He hopes that the limit on gas will be applied “soon” and calls for the fight against tax evasion
MADRID, 24 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has affirmed that Spain is containing the damage caused by the Covid-19 crisis and by the war in Ukraine “much better” than other economies and has highlighted that the country will register in 2022 one of the “highest” growth rates of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at the international level.
The president stressed during his speech at the World Economic Forum, which is being held in Davos (Switzerland), that there are “strong points” in the Spanish economy that give reason “to be optimistic”, despite the recent impact of the war in Ukraine .
The president has expressed himself in these terms days after the Bank of Spain has indicated that of the large economies, Spain is “the worst that has done it” in terms of coming out of the Covid crisis. According to the calculations of the body chaired by Pablo Hernández de Cos, the level of activity in Spain is still 3.4 percentage points below that observed before the start of the pandemic, while in the euro area as a whole, GDP exceeded by 0.4 points its pre-crisis level.
Despite this, Sánchez wanted to convey in the international forum the strength of the country’s economy and pointed out that GDP grew by 6.4% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022 and the Executive’s forecast is that growth will reach 4 .3% in 2022, “one of the highest rates in advanced economies.”
“Employment is increasing, the fiscal deficit is decreasing and the export sector and tourism are recovering levels prior to the crisis and acting as engines of this growth”, he highlighted during his speech at the international forum.
Despite this, the president has insisted on continuing to promote quality in employment, something that is being achieved, according to Sánchez, with the labor reform, while at the same time he has urged to continue fighting against tax evasion both nationally and internationally. .
Sánchez has stated that since before the start of the war, the Government has been “at the forefront” of efforts to weather the rise in electricity prices throughout the EU, through temporary tax cuts and subsidies.
He also recalled that the European Council has approved a price limit for gas with the aim of reducing electricity in the Iberian Peninsula which, as he has advanced, “will be applied shortly”. “This will allow us to lower prices while protecting households and businesses from the extreme volatility of possible price increases in the energy markets,” he assured.
Added to this is the fact that, four years ago, the Government began to work with the private sector on the country’s path towards energy transition, something that is reflected in the fact that last year 57% of the installed capacity in Spain came from of renewables.
In addition, the President of the Government has also called for strengthening the strategic autonomy of the European Union and has insisted on the importance of forging new ties with other regions such as Latin America.
During his speech, the president wanted to highlight the role that European funds are playing, both for the recovery and for the modernization and transformation of the country. For its deployment, he has insisted on the importance of public-private collaboration to promote investment and negotiations with social agents to carry out the main reforms.