Mr. Antonio Garamendi, Chairman of CEPYME and CONFEMETAL and Vice-president of CEOE, presented the approach of the Spanish business organisations to our politicians in light of the next legislature. The speech of the Vice-president of CEOE took place in the meeting hosted by the Spanish Maritime Cluster, with the assistance of Carlos Sanlorenzo on behalf of the Firm.

After the opening of the meeting by the President of the Spanish Maritime Cluster (Mr. Alejandro Aznar Sainz), Mr. Antonio Garamendi referred to the employment generated during the past legislature as well as the Spanish economic growth placed above the average of the EU. The Chairman of CEPYME upheld the last labor reform and highlighted the importance of the social dialogue and the role of the business organizations and the trade unions to achieve the stability of the system.

Regarding the meetings held by the business organizations with the different political parties before the elections, Mr. Garamendi explained that they asked for “stability and responsibility”. Furthermore, he remarked the financing needs of the companies: despite the recovery of the credit market, its improvement is still too slow. Default in payment also concerns the businesspeople.

Towards the future, the Chairman of CEPYME and CONFEMETAL mentioned  “Innovation and Development” as one of the most important areas to work for the companies, as well as “Training”. Mr. Garamendi understands that the businesspeople have not been good enough in respect of “Training” and this failure has to be reverted.

Mr. Alejandro Aznar, the President of the Spanish Maritime Cluster, took the floor again and emphasized the importance of the shipping industry as a driving force of our economy and suggested the need to establish, inside CONFEMETAL, an organization that agglutinates and represents the shipbuilding industry in Spain.