The EU; law and practice

Drawing on  experiences working on EU issues as a British and as a European Commission civil servant, from accession to membership to leaving the EU, this talk by Sir Alex Ellis will cover:

• The role and internal dynamics of the European Commission; how is policy formulated and negotiated.
• The dynamic of the Council; where does power lie, how is it expressed, what the connections are between negotiation at working level and the leaders.
• The role of law and lawyers in these negotiations; how the British system draws on legal expertise, how that sometimes differs from the EU and its member states.

Sir Alex Ellis was appointed as His Majesty’s Ambassador to Spain and Andorra in September 2024. 

Previously, Alex served as the British High Commissioner to the Republic of India (2021 to 2024) and before that, he worked as the Deputy National Security Adviser in the Cabinet Office (2020) focussed on foreign and security policy. 

Alex joined the FCDO (then FCO) in 1990 and has extensive experience across a range of diplomatic, EU, security and strategy roles, including in some other Government Departments: 

• Director General in the Department for Exiting the European Union, responsible for the UK-EU security partnership, international agreements with the UK’s closest partners and domestic and EU engagement on Brexit (2017 to 2019)

• British Ambassador to Brazil (2013 to 2017) and Portugal (2007 to 2010)

• Director of Strategy responsible for developing new tools for improving FCO and government policy (2011 to 2013)

• Advisor to the President of the European Commission, with responsibility for energy, climate change, competition, development, trade and strategy (2005 to 2007)

• Madrid Counsellor EU and Global Issues (2003 to 2005)

Prior to this, Alex was a teacher in the UK and overseas. He sings in a choir and loves music, theatre and most sports. He is married to Teresa, and they have one son, Tomás, who is on the autistic spectrum.