Where are we going, the four engines?

The latest data on the economic weight of the different autonomous regions in the Spanish total have generated the usual reading: Madrid increases it and Catalonia manages to maintain it. It is a correct conclusion, but it is convenient to put it into perspective, both in terms of time and the European context.

When, around the year 2000, I became involved in political responsibilities in the government of Catalonia, we had in the Europe of the regions some travel companions that we valued highly: the Four Motors for Europe. We were Baden-Württemberg, Catalonia, Lombardy, and Rhône-Alpes (today Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes), all exponents of Europe's historical industrial dynamism. The relationship still exists. But it seems to me that it has lost centrality in our foreign action. If I am wrong, I will be glad, because there was brotherhood among us. At the time, I learned a lot from Baden-Württemberg, which, as a German federal state, had the same political weight as us.

How have the four of us fared since 2000? I focus on the comparison of the weight (percentage) of the EU-27 population in each region with the corresponding weight in the EU-27 GDP. I also broaden the range and add two longtime cousins: Bavaria and Veneto, and a neighbor, Madrid, whom we deal with a lot.

The seven regions had in 2000 a percentage of European GDP above that of the population. They continue to have it in 2025, except for Catalonia, which matches it. From 2000 to 2025, all seven increase in demographic weight (to a greater degree Catalonia and Madrid, and to a lesser degree Veneto and Baden-Württemberg), and all lose weight in the EU-27 GDP, except for Catalonia and Madrid, which gain (more Madrid than Catalonia). Regarding GDP per capita, and at 2000 prices, all fall in relation to the European average (which has increased by 33%), with Madrid, Bavaria, and Baden-Württemberg as those that fall the least, and Veneto and Lombardy as those that fall the most. Catalonia remains at an intermediate point.

Among these siblings and cousins, Catalonia has its peculiarities. Some unfavorable ones have always been there (we continue to be the less prosperous relative). Others are favorable (we have maintained our weight in the GDP of the EU-27). But that said, these old industrial regions of Europe are a natural benchmark for us. We would do well to participate creatively in their process of evolution towards economies based on new technological revolutions, which are highly dependent on frontier knowledge. We have the academic, research, and industrial foundations to be able to do so.

In fact, I think that our economic future depends on four factors:

1. It is foreseeable that the EU will embark on some type of new industrial policy. We must be there from the beginning. But we must be aware that the EU does not have an engine of the adequate power. Whether through the EU or intergovernmental agreements (coalitions of the willing), we would benefit from a European level of action endowed with much more muscle.

2. I would say that Madrid's success, with its enviable concentration of high value-added services—and corresponding good salaries—cannot be unrelated to the fact of being the capital of a historically highly centralized country. To the extent that this depends on politics—it depends on it a lot—it follows that one must know how to do politics with intelligence and pragmatism. If there is another opportunity like the European Medicines Agency, let it not slip away from us.

3. The Catalan (and Spanish) public administration is not agile or facilitating enough regarding innovative activity. It is timid. It tends more towards evaluation based on strict compliance with rules and procedures than on results. For Catalonia, this is a self-inflicted wound. We are a world of small and medium-sized enterprises. We cannot afford for the major economic player we have – the public administration – to struggle to assume the facilitating role that suits the economy. It makes no sense, for example, that with the housing crisis striking us, urban planning and building permit processing remains slow. By the way, the joint purchasing initiative presented by President Illa this week is interesting.

4. Finally, the social mindset is too negative and instinctively conservative. Out of the multitude of dead ends that confront us, we will only find a way out with projects that have a touch of boldness. But these frighten us and generate countless platforms in opposition.

The consequence of all this may be that the new European industry thrives in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, the Veneto, Rhône-Alpes, or Lombardy. But that the Catalan locomotive lacks the strength to be there too. Hopefully, that will not be the case.