Towards the digital transformation of industry hand in hand with a more united Europe

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he recovery fund launched by the European Union will reach 750 billion euros, of which 140 billion euros will serve to refloat Spanish companies and the economy over the next four years. However, this economic effort also brings great challenges.

On the one hand, Alfonso Ayuso, head of Regulation and Public Policies at Banco Santander, has pointed out that this investment implies "the need to finance" these funds. To achieve this, "there is already talk of creating a new type of European debt" which, in his opinion, would represent a further step towards "the fiscal union" of the EU. However, Ayuso has warned that the path towards a single market will involve managing "the concessions" in terms of taxation that member states will have to make to be able to adhere to common regulations.

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On the other hand, Josu Ugarte, president of Schneider Electric in Spain and Portugal, has assured that "the challenge will be to simplify" the channels so that European aid reaches "the five thousand medium-sized companies that generate 40% of employment in the country." According to Ugarte, exporting companies will have to move towards "multilocalization," forging alliances in the different countries in which they operate.

Therefore, both Ayuso and Ugarte have emphasized the fundamental role that the administration, financial institutions, and business associations have in ensuring that the Spanish business fabric "advances towards digital transformation." For Ayuso, the European recovery fund will be a "magnificent opportunity" to achieve this, although the challenge will be for the agents involved to "optimize the funds" in the best possible way.

In turn, Ugarte has warned that in the future "growth" will come from medium-sized companies, so providing them with "the necessary technological capabilities" is the best way for them to "maintain competitiveness" on the international stage.