Valencian businessmen raised their voices this Tuesday in Madrid demanding a series of measures to avoid generating “regional imbalances.” In an event under the title “Unity” held at the headquarters of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), the president of the Business Confederation of the Valencian Community (CEV), Salvador Navarro, has demanded, first of all, a reform of regional financing to solve “the underfinancing that we suffer”, the approval of a transitional fund and the forgiveness of the debt generated by said financing.
In the area of ??water management, Navarro has also demanded a national plan because “drought needs coordination.” “Water belongs to everyone, not to an autonomous community,” he added.
The third claim of Valencian businessmen has been the promotion of the Mediterranean corridor. Salvador Navarro has cited the demand of Commissioner Josep Vicent Boira, who describes Spain as a “railway island.” Valencian businessmen demand to solve this isolation.
Navarro’s requests have been supported by the president of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, who has demanded “unity” from businessmen and has highlighted how Valencian companies have been the main promoters of the Mediterranean corridor. The leader of the employers’ association has also mentioned the problem that excessive bureaucracy generates for companies, for which he has asked for a reduction in administrative procedures.
“Companies have to make money; They are elementary issues, but it seems that we must ask for forgiveness,” defended Garamendi, who also mentioned the case of Juan Roig, president of Mercadona, who has suffered direct attacks by Podemos. “How wonderful to have businessmen like him,” defended the president of the CEOE.
Garamendi has also focused on European funds and the “loss of opportunities” that is occurring, according to the business leader. He has defended “streamlining the rule and giving greater margin to the autonomous communities.”
The head of the CEOE has also criticized the extraordinary taxes on energy companies and banks. He has given the example of Spain’s renewable energy plan, for which investments of around 300,000 million euros are needed. European funds, he has cited, will bring some 20,000 or 30,000 million for this objective, so “170,000 million of private investment is missing.” Garamendi has regretted that energy and banking companies are “punished” with new taxes. “We need a very secure space for everyone to invest,” he concluded.
The president of the Council of Chambers of Commerce of the Valencian Community, José Vicente Morata, also spoke at the meeting, highlighting that the Community is becoming a pole of attraction for investments in all sectors. “We have an unbeatable geostrategic position, we have important logistics and infrastructure infrastructure, led by the port of Valencia, we are a region that generates talent, through a competitive educational system, we are the headquarters of international institutions, we have an innovation ecosystem and entrepreneurship in growth, we have industrial land at a competitive cost and we are positioned as a technological and innovation hub,” he listed.
For her part, Agnès Noguera, vice president of the Valencian Business Association (AVE), who has joined the need for the Community to gain visibility, has been convinced that the Mediterranean corridor “is more than an infrastructure, which “It benefits the country as a whole.” “The Corridor enhances territorial and social cohesion and Spanish competitiveness, in addition to sustainability.”
For the president of the Conexus Foundation, Manuel Broseta, the Valencian Community “is a key lever for the development of Spain and that multiplies its action when it collaborates with other territories, such as Madrid. Without a doubt, the connection with Madrid currently represents a much-needed axis of stability and prosperity for Spain that must continue to be strengthened.”