Madrid
Mr President of the European Central Bank, esteemed Rector, civil and academic authorities, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,
Very few companies founded by man are destined to endure for more than a century and fewer still are those which exceed the threshold of 100 years with the quality, prestige and success of Deusto Business School.
I wanted, in the first place, to congratulate the whole academic community on the centenary of this institution, but I also wanted to express my heartfelt congratulations for another, equally meaningful, reason: you have not had to wait anywhere like 100 years for the name of Deusto in general, and its distinguished "Comercial" in particular, to become, both within Spain and abroad, a synonym for excellence, one of the great breeding grounds for talent, not from our country, but from all over Europe.
Ladies and gentlemen,
There is no goal, whether academic, commercial or of any other nature that can be projected through time so positively if it is not founded on sound principles and values. If we look for the ultimate reason for the success of the Deusto University and Business School, we need to turn precisely to its principles and values.
We can talk, as its founders already said, about "the quality and rigour of training", about the compatibility of theoretic study with practice and its pioneering commitment to the study of languages, which proved to be almost prescient in its aptness. And we can also speak about maintaining a tradition and certain hallmarks that the school has found a way, over the course of the years, to add to the moments of avant-garde inspiration that define each point in time: from internationalisation to a commitment to innovation, from support for entrepreneurship to a decisive boost to digitalisation.
Embracing the forefront of knowledge has undoubtedly become, as we can see, one of the hallmarks of Deusto. We are looking at the first university centre for business studies founded in Spain. And one of the merits of this institution is precisely that it has managed to convert these hallmarks into the key to its success, and there is nothing that better defines the vision and mission of this university than its emphasis on the humanist vision and the primacy of ethics in the conduct of the managers who study here.
Hence, this Deusto Business School has managed to become, to use corporate jargon, a "success story", because it not only teaches us that the commitment most required is a commitment to knowledge and that the investment with the greatest return is an investment in knowledge, but also shows us that this knowledge, far from running out, makes all the more sense when put to the service of society.
You don't need to go far to find examples: each new generation of graduates from Deusto has offered us great business leaders and academic eminences, as well as leading public servants; one of these alumni has spoken to us here today - Joaquín Almunia. That is why I want to say that there is not only a great deal to admire in Deusto, but that we should also be very grateful because over these 100 years this institution has lived through some heady dramas and the greatest successes of contemporary Spain, without ever ceasing to provide us with the excellence of the greatest minds and because, in everything that has happened from the industrial revolution in the Basque Country through to the digital transformation of our country, the "Deusto stamp" has never ceased to be an asset for the progress of Spain.
For all these reasons, I say to you that I feel truly honoured to have been invited to take part in this event and I wish to thank the academic staff as a whole for the opportunity to address them. I say this after having listened to one of those people who, because of his lucidity, knowledge and experience, we must always listen to in Europe, Mario Draghi, whose presence here is an honour for Spain.
It has been a privilege for those of us who admire his ability to offer an intelligible summary of the dilemmas facing the European economy to listen to the master class given by the President of the European Central Bank, and for all those of us who feel justified in our traditional Spanish pro-European stance when gauging the quality of his diagnosis and proposals for improvement.
Ladies and gentlemen,
With your permission, I am going to make a few very brief and light comments on the situation of the Spanish economy and what I believe we must do here and in Europe in the future.
No-one is blind to the complicated challenges that the crisis posed and the first responsibility in responding to these challenges falls on each individual country. It is at a national level that economic policies must be applied that allow imbalances to be corrected. We are talking, on the one hand, about suitable fiscal consolidation policies that return certainty to the markets and allow confidence to be recovered, and, in parallel, about an ambitious policy of structural reforms that guarantees the good functioning of the goods and services markets, and strengthens our ability to compete in the global economy.
That is what Spain has done over recent years and today we can see the results: Spain now heads up the table of growth and job creation in the European Union and has comfortably recovered the confidence of investors and financial markets.
But this effort at national reform can be more successful with European support. And that is precisely what Mario Draghi and the European Central Bank have appreciated. The policies carried out by the ECB in recent years have allowed the confidence in a sound Euro to be maintained, even at the most complicated times and, particularly since 2014, have contributed in a major fashion to growth and job creation.
