Mariano Rajoy asserts that there are no "economic risks" and advocates common sense to deal with "certain political uncertainties"

SEAT Plant, Martorell (Barcelona)

At the closing ceremony of the event to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the SEAT Technical Centre, Mariano Rajoy expressed his conviction that "the worst of the crisis is now behind us". Just three years ago, he stressed that there was only talk of the recession and of the threat of a bailout, while now Spain is the European Union country enjoying the greatest economic growth and jobs are being created at a rate of 8% per annum.

The President of the Government pointed out that "there is still a lot to do" in such areas as training, R&D+i and on taxation but expressed his "optimism at the future ahead". In his opinion, "Spain will enjoy major economic growth, as long as the wrong policies are not adopted, and if it persists and perseveres with the economic policies that have led to such positive results".

Mariano Rajoy asserted that he cannot see "any risks to the Spanish economy in economic terms; although I can see certain uncertainties in political areas, which is the greatest problem at this time for the Spanish economy". He also declared that "a phase is now starting where we will need to apply common sense more than ever before, and I certainly believe in the common sense of the Spanish people".

The automotive sector: key and strategic

Pool MoncloaThe President of the Government recalled that Spain is the second leading automobile manufacturer in Europe and the ninth in the world, and highlighted the "strategic and key" role played by the sector, whose executives and workers he thanked "for what they have done and continue to do for our country".

After a "complicated time", he said, the sector "has overcome the problems of the past and strengthened its position". In 2014, 2.4 million vehicles were manufactured in Spain and year-on-year growth currently exceeds 13%. The President of the Government also underlined that employment in the sector is rising at levels of 3.5% annually and that vehicle exports have risen by 11.1% in 2015, more than double the export of capital goods and merchandise as a whole.

Commitment to Spain

The President of the Government described SEAT and the Volkswagen Group - the owners SEAT since 1986 - as "an exceptional benchmark in the sector". He pointed out that 14,000 people are employed by SEAT, and the Technical Centre alone has a workforce of 900 engineers.

Pool Moncloa"The most important feature of Volkswagen and SEAT is that there is a decisive commitment to continue working on future models and on the development of new versions with very low levels of consumption, and furthermore, the most important thing for us as Spaniards is the commitment, as we have seen and heard again today, to continue investing in the future", stressed Mariano Rajoy, in reference to the 3.3 billion euros that the Group will invest in Catalonia between 2015 and 2019.

For the President of the Government, this commitment shows that Spain is a key country for this company's strategy and represents a "guarantee for the future" of its plants in Spain.