PROA Comunicación has organised one of its Current Affairs Dialogues to host a presentation of Atenea, the Think Tank with which Iván Espinosa de los Monteros seeks to project ideas and attract talent from civil society to the public debate.
Spain needs to regain economic dynamism and reform its institutional architecture to face the current challenges. This is the idea that has been the focus of the last Current Affairs Dialogue of PROA Communication, in which Iván Espinosa de los Monteros has reintroduced Athena, The meeting brought together yesterday a group of people from all over the world to discuss their project of civic thinking and mobilisation. The meeting yesterday brought together business leaders, institutional representatives and managers of national and international companies, The European Parliament and the Council of Ministers, who participated in an open debate on the structural reforms needed to boost growth and strengthen the quality of democracy in Spain.
The event is part of the Dialogues of Current Affairs cycle of PROA Communication, a consultancy firm specialising in strategic communications, corporate reputation and public affairs. During the opening, its founding partner, Lucía Casanueva, He recalled the consultancy firm's vocation to actively participate in the public conversation and to create spaces where those who lead the debate on the country's major challenges can be heard. He stressed that the reconstruction of institutional confidence and economic dynamism requires a more involved civil society, and highlighted the value of initiatives such as Atenea to project ideas, attract talent and enrich public debate.
The participants agreed that Spain is going through a key moment in economic matters which, due to various institutional tensions, conditions the country's capacity to face structural challenges such as productivity, the sustainability of the welfare state and legal certainty. During the colloquium it was stressed that the improvement of the institutional architecture, the reduction of regulatory obstacles and greater economic dynamism require the following more active involvement of civil society, The EU has a key role to play in promoting reforms and building a more stable and attractive environment for investment and growth.
To this end, Espinosa de los Monteros explained that Atenea is already working on two main blocks which, in his opinion, form the essential foundations on which the change the country needs should be based: “the recovery of the rule of law and a new economic impulse capable of placing Spain on a path of sustained growth”. The first of these areas, he pointed out, involves strengthening the separation of powers, ensuring legal certainty and modernising the functioning of institutions, These factors are essential to attract investment, reduce uncertainties and consolidate a stable democratic framework. “Without a sound and predictable institutional environment, it is impossible to aspire to sustainable economic growth.”He said, recalling that Atenea has already drafted an initial package of proposals aimed at improving the functioning of the three branches of government.
The second major area of work described by Espinosa de los Monteros centres on the need to reviving economic dynamism and undertaking far-reaching structural reforms. According to him, Spain is burdened by a complex regulatory framework, high regulatory pressure and public spending that hinders competitiveness. In order to move towards a more productive model, he advocated administrative simplification, a tax reform that encourages economic activity and a more efficient use of public resources.
In this context, Espinosa de los Monteros underlined that “Spain deserves a second economic miracle”, and appealed to the need for “leaders with in-depth knowledge of the economy to undertake the structural reforms that the country needs”. In addition, he announced that Atenea has already started the elaboration of a comprehensive deregulation report, inspired by the Argentinian model, with the aim of analyse all existing regulations and identify which regulations can be modified or repealed, to improve the efficiency of public spending. He said such a simplification would “save tens of billions of euros” for the state. He also indicated that any future government would face natural resistance from various quarters, and therefore called for a strong political will to implement the changes.
Throughout the colloquium, Espinosa de los Monteros insisted that civil society needs to take a more active role in promoting reforms, He also stressed that the business and professional fabric has a “greater” responsibility in this process, given its direct knowledge of the challenges facing the Spanish economy in terms of productivity, competitiveness and innovation. He also stressed that the business and professional fabric has a “greater" responsibility in this process, given its direct knowledge of the challenges of productivity, competitiveness and innovation facing the Spanish economy. "If we keep waiting for politicians, we cannot expect change.”He encouraged the audience to contribute with proposals, analysis and dissemination of the reports produced by Atenea. In his opinion, an informed, mobilised and demanding civil society is key to guiding the public agenda and to convey to policy makers a clear demand for reform.
During question time, he addressed other strategic challenges, such as Spain's role in the technological revolution and its opportunity to become a relevant node for digital infrastructures and data centres. And he stressed the importance of a coherent foreign policy and a long-term approach in areas such as pensions and financial sustainability, issues which, in his opinion, require broad consensus and State plans.
The meeting, held in a closed format and by invitation only, was attended by top business representatives, investors, managers of national and international companies, professionals from consultancy firms, diplomatic representatives and leaders of third sector organisations. After the speech, a space for exchange with the audience was opened, which showed the willingness to involve civil society in the face of the country's economic and institutional challenges.