Family photo at the European Parliament headquarters in Brussels during the celebration of the sixth edition of the European Business Parliament
Brussels, 14/11/2023.- The President of the Spain Chamber of Commerce, Mr. José Luis Bonet, has advocated the need for the future government of the European Union after the upcoming European elections "to be 'pro-business' and take into account the needs of the productive sector when legislating."
The President of the Spanish Chamber made these statements during his intervention at the 6th edition of the European Business Parliament held today at the European Parliament. In his speech, focused on the thematic axis of capabilities, Mr. Bonet pointed out that more than three-quarters of European companies face difficulties in finding workers with the skills required for their productive activities, while countries like Spain maintain high unemployment rates. According to Mr. Bonet, more investment in VET as well as in continuous training and upskilling -reskilling retraining is needed, and to face the problem of depopulation and brain drain by making work attractive in companies in depopulated areas because talent is the real engine of a country’s economy.
The Spanish Chamber, through its Delegation to the EU, has led the Spanish business delegation consisting of 45 companies, in the 6th edition of the European Parliament of Entreprises. In this session, 700 companies occupied seats in the European Parliament to discuss with high-ranking EU politicians the challenges of the economy under three pillars: international trade, energy, and capabilities.
Mr. José María Álvarez, Director of Corporate Development at Inditex, intervened. Álvarez referred to Open Strategic Autonomy as a fundamental pillar of European policy and the need to foster alliances that create secure and lasting links worldwide, as well as promoting key free trade agreements for the EU: 'the agreement with Mercosur is particularly important, but also those with Chile or Mexico in Latin America, or with India or Australia.' The Director of Corporate Development at Inditex also emphasized the need for close collaboration with the private sector to ensure the supply of goods or raw materials, identifying risks and designing 'new European instruments for trade defense, such as the anti-subsidy mechanism or the control of exports and investments.'
Mr. Jorge Villarroya, President of the Chamber of Commerce of Zaragoza, spoke in the energy block, emphasizing the need to 'carry out properly oriented reforms and a strong public-private collaboration to simultaneously address the challenges of sustainability and the preservation and improvement of the EU's competitiveness.' The President of the Chamber of Commerce of Zaragoza called for a decisive commitment to innovation and technological development, and a regulatory framework that provides certainty for investments under the principle of technological neutrality. 'European energy policy, in short, must be a priority, as the basis for achieving a sustainable industrial fabric, with renewed competitive capacity in the global context and, ultimately, guarantor of collective well-being.'
Earlier, before the opening of the session in the hemicycle, the Delegation to the European Union of the Spanish Chamber organized a working breakfast with Spanish Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), Adrián Vázquez from the Renew Europe Group, Dolors Montserrat from the European People's Party group, and Inmaculada Rodríguez-Piñero from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament.
During the meeting, the Spanish delegation had the opportunity to thoroughly understand the work carried out by the European Parliament in this legislature, and explore what should be the priorities for the new term that will come out from the European elections in June.
The Members of the European Parliament highlighted the importance of ensuring that the problems and interests of Spanish companies reach European levels, and for this, the chambers play a key role in connecting with the productive fabric, especially SMEs and micro-enterprises.
During the debate, the excess of red tape, especially for SME’s in reaching to Next Gen Funds, the “regulatory tsunami” stemming by the Green Deal and its implication, the European regulations on corporate sustainability due diligence, and its impact on the business fabric, especially on SMEs; the concept of open strategic autonomy; the inclusion of maritime transport in the emissions trading system; international trade, among other topics.
In conclusion, the three Spanish MEPs agreed that there has been an excess of legislative activity in this mandate: “a legislative tsunami”, which has caused many difficulties for various actors in society, such as companies.
“It is necessary to undertake a thorough restructuring of the European Parliament because in this legislature there have been legislative files that have shown the lack of fit between the European Commission and the European Parliament. Adrian Vázquez. MEP
"However, this legislative impact has found positive points. The pandemic has brought about a major health transformation in record time. In the future we will have big data that will allow us to improve health promotion, disease prevention and advance early diagnoses., said Dolors Montserrat. MEP
"It is essential to incorporate the time variable into the co-legislative action, recognising that due to this lack, the EU is late in influencing key aspects such as technology”. Immaculada Rodríguez-Piñero. MEP