Spain claims itself as a strategic actor in Europe in the face of global challenges

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· Afi held the meeting 'The Moment of Spain in Europe and in the World' with experts and institutional representatives.

· This meeting was closed by Minister Carlos Cuerpo, who pointed out that the challenges posed in the current particularly complex environment must be transformed into a window of action for both Europe and Spain.

· Three key strategic axes for the country's economic and social development have been addressed: digitalization, energy and housing.

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Madrid, June 18, 2025. Afi held this morning at the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) the meeting 'The moment of Spain in Europe and in the world', with the objective of reflecting on the role of Spain in the current economic and geopolitical context and celebrating the 4th anniversary of the launch of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR).

The event brought together institutional representatives and experts from different sectors to discuss three of the main challenges that will mark the agenda in Europe and Spain in the coming years: competitiveness and digitalization, energy autonomy and ecological transition, and housing. The conference was closed by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Business of the Government of Spain, Carlos Cuerpo.

This reflection takes place at a time when both Europe and Spain are faced with a more changing and fragmented global order that requires rapid adaptation and strengthening their position in the face of new economic, technological and social challenges.

Carlos Closa, vice-president of Organization and Institutional Relations of the CSIC, and Borja Foncillas, president and CEO of Afi, opened the conference. The introductory presentation was given by César Cantalapiedra, managing partner of Public Finance at Afi, who gave an overview of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan on its fourth anniversary and introduced the strategic vision from European institutions, the pillar of the subsequent debate.

After this review, the first table began, focusing on digitalization and competitiveness and moderated by Diego Vizcaíno, managing partner of Applied Economics at Afi. Javier Ponce, general director of the Spanish Society for

Technological Transformation (SETT), commented that, in the world of digital technology, “the one who comes first has an extraordinary advantage”, but “sufficient amounts of capital must be placed in opportunities to reach the market” and invites the Spanish private sector to accompany the public sphere in order to reach the first to the market.

At the table, he was accompanied by Francisco Velázquez, founder and president of Axon Partners Group, and Elena González-Blanco, Head of AI for EMEA Digital Natives at Microsoft, who pointed out that in addition to capital, training and collaboration are needed, “there is a lot of opportunity and we can become leaders in many technological areas”. Together they have approached the issue from three complementary angles: strategic public vision, global technological innovation and private investment.

The second table, which dealt with the energy autonomy and the ecological transition, was attended by Gonzalo Sáenz de Miera, director of Climate Change and Alliances at Iberdrola, who concluded that “the commitment to decarbonization and electrification is a winning horse for Europe, and in particular Spain, to have a leading position in the global economy”, “if we go towards a decarbonized system, Spain will have cheaper electricity and energy, and that is an essential element of competitiveness”. Marina Serrano, president of aelēc, Carmen Becerril, president of OMEL, and moderated by Arturo Rojas, partner of Afi, also participated in the table.

At the last panel, moderated by Enrique Martín, associate director and housing expert at Afi, the focus was on reviewing how public and private spheres are reacting to Changes in the housing market in recent years. The lines of action for the future and the remaining challenges have also been analyzed, among which the need to have an industrial sector commensurate with the housing that must be built and the need to seek a financial and patrimonial balance have been highlighted.

This panel consisted of Santiago Novoa, general director of National Corporate Financing, Midcaps and SMEs of the Official Credit Institute (ICO); Inés Sandoval, Director of Promotion and Collaboration at Sepes; Juan Antonio Gómez-Pintado, president of Vía Ágora and the Building Cluster, and Manel Rodríguez, partner and executive director of SALAS and CEO of Alas.

At the close of the event, the Minister of Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, has addressed other action needs in Spain such as “supporting the productivity and competitiveness of our productive fabric”. In addition, he commented that “a response to the tariff conflict has already been put on the table”, a plan that is addressed from two axes, the promotion of “financing capacity for those companies that may be subject to a short-term liquidity shock” and the “support to Spanish companies to seek

new niche markets that can help offset the reduction in their business in the U.S.” He concluded by stressing the importance that “in this particularly complex, uncertain and volatile environment, we must try to transform these challenges into an opportunity, into a window of action for both Europe and Spain”. You can watch the full event hither.

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About Afi

Afi is a leading Spanish company in advice, consulting and independent training in economics, finance and technology. The company was founded in 1987 by a group of leading academics and, since then, it has become a reference in the provision of consulting, technology and training services mainly oriented to the economic and financial fields. Our team is made up of more than 250 highly qualified professionals, including more than twenty partners.

Contact: comunicacion@afi.es | (+34) 683 347 838

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