The Two “Paradoxes” Affecting the Industry
During the opening of the 8th “Industrial Congress”, organised by the relevant ministry and held on 4 and 5 February in Bilbao, Regional Minister Jauregi spoke about the current geopolitical context, its impact on both the European and Basque industrial sectors, and the importance of strategic autonomy.
Euskadi is an industrial nation. “We want to take a leading role in Europe’s reindustrialisation,” he stated. In that regard, he stressed that “to take the lead on this path, we need to create the right conditions here in Euskadi, as well as in the rest of the country.”
He took the opportunity to highlight what he described as two paradoxes currently affecting industry.
“On the one hand, across Spain we generate some of the cheapest electricity in Europe, thanks to renewable resources such as the sun and the wind. However, the final price paid by industry is significantly higher — much higher — compared to other European countries.
There are cases where electricity costs for our industry are 165% higher than in France and 35% higher than in Germany. Both countries have achieved this price reduction through regulatory frameworks that are clearly favourable to electro-intensive industrial sectors.
I refer to regulated charges, tax burdens, and other instruments provided by the European Union which we are not taking advantage of to the extent we should.
On the other hand, there is another paradox regarding public funding for industry. We all recall that years ago, in response to the impact that COVID had on the sector, a large amount of public funding was allocated with the aim of reviving strategic industrial projects. Today, however, those initial lifelines for our industry have become anchors, dragging some projects to the bottom.
We need to be more flexible and reach a new agreement with Europe on how to manage this public debt, which continues to accumulate in many of our companies and is threatening their long-term viability.”
Jauregi reaffirmed the Basque Government’s full willingness to work together with other administrations to explore these and other pathways, always in defence of Euskadi’s industrial future.
