.

For more information

Homepage of Vice-President Viviane Reding, EU Justice Commissioner:

http://ec.europa.eu/reding

The European Commission in Barcelona:

http://ec.europa.eu/spain/barcelona/index_ca.htm