Curb your idealism

THIS BOOK WAS IN PART BASED ON CONVERSATIONS WITH:

JOSÉ MANUEL BARROSO [PT]
Non-Executive Chairman of Goldman Sachs International, Visiting Professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva and Director of the Center for European Studies at the Catholic University of Portugal in Lisbon; former President of the European Commission and Prime Minister of Portugal.

OLIVIER BAILLY [FR]
Head of Cabinet for Economic and Financial Affairs and Taxation; former Spokesman for Economic and Monetary Affairs.

ANTÓNIO CABRAL [PT]
Retired Senior Economic Adviser to Commission President Barroso; former Deputy Director-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, where he participated in the implementation of the Economic and Monetary Union since its inception.

ROBERT COOPER [UK]

Retired diplomat; former Director-General for External and Politico-Military Affairs of the European Council, adviser to EU High Representatives for Foreign Affairs Javier Solana and Catherine Ashton, and to British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

KAREL DE GUCHT [BE]
Professor of European Law and President of the Institute for European Studies at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB); former Trade Commissioner; Belgian Vice Prime-Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, first served as Member of the European Parliament in 1980.

KOEN DOENS [BE]
Deputy Director-General for Development; former Head of the Commission’s Spokesperson’s Service, Head of Cabinet for the Development Commissioner, diplomat.

ILZE JUHANSONE [LV]
Deputy Secretary-General of the European Commission; former Latvian Ambassador to the EU, and Director-General EU Affairs at the Latvian Foreign Affairs Ministry.

HEATHER GRABBE [UK]
Director of the Open Society European Policy Institute; former Member of Cabinet of the Commissioner for Enlargement, and Deputy Director of the Centre for European Reform.

HENRIK HOLOLEI [EE]
Director-General for Transport; former Deputy Secretary-General of the European Commission, and Estonian member of the Convention for the Future of Europe.

MICHAEL KARNITSCHNIG [AT]
Head of Cabinet for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations; former Member of Commission President Barroso’s Cabinet, Spokesman and Speechwriter on Foreign Affairs.

JULIAN KING [UK]
Commissioner for the Security Union; former Head of Cabinet for Trade, diplomat.

JOHANNES LAITENBERGER [DE]
Director-General for Competition; former Head of the Commission President Barroso’s Cabinet, and Chief Spokesman of the European Commission.

JOSÉ E. LEANDRO [PT]
Director in the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs; former Principal Economic Advisor to European Council President Herman Van Rompuy.

STEFANO MANSERVISI [IT]
Director-General for International Cooperation and Development; former Chief of Staff of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice President of the Commission, Head of Cabinet of Commission President Prodi, Head of Cabinet of Commissioner Mario Monti, Director-General for Migration and Home Affairs, and EU Ambassador to Turkey.

SIMON MORDUE [UK]
Deputy Director-General for Migration; former posts include Director in charge of EU relations with Turkey, and Head of Cabinet of the Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy.

DAVID O’SULLIVAN [IE]
EU Ambassador to the United States; former Chief Operating Officer of the European External Action Service, Director-General for Trade, Head of Cabinet to Commission President Prodi and Secretary-General of the European Commission.

MARGARITIS SCHINAS [EL]
Chief Spokesman of the European Commission and Deputy Director-General for Communications; former Head of DG ECFIN Operations in Athens, and Member of the European Parliament from 2007 to 2009.

PIOTR SERAFIN [PL]
Head of Cabinet to European Council President Donald Tusk; former Polish State Secretary, and Deputy Head of Cabinet for the European Budget Commissioner.

BEN SMULDERS [NL]
Head of Cabinet of the Commission’s First Vice-President Timmermans and Professor at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB); former Director in the Legal Service, Head of Cabinet for competition, Member of Cabinet of Commission President Prodi, and of former Commissioners for Enlargement and External Relations, and for the Internal Market.

DIRK STERCKX [BE]
Retired Member of the European Parliament; former Europe correspondent for Belgian public broadcasting network (now VRT) from ’80 to ’99.

MARC VANHEUKELEN [BE]
EU Ambassador to the World Trade Organisation; former Director in the Directorate-General for Trade, Head of Cabinet on Trade, Vice-Head of Cabinet to the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Member of Cabinet of the Commissioner for Regional Policy.

PETER VAN KEMSEKE [BE]
Member of Cabinet of the Commission Vice-President for the Energy Union; former Deputy Head of Cabinet of European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, diplomat.

LUUK VAN MIDDELAAR [NL]
Political philosopher and Professor of EU Law at Leiden University and Université catholique de Louvain (Louvain-la-Neuve); former speechwriter to European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, and adviser to the European Commissioner for the Internal Market between 2002 and 2004.

CONSTANTIJN VAN ORANJE-NASSAU [NL]
Special Envoy StartupDelta; former Head of Cabinet of the European Commissioner in charge of the Digital Agenda.

Two other interviewees chose to remain off the record due to professional responsibilities