The Minister of Economy, Commerce and Enterprise, Carlos Body, announced this morning at a conference organized by the General Council of Economists that a sectoral conference will be held next week, where the autonomies and city councils will meet, to advance on regulatory issues and improving the capacity of companies to operate more quickly and efficiently in the 17 autonomous communities of the country.
The Minister undertakes to reduction of administrative and bureaucratic burdens affecting businessesand proposed the creation of a “regime 18” or a theoretical “autonomous community number 18”. This will be one of the key measures to increase productivity. A measure that will be carried out in collaboration with the autonomous communities, following the recommendations of Enrico Letta’s report on the internal market.
“The aim is to advance regulatory simplification and have a shared diagnosis of the current situation,” he said. The proposal aims to facilitate the single market in Spain, allowing companies to operate without additional regulatory barriers between autonomous communities.
The minister said the goal is to have, before the end of the yeara diagnosis and concrete measures to implement “regime 18”.
Body also indicated that she had already discussed this issue with Enrico Letta, who was enthusiastic about Spain’s leadership in this area. According to the minister, this approach could open the door to future collaborations with Portugal, creating a common regulatory framework at the peninsular level, as a preliminary step to the integration of “a market of 450 million European consumers.”
In his speech, he stressed “excellent” development of economic activity in Spain, stressing that current indicators reflect good performance not only in the short term, but also with positive prospects in the medium term. “The data indicate that the Spanish economy is in good health and should continue to show favourable results”” said the body.
However, the minister acknowledged that important challenges remain, such as reducing youth unemployment, facilitating youth empowerment and improving access to housing, in addition to continuing to advance towards the goal of full employment. “There is still much to do,” Corpo concluded.
Negotiation to reduce working hours
He argued that reducing the working day to 37.5 hours per week is compatible with increasing productivity, while acknowledging that the effort required varies between large companies and SMEs. This is why he explained that “flexibility spaces” are offered at the negotiating table to adapt to the needs of each type of company.
The body stressed that the fact that negotiations are continuing with concrete proposals gives confidence in the possibility of reaching a tripartite agreement including employers. The head of the Economy urged employers to present a clear “counter-proposal” in the negotiations on reducing working hours. Body asked employers to offer a “specific response” to continue to advance the dialogue process. He also recalled the government’s recent proposal to offer bonuses for SMEs to facilitate the reduction of working hours.
He reiterated that the objective of the Executive is to reduce the working day with the necessary flexibility so that companies can increase their productivity without this negatively affecting wages. According to the minister, Empirical evidence suggests that it is possible to reduce working hours while increasing both productivity and wages.
Moderation of inflation
Body positively assessed the inflation data published this Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), stressing that the moderation of prices, as well as the favorable evolution of the labor market, allow a reffective restoration of citizens’ purchasing power. According to the INE, Inflation in August fell by five tenths to 2.3%, a decline driven mainly by the fall in the prices of fuel and food products, “key” components of household spending.
The minister stressed that Food inflation fell to 2.5%, its lowest level since October 2021partly due to measures adopted by the government to ease the cost of basic products. One example highlighted by Corps is the abolition of VAT on olive oil, which contributed to a significant drop in inflation in August compared to July. “This demonstrates the impact of the policies implemented by the Executive,” said the head of the Economy.
Body warned that while inflation will not follow a linear path, The trend towards moderation is “crucial” for short and medium term economic expectations. Likewise, he stressed that price growth in Spain has been lower than in other Eurozone countries, with a cumulative increase in the cost of living that has been almost 10% lower than that of the main European partners.
The minister also linked this inflationary moderation to the improvement of the labour market, which has allowed Spanish households to recover purchasing power to a greater extent than the average of OECD countries. He also highlighted the additional relief represented by the gradual reduction in interest rates, which will benefit families with variable-rate mortgages. According to Body, with a Euribor below 3%, families who update their mortgage in the coming months could save more than 600 euros per year.
Reiterates its rejection of BBVA’s public takeover bid
The government maintains its position of rejection of BBVA’s hostile takeover bid for Sabadelldespite the approval of the European Central Bank (ECB), reiterated the minister, who stressed that we are still waiting for the resolution of the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) and the National Stock Exchange Commission (CNMV).
The Minister expressed concern about the possible consequences of the operationhighlighting the risk of excessive banking concentration, the impact on financial inclusion, access to credit for SMEs – Sabadell’s main objective – and the possible implications for employment.
Body stressed that, so far, there have been no significant developments compared to the situation as it was at the beginning of the summer, and assured that the process would continue its course, awaiting the decisions of the CNMC and the CNMV.
Request to avoid “speculations” on Venezuela
Body also sent a message of calm regarding the recent statements of the president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Jorge Rodríguez, who urged to break diplomatic and commercial relations with Spain. The minister stressed the Government commitment to protect the interests of Spanish companies in Venezuelastressing that it will seek to maintain a stable and predictable trade relationship in the Latin American country.
The minister stressed that so far there have been no changes or concrete measures in relations between the two countries, and asked to avoid speculation about possible future scenarios. In this sense, he reaffirmed that the priority is to ensure that Spanish companies can continue operating in an environment of stability, both in the commercial and diplomatic fields.