In this regard, I can but thank President Draghi for his decisive actions. His work has helped resolve the crisis and that is highly valued by the Government of Spain.
Dear friends,
The Economic and Monetary Union has overcome an unprecedented crisis, thanks to a joint effort, as I have just said, from the EU institutions and Member States. However, the Euro is still facing some major challenges, and hence we must all continue working towards consolidating, if possible, the European project, a source of well-being for our citizens. I assert this from a personal and political conviction, because Spain's participation in the European project and its status as a founding member of the Euro has undoubtedly been, despite all the difficulties, the key to our past and present prosperity, as it will be to the future.
That is why we cannot distance ourselves from the future of the Economic and Monetary Union. And that must also drive us at both a national and European level.
At a national level, we must maintain our fiscal consolidation policy and control the public deficit. We are facing an important time in terms of taking a major step forward, because the government will shortly present Parliament with the ceiling on spending and the budget stability and public debt targets for the coming years. In turn, it is necessary for us to continue undertaking further reforms and it is obviously absolutely necessary that no-one tries to repeal the reforms that have been shown to work, as we have heard this morning.
Ladies and gentlemen,
My government's priority is, as everyone knows, to consolidate the economic recovery and maintain the strong rate of job creation. I firmly believe that the reforms we have undertaken in recent years in Spain have been decisive for putting the crisis behind us and for allowing us to enjoy the recovery we are now witnessing. If one thing defines that stage in our governance, it has been the reformist ambition that guided it.
But structural reforms are also necessary at a European level, particularly in the Eurozone. This crisis clearly highlighted flaws in the design of the single currency. The Euro is at the epicentre of the European project and the cornerstone of the single market. It is necessary to guarantee a sound Euro, which generates confidence, because it is only if we ensure that the monetary union functions correctly that its benefits can filter down to all our citizens.
In order to achieve this goal, it is key to make progress on integration. Europe needs more, or, if you prefer, better integration. My government has a clear idea of where we should be heading and on many occasions I have expressed just this to my European colleagues.
The Eurozone economies must converge more. This happens, firstly, by strengthening the internal market. In particular, Spain places great emphasis on such areas as Energy Union, the Digital Agenda and services. These are essential elements for ensuring the competitiveness of our economies and their future projection.
But it is necessary to go one step further. In the long term, the Economic and Monetary Union must move towards a genuine European fiscal policy, capable of accompanying and expanding the single currency policy; a fiscal policy that must include common instruments to tackle the current economic difficulties faced by Member States.
But that can only take place if our economies perform in a similar manner and if their economic cycles are more expansive. This must be the goal for the coordination of national economic policies, while always respecting principle of subsidiarity.
These are fundamental bases for our common goal of building Europe, and not just any Europe, but a more integrated, stronger, more competitive Europe that is capable of generating growth, and creating jobs and well-being for its citizens which, at the end of the day, is what matters.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I will end now. Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend an event to award prizes to a privileged ensemble of outstanding entrepreneurs, people who brim with talent and who are the best image of a modern-day, dynamic Spain, and today I have the honour of taking part in an event which demonstrates the excellent international level attained by such deeply rooted institutions as Deusto. Barely 24 hours later, I have once again been a privileged witness to a positive combination of talent and knowledge that make up one of the best value proposals in today's world.
Spain has the best raw materials available to convert uncertainties into opportunities and to triumph in the crucial years ahead. We can once again feel the throbbing pulse of recent decades, we are on the path to curing all the wounds inflicted by the crisis on our vital fabric and this all leads us to think that, if we carry on in the right direction we will be in a position to go a long way.
We have a credible story and an inspiring project for our citizens, we are knocking on the door to the future with ambitious credentials and with the intention of making this ambition catch hold beyond our borders, and we intend to head up, together with our partners, a common project in which Spain found its true calling many years ago and to which it will never cease to be committed or supportive. Whilst serious and complicated unforeseen events may take place that are difficult to manage, we always bounce back stronger than before and look to the future with pride and the assurance that we can be the masters of our own destiny.
Thank you very much.