Faces of Interreg: Hugo Sobral on turning borders into bridges

Seven questions for Hugo Sobral

What led you to work in Interreg or in European cooperation?

Serendipity, but as with all happy coincidences, it has been a joy.


If you had to define Interreg to a citizen using only three words, which would they be?

Connecting across Europe.


What impact of Interreg (on a territory or a community) has impressed you the most?

Turning borders into bridges, enabling communities and regions to come together, cooperate and achieve results they couldn’t alone.


What does your job involve day-to-day? In this sense, what’s harder than people think?

Jumping from one topic to another, sometimes practical issues, sometimes technical, sometimes forward-looking. What’s harder is keeping sight of the bigger picture, making sure every decision serves the EU, the cohesion objectives and the citizens. 


In such a demanding role, what is the one hobby or ritual that keeps you grounded?

Pretty much anything that isn’t work, family, outdoors, sports, reading, or music.


If you could have dinner with any founding figure of the EU, who would it be and what would you ask them about today’s Europe?

I’d choose Jacques Delors – though not a founding father – and ask how he would approach today’s challenges, finding the right balance between geopolitical competition, European integration and cohesion within the EU.


What is the one personal contribution you want to be remembered for in the European world?

My goal is to contribute to a stronger Europe, and that is a teamwork, not the effort of an individual alone. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.