Speech by President of the Government at closing ceremony of 2nd Entrepreneurs and Independent Contractors Forum, organised by the National Federation of Independent Contractors (Spanish acronym: ATA)

Córdoba

Mr President of the ATA, ministers, Mr Mayor, Mr President of the Regional Government of Cantabria, dear friends, Mr President of the Business Leaders of Andalusia, Mr President of PIMEC, Mr Lorenzo Amor, a very good day to you all.

Mr Mayor, once again it is an honour to be here in your city, in Cordoba, the city you are mayor of. We all know that a mayor's work is not always easy, but it is satisfying because you can see many problems resolved, you are involved in day-to-day issues, you deal with people personally and you can see how your decisions take effect in very short time-spans. It is, in short, very satisfying work, and I imagine that in your case, being a city such as this, it is all the more satisfying. I believe that it is a privilege to be the Mayor of Cordoba as it is to be able to come here from time to time - and indeed I would like to come more often - to this city, to Cordoba.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The honour is two-fold for me today: I am in Cordoba and, furthermore, I am with the ATA - the National Federation of Independent Contractors, taking part in this 2nd Entrepreneurs and Independent Contractors Forum as part of which we are celebrating, as the president reminded us, the 20th anniversary of the federation. For that reason, I would like to start my speech by congratulating you all, particularly Lorenzo Amor, who has been re-elected. I congratulate you on the work you have carried out over the course of these years and for your defence of independent contractors, which is the same as the defence of the general interests of Spain, of employment and of the well-being of the people of Spain as a whole. Many congratulations!

Ladies and gentlemen,

This is not the first time I have been with you. I was with you when I was Leader of the Opposition and also being President of the Government of Spain. I have listened to you and, believe me, when I say that I have learned from you. I appreciate your concerns perfectly. We have been able to tackle some of them while others - some of which have already been mentioned here today - have not been possible; but rest assured that they will be in the future. I would like you to know that the government values what you do and we are right behind you.

And now, at this closing event, I would like to make some comments about our country, Spain; about the economy of our country; about what we have been through in the last few years; about what we are going through now; about the role of independent contractors and small- and medium-sized enterprises in our country; about the government's role and about the objective that I believe we should together set for the future.

As you are aware, Spain has gone through - and is still suffering the consequences of it - one of the worst economic crises in our history. These have been tough times; they have been truly tough times. In 2012, less than three years ago, Spain was on the verge of bankruptcy, Spain was on the verge of a bailout such as other countries in the European Union were forced to request, which left them without economic sovereignty and which were forced to undertake an economic policy and adopt measures dictated by others; measures which were very tough.

Hence, obtaining finance was very difficult, and you know this better than anyone; the price of money was too high; the risk premium, at historic highs and permanently on the front page of the media, today it no longer exists; the Spanish economy was suffering from all the imbalances imaginable -public deficit, inflation, deficit of the foreign trade sector - the financial system was, at least a significant part of it, quite simply bankrupt, and the consequences of all this, the worst of it all was the economic recession, with various years of negative growth and high unemployment. In the previous legislature alone, the number of people who lost their job in Spain increased by the astronomical figure of 3.4 million.

Many decisions had to be taken, and they weren't easy and they weren't simple. Among other things, Spain had lost 70 billion euros in two years in tax revenue. Between 2008 and 2009, Spain lost 70 billion euros; which converts to some 11 trillion pesetas in the old currency. That situation was not easy and we were forced to take, with no other option, as I have just mentioned, complicated measures.

That was how we were in 2012, not half a century ago or even a decade ago, but less than three years ago. But, since then, fortunately, our country has changed. I will not bore you with details, but there are certain things I would like to remind you of: no-one today is talking about a bailout for Spain, no-one today is talking about Spain being bankrupt and no-one today is talking, fortunately, about the risk premium, or the imbalances of the Spanish economy. And, most importantly, as Lorenzo Amor said in his speech, Spain is now growing for the first time in recent years, and furthermore, it heads up the growth chart in Europe, and it is also creating jobs for the first time in many years. 2014 was the first year since 2006 in which Spain has created jobs and unemployment has fallen.

Dear friends, things have changed, although there is still a lot to do, but the outlook has taken on a different hue.

I would like to say something else. I want to say thank you because the key players in this change which have caused this new economic situation in our country are many; fundamentally, the whole of Spanish society, but within that category, this change has been headed up by our independent contractors. In very difficult circumstances for them - you are also aware of this better than me: without credit, without consumption and without getting paid, and here we are talking about the debts owed by our public authorities - you have found a way, as Lorenzo Amor said, to build and not destroy; and, above all, you have found how to withstand the pressure during the most complicated times, because anyone can do that in the easy times.

You have found a way to come out on top, you have known how to help the recovery along and there are now more of you than at the end of 2011. There are currently 43,000 more independent contractors in Spain than when we came to power and, moreover, they have created significant net employment in our country. That is wonderful news and, above all, it is wonderful news in terms of the future of our country.

