According to an information note from the University of Coimbra, the King of Spain, Felipe VI, will be distinguished by the Faculty of Law, and the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, by the Faculty of Economics of this higher education institution, the oldest in Portugal.

The reception for the honorees is scheduled for 5:10 pm and the solemn ceremony at 6 pm, with speeches by the two doctoral students, praise from professors Rui de Figueiredo Marcos and Raquel Freire and a final speech by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

Felipe VI will receive this distinction 36 years after his father, Juan Carlos I, who was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa by the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra in May 1989.

The meeting between Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Felipe VI and Sergio Mattarella takes place on the occasion of the 18th Cotec Europe summit, during the official campaign period for the early legislative elections on Sunday in Portugal.

On Wednesday, in Coimbra, the heads of state of Portugal, Spain and Italy will speak at the closing session of the 18th Cotec Europe summit, which will also feature the participation of the former president of the European Central Bank (ECB) and former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, in a conversation about the future of Europe.

It will, in principle, be the last Cotec Europe meeting – an organization that brings together members of the Cotec business associations of each country – with the participation of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who is less than a year away from the end of his second and final presidential term.

Cotec Europe meetings take place annually in Spain, Italy and Portugal, on a rotating basis.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has regularly participated in these meetings, with the heads of state of Spain and Italy, but cancelled his participation in the previous one, held in September last year, in Las Palmas, due to the fires in Portugal.