Alina is Head of the Commission’s Sanctions Unit, within the Directorate-General in charge of Financial Services. She works on a wide range of EU sanctions issues, from their shaping and negotiation, to guidance on their practical implementation and monitoring their enforcement by Member States.

Alina’s Unit also leads on the EU’s resilience to extra-territorial sanctions of third countries, from U.S. measures against Iran and Cuba to China’s recent activity in the sanctions realm.

Having specialised in EU law in Paris, in her previous professional life Alina was a lawyer in a leading Spanish law firm, advising and representing clients in competition law; a member of the European Ombudsman’s legal team; and a lecturer in EU law in Spain and Germany. She is a member of the Barcelona Bar Association and continues to cooperate with academia in Belgium and to intervene in sanctions conferences in Europe and the US.