In relation to this future, I want to say something else to you: we need you. Spain needs large companies, it needs them; it needs medium-sized companies, it also needs them; but Spain needs, above all, a large number of independent contractors. It needs your dreams, your hard work, your commitment, your dedication and your entrepreneurial spirit. There will be more jobs, more well-being and more wealth if there are more small- and medium-sized enterprises and more independent contractors in our country.

owadays, the independent contractor is the backbone of the Spanish economy and a great asset for our country. We need you, and moreover, we are right behind you.

I said this before -and I will repeat the same words- that we are aware of your concerns, we have been able to tackle some of them while others have not been possible; but rest assured that they will be in the future. I will not bore you with what you already know, but measures such as the Supplier Payment Plan, the flat-rate National Insurance contribution and the entrepreneur contract are all steps in the right direction, among others you are also aware of.

We have had to fight hard together to achieve this. As regards credit, this is one of the main problems we have undergone in our country over recent years, but last year, for the first time in many years, credit increased for small- and medium-sized enterprises. It did not increase as much as the government would have liked, but it increased and this year it will also increase.

We will continue working together. I have listened to your proposals today, some interesting and fair proposals - I agree they are fair - and sensible proposals. And we will deal with them to the extent that is possible. We have done some things, and we will do even more in the future, but this has not been easy to date. This has not been easy when you lose 70 billion euros in tax revenue and then have to meet certain public deficit targets as high as 9% while paying for the 10-year bond at more than 7%. We are now paying 1.1% - just yesterday; the 10-year bonus is being paid at 1.1% now in our country.

So, we will continue to do things. I want to announce today that in the next few weeks, we will present a Draft Law Updating the Statute on Self-Employment and Driving the Social Economy, a document that will organise and systematise the raft of incentives for self-employment that are presently in force with the aim of providing greater clarity and legal certainty. We will extend and incorporate new incentives and new measures such as to enable those independent contractors that are already benefiting from the flat rate to hire new employees without this meaning they have to renounce the incentives provided, and the possibility of future independent contractors and entrepreneurs, of any age, capitalising up to 100% of their unemployment benefit to start up an independent economic activity or, if they prefer, combine the benefit with the start of entrepreneurial activity.

We are going to try to attend to some of the petitions made to us here, but this year the reform of the new Personal Income Tax and Corporate Income Tax brackets have come into force, which means a significant reduction in the fiscal burden on taxpayers. This reform will continue into 2016. This year we are also obliged to continue controlling the public deficit, which is one of the commitments to our European partners, but, above all, controlling the public deficit and fiscal consolidation are a priority for continuing with economic recovery, to continue growing and to generate more jobs.

I will finish now. As I said before, history is exactly what it is, and we can learn from history, but what is important is the future and what should be important in this future here, in Spain, is to create jobs. That must be the main national priority. There will undoubtedly be many others, but that is the main one. Employment means quality of life for people, but employment also means well-being for everyone. Sometimes, people talk about what one public authority or another is spending on one service or another, but in order to have a sound Welfare State, which Spain does indeed have, we need resources and there are only resources available if there are jobs. Someone who works, apart from working, is a person who pays his taxes and, if he pays his taxes, tax revenue rises, there are more resources for our public authorities, and hence there are more and better public services.

In Spain there are more than 9 million pensioners. We have one of the best public pension systems in the world, but in order to maintain this, we need people in work who pay their National Insurance contributions. Hence, Spain's target for the time being and for the years to come can be none other than job creation.

I have raised the figure of 20 million people in work as a target to achieve over the next four years. This can be done for one simple reason that you all understand perfectly; not long ago there were this number of people in work in Spain. We need to create at least half a million jobs each of the next five years. This can be done because last year, in 2014, 440,000 net jobs were created with growth of 1.4%. This year we will grow by at least 2.4%, and hence, between the years 2014 and 2015 one million net jobs will be created, and in the next few years we need to create at least half a million jobs each year. This can be done; it is absolutely possible. 575,000 jobs here, in Andalusia.

To achieve this target which I repeat, is the main national objective from which we should not be distracted by compromises, stories, rumours or gossip… The main national objective is to create jobs because that converts to well-being, wealth and public services, and caring for people. That is the main national objective. And that is where you all come in.

There are 3,114,852 of you; the self-employed in Spain, and here in Andalusia there are 485,256 of you. There are now 72,614 more of you. Better put, on 31 December last year, 2014, there were 76,614 more independent contractors than on 31 December 2013. This year, in 2015, we need 100,000 more and this can be achieved because if we managed 72,614 last year with growth of only 1.4%, then this year, with higher growth, it will be around 100,000 and in the next four years we need half a million.

That is what the President of the Government brings here as a reflection. Working together Spain will come out on top, if we all pull in the same direction. I believe that the objective is very clear, but what we need to do now is continue working. You have risen to the circumstances at a very difficult time for Spain and credit for that can go to your organisation.

Thank you very much.