The Bilderberg Club, a forum that brings together influential figures from politics, society, and the business world, is holding its 72nd edition from this Thursday until April 12 in Washington DC, with the participation of more than 120 attendees and the presence of four Spaniards on the guest list.
Among the names confirmed by the organization are the Spaniards Nadia Calviño, president of the European Investment Bank (EIB); José Luis Escrivá, governor of the Bank of Spain; Pilar Gil, general director of Prisa Media; and Alberto Nadal, deputy secretary of Economy of the Popular Party.
Along with the Spanish representatives, also present in the discussions will be Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the IMF; Mark Rutte, secretary general of NATO; Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA; Jamieson Greer, United States Trade Representative; Roland Lescure, Minister of Economy, Finance and Industrial, Energy and Digital Sovereignty of France; the King and Queen of the Netherlands; Kyriakos Pierrakakis, president of the Eurogroup and Minister of Finance of Greece; Radoslaw Sikorski, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland; Andrius Kubilius, European Commissioner for Defense and Space; Jens Stoltenberg, Minister of Finance of Norway; and Alexander Stubb, president of Finland.
In the business sphere, high-ranking international executives such as Christian Sewing, CEO of Deutsche Bank; Albert Bourla, president and CEO of Pfizer; Daniel Ek, CEO of Spotify; Roland Busch, CEO of Siemens; Roy Jakobs, CEO of Royal Philips; Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir Technologies; Brad Smith, president of Microsoft; and Nicolai Tangen, CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management are attending the event.
This year's agenda includes issues such as the situation in the Middle East, the development of AI, security in the Arctic, international trade, transatlantic cooperation in Defense and Industry, as well as the diversification of energy sources.
Founded in 1954, the Bilderberg Meeting is an annual gathering aimed at fostering dialogue between Europe and North America, to which between 120 and 140 political leaders and specialists from industry, finance, academia, and the media are invited.
According to the organization, about two-thirds of the attendees come from Europe and the rest from North America; approximately one-fourth belongs to the political and governmental sphere, while the rest come from other sectors.
The sessions are conducted under the Chatham House Rule, which allows participants to use the shared information, but prevents revealing the identity or affiliation of the speaker(s), as well as of any other attendee.