 He holds the Gran Cruz de la Orden del Mérito Civil.He was a representative of Europe in the NATO Scientific Program, member of the EMBO Scientific Council, President of the EMBC (European Molecular Biology Conference), Vice-president of the EMBL Board of Trustees (European Molecular Biology Laboratory), Vice-president of EUROHORCS (European Heads of Research Organizations) and member of the ESF Executive Board (European Science Foundation).He was Chair for the ERC Starting Grants in 2007 and of the Life Science panel for the ERC Synergy Grants in 2012 and 2013.