The Cercle d'Economia aspires to awaken Europe in its annual conference

To give a wake-up call to Europe and make it aware of international geopolitical uncertainty. This is the objective that the Cercle d'Economia will pursue during its annual meeting, which this year reaches its 40th edition. Under the title Europe: wake-up call? How to respond in a moment of geopolitical disruption, the conferences will be held between May 5 and 7 at the Palau de Congressos de Barcelona and will feature about thirty speakers from the political and business fields to address issues such as defense, international trade, the climate crisis, and immigration.

"The advent of the new American administration, with Donald Trump at the head of the White House, and this disruptive change in world geopolitics have made this reflection on Europe more relevant than ever," said Jaume Guardiola, president of the Cercle d'Economia. For this reason, the annual meeting will address, with political and business agents, what Europe's response to this hostile environment should be, a response that is "urgent and necessary," according to the institution.

Despite this uncertain global context, Guardiola has assessed that the scenario in Catalonia is "more pacified, and things are starting to work after some years outside active growth policies." At a Spanish level, the president of the institution highlighted "remarkable economic growth, despite a very polarized environment and some elements still pending resolution," such as productivity.

To address these issues, the conferences will revolve around two main axes, geopolitics and economics, and will feature more than thirty representatives from both worlds. From the business sector, the participation of the CEO of the Renault group, Luca de Meo; the CEO of Mango, Toni Ruiz; the executive president of Telefónica, Marc Murtra; the president of Farmaindustria, Fina Lladós; the former governor of the Bank of Spain, Pablo Hernández de Cos, or the Bank of America executive Francisco Blanc, stands out.

On the other hand, they will also feature the president of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations, Jim Skea, to address topics related to sustainability and inequalities, as well as the economist Branko Milanovic, who has worked at the World Bank and is a specialist in inequality.

Among the confirmed political representatives are the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez; the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo; the President of the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez-Feijóo; the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa; and the Minister of Economy, Alícia Romero. Representatives from the European Union will also participate, such as the Executive Vice-Presidents of the European Commission, Teresa Ribera and Roxana Minzatu, or the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa.

More participatory conferences

In the fortieth edition of the annual meeting of the Cercle d'Economia, which are the oldest economic conferences held in all of Spain ---since the first meeting was organized in 1961 on the Costa Brava--- the institution also wants to introduce changes to create a "closer debate" with innovative formats. Thus, with the idea of breaking the barrier between speakers and attendees, the institution will organize an inverse dynamic activity. Under the title What role does Spain play in Europe, MEPs Javi López (PSC), Diana Riba (ERC), and Adrián Vázquez (PP) will participate in a debate that will be shaped by the audience's questions and opinions. On the other hand, small-format meetings with the speakers will also be held to offer a space for conversation to delve into specific aspects and share different points of view. Within the framework of its annual meeting, the Cercle d'Economia will also present the V Cercle d'Economia Award for European Construction, which this year is awarded to the Erasmus+ program, as well as the Lara award for business ambition and purpose, which celebrates its sixth edition.