The former Minister of Employment and Social Security and current president of the CEOE foundation, Fátima Báñez, has warned this Tuesday of a "change of era" in which politics has come to set the direction of the economy. For this reason, she has called on the European Union to place competitiveness at the center of its roadmap to avoid a deterioration of its social model.
"For a long time, the economy conditioned politics, and today politics is increasingly conditioning the economy," the former minister stressed during the conference 'The Spanish economy in the face of the alteration of the world order. The joint Hispanic space', held at the Summer Courses of the Complutense University of Madrid in San Lorenzo de El Escorial.
In her speech, she remarked that business decisions are no longer based solely on costs or demand, but also on strategic elements such as "energy security, institutional stability, access to critical raw materials, or each country's position within major international alliances."
Báñez has called for an exercise in "realism" from the EU and pointed out that, despite having "talent and savings," it "has regulated a lot, but has not innovated as much as others" and, in her opinion, has problems "scaling global technology companies."
The former Minister of Employment has pointed to economic growth as the only way to sustain the Welfare State. "The real dilemma in Europe is not competitiveness or regulation. The real dilemma is whether we will be able to regulate without stifling investment, protect without slowing down innovation, and preserve our social model without weakening the productive base that finances it," she defended.
Báñez insisted on the need to address "structural challenges" such as fiscal sustainability, warning that public debt at 100% of GDP "limits future room for maneuver." Along these lines, she remarked that private investment continues to be conditioned by "legal uncertainty, administrative complexity, and excessive taxation."
Defense of the business fabric and productivity
In this context, she recalled the relevance of the business fabric, responsible for 85% of employment and more than 60% of social wealth in Spain. "Defending, helping, and accompanying the business world does not mean protecting particular interests; it means strengthening one of the greatest instruments for generating shared prosperity," she pointed out.
Báñez has detailed the "structural challenges" of the Spanish economy, placing productivity as a key issue. "Productivity is not a cold word; it is the main determinant of wages, competitiveness, and the sustainability of our welfare model," she stressed. To increase it, she has proposed strengthening the connection between universities and businesses and favoring a larger average size of companies.
Housing and pensions, major challenges
Likewise, she has described housing as a "major economic problem" that hinders growth: "It reduces labor mobility, makes it difficult for young people to become independent, affects birth rates, and weakens the ability of the most dynamic areas of Spain to attract talent."
In parallel, she has maintained that the viability of the welfare model rests on the generation of quality employment and on "rigorous reforms" that accompany the increase in life expectancy. In this regard, she has called for treating citizens "like adults" and has asked not to use pensions as an element of political confrontation.
Relationship with the United States and the Hispanic economic space
The president of the CEOE Foundation has highlighted the economic relationship with the United States as a "first-rate opportunity." She recalled that the US is the main destination for Spanish investment, with more than 100 billion euros accumulated, and the leading investor in Spain, with 116 billion euros. "Spanish companies do not go to the United States just to sell; they go to compete, to manage critical infrastructure, and to build the future of that country," she emphasized.
Báñez has also highlighted the role of the Hispanic community in the US, made up of more than 70 million people, as a highly relevant economic asset. "If the Hispanic community in the United States were an independent economy, it would be among the largest in the world." Therefore, she has encouraged the promotion of an "economic strategy for the Hispanic space" based on greater business cooperation and "shared talent" programs.