The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, is on the long list of guests at the 69th meeting of the prestigious and influential Bilderberg Club, which began yesterday in Lisbon and in which they discuss, behind closed doors, the war in Ukraine, Artificial Intelligence, China, India, Europe, the leadership of the United States, NATO, the banking system and fiscal challenges, among other issues.
The Bilderberg Club has organized an annual meeting since 1954 to “foster dialogue between Europe and North America” and is typically attended by 120-140 policymakers, finance experts, labor representatives, business people, media groups and academics. About two-thirds of the participants come from Europe and the rest of North America, and political leaders account for a quarter of the attendees at the meetings, which are held behind closed doors.
In this edition, which began yesterday and will conclude on Sunday, May 21, 130 participants from 23 countries have been confirmed. Among the participants are José Manuel Albares and his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba (the only two foreign ministers in Lisbon). The Spanish representation is completed by the president of Banco Santander, Ana Botín (a regular at this meeting); the president of Acciona, José Manuel Entrecanales; the director of the newspaper El Español, Pedro J. Ramírez; the vice-president of the European People’s Party, Esteban Gonzáles Pons; and José Creuheras, president of Grupo Planeta and Atresmedia. For Albares, this is his second participation as minister, after attending the previous meeting, held in Washington in June 2022.
Also appearing on the list are NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg; European Parliament President Roberta Metsola; EU High Representative Josep Borrell; and the prime ministers of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen; Finland, Sanna Marin; and the Netherlands, Mark Rutte. The list does not include any members of the Portuguese government, despite being the host country.
The Bilderberg Meeting is a forum for informal discussions on major issues. The meetings are held under the Chatham House Rule, which states that participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s) or any other participant may be revealed.
“Thanks to the private nature of the Meeting, participants speak in an individual and unofficial capacity, and are therefore not bound by the conventions of their office or pre-agreed positions,” the Bilderberg Club emphasized. “In this way, they can spend time listening, reflecting and gathering ideas,” he continued. “There is no detailed agenda, no resolutions are proposed, no votes are taken and no political statements are issued,” he added. Foreign Ministry sources told The Diplomat that Albares’ agenda at the meeting is unknown because it is a private and “discreet” meeting about which the Ministry itself has no information.
