There was anticipation this Thursday at the Círculo de Economía (Circle of Economy) to hear from the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration and spokesperson for the Spanish government, Elma Saiz, as she was to speak on a topic that generates political and demagogic controversy: immigration. This very forum, chaired by Teresa Garcia-Milà, issued an opinion piece a few days ago calling for a moderation of the arrival of immigrants and its alignment with a new economic model based on greater productivity. It also demanded a "genuine immigration policy." Saiz, accustomed to touting the achievements of Pedro Sánchez's government (she even conveniently used this to conclude her statements to journalists before entering with a Not in war), he didn't completely satisfy when questioned.

The Minister of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration and spokesperson for the Spanish government, Elma Saiz, vehemently defended the extraordinary regularization program announced by the Executive. In a conversation with the president of the Círculo de Economía (Circle of Economy), Teresa Garcia-Milà, she stated that "orderly and integrated immigration is the key to sustaining economic prosperity in the coming decades." In response to questions from Garcia-Milà, she applauded the fact that some autonomous communities, such as Catalonia, are demanding powers regarding immigration within the constitutional framework. She acknowledged that there are issues, such as healthcare and others, that require local management. Saiz participated in the Cercle after the organization published an opinion piece a few days ago calling for the regulation of migration flows and their adaptation to an economic model based on improving productivity. The minister, who congratulated the Catalan organization for opening the debate on the issue, noted that the people who will be eligible for regularization "are already here" and rejected claims by some political groups that the new arrivals will overwhelm public services. The data, she added, shows that they do not overwhelm public services, but rather "contribute to sustaining them." It is, in any case, the responsibility of public administrations to size public services according to the population, the Spanish government spokesperson said. She asserted that "when immigration is managed well, it is not a threat but an opportunity for growth and for strengthening democratic society."

Today marks one month since the Gelida accident in which a trainee train driver