The president of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), Antonio Garamendi, has harshly criticized the decision of the Ministry of Labor to renew "motu proprio and without anyone's consent" the Economic and Social Council (CES) to incorporate Pimec and Pimeb.
According to the Executive, the procedure has been initiated to replace the CES counselors whose mandate has expired, with the aim of "updating its composition and ensuring the representation of the most representative organizations at the state and regional level."
In this context, Pimec has appointed Ferran Bel as its representative in the plenary of the Economic and Social Council (CES), which means the formal entry of the Catalan employers' association of small and medium-sized enterprises into this consultative body.
In addition to Bel, who currently acts as Pimec's representative in Madrid, Pimeb (Pime of the Balearic Islands) will also have a seat in the plenary of the state social dialogue body, where the unions and the CEOE-Cepyme employers' association participate. The latter has been forced, against its will, to give up two of its seats to both employers' associations, as a consequence of the modifications promoted by the Ministry of Labor to open the body to regional business organizations.
"We consider that it is an illegitimate invasion of the competencies of business organizations without legal justification. And I say this very clearly. And this, before the elections and when the elections have been called," Garamendi denounced during his speech at the XXV ATA Awards 2026.