Europe is increasingly talking about strategic autonomy. It does so when addressing energy, industry, defense, or critical raw materials. However, there is an essential infrastructure to reinforce that autonomy aimed at storing, processing, and managing information efficiently, which often remains outside the public debate: data centers. Without them, there is no artificial intelligence, cloud computing, e-commerce, industrial automation, or advanced digital services. In short, there is no digital economy.
That is why it is difficult to understand that, at a time when all countries are competing to attract technological investments, Spain is considering imposing significantly more demanding requirements on data processing centers than those established by European regulations themselves.
The issue is especially relevant because our country has exceptional conditions to become one of the major digital hubs on the continent. We have a privileged geostrategic position, we are the gateway for connections between Europe, Africa, and America, we have a growing renewable generation capacity, and we offer an increasingly attractive business ecosystem for large technological investments.
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The Government agrees with the technology industry on the keys to the future decree on data centers
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However, international investments are not decided by sympathy or by statements of intent. They are decided by comparing markets. Companies analyze costs, regulatory stability, energy availability, administrative timelines, and legal security. And when a country introduces uncertainty, overregulation, or artificially raises entry barriers, projects simply look for other locations. This is especially relevant for territories like the Community of Madrid, which have built much of their investment appeal on legal security, competitive taxation, and administrative simplification, efforts that can be seriously undermined by national regulations that introduce uncertainty or penalize strategic projects.
Precisely for this reason, the content of the decree project promoted, in an accelerated and urgent manner, by the Central Government is more than concerning. Under the legitimate aspiration to advance in sustainability, requirements are introduced whose practical application raises serious doubts and could place Spain in a position of clear competitive disadvantage compared to other European countries.
Sustainability is a priority objective fully shared by Spanish companies that have been making extraordinary efforts for years to advance in energy efficiency, decarbonization, and circular economy. However, sustainability cannot become a concept detached from economic reality and businesses. Public policies are only effective when they combine environmental ambition with technical viability and business competitiveness, because otherwise, the result can be exactly the opposite of what is pursued.
The draft decree raises requirements that could seriously hinder new investments in data centers in our country and also negatively affect investment decisions already made, whose viability was evaluated according to different rules of the game. Among other issues, it introduces requirements regarding consumption and origin of renewable energy, as well as a very strict hourly correlation between production and consumption.
These obligations present significant practical difficulties and could place Spain at a disadvantage compared to other European countries. In fact, SpainDC has warned that if the text were approved in its current terms, between 80% and 90% of new investment that could choose Spain as a destination could be at risk. And that, we cannot afford.
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SpainDC warns that the new framework for data centers may hinder investment in Spain
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Spain today has one of the largest renewable generation capacities in Europe. On numerous occasions, the system registers energy surpluses that do not find sufficient demand. Therefore, it is paradoxical that the development of activities that can contribute to a better use of those surpluses, generate economic activity, and reinforce the stable demand necessary to continue promoting new renewable investments is precisely intended to be hindered.
Moreover, it is worth remembering that data centers are not simple technological installations, but rather they constitute true poles of investment and development. Their construction mobilizes sectors such as construction, industry and service industry, telecommunications, logistics, or advanced business services, as well as strengthening the business fabric of the territory where they are established.
Their importance goes even beyond immediate economic contribution. In an international scenario where data is a strategic asset, having the capacity to store and process them is also a matter of digital sovereignty. Spain has the opportunity to contribute to European technological autonomy.
Therefore, the debate should not be framed as a choice between sustainability and growth. Both objectives are compatible and must mutually reinforce each other. The real challenge lies in designing balanced regulation that promotes the energy transition without penalizing the investments that will make the digital economy of the future possible.
Digital sovereignty is built by generating trust, attracting investment, and creating the conditions to lead the economy of the future. The competitive advantage is not in who regulates more, but in who regulates better.
about the author:
Miguel Garrido de la Cierva is president of CEIM, Madrid Business Confederation-CEOE and first vice president of CEOE. A businessman with a long career, he has been president of the Association of Young Entrepreneurs of Madrid (AJE Madrid) and of the Spanish Confederation of Young Entrepreneurs (CEAJE). Throughout his career, he has taken on executive responsibilities in the public sector and in the associative field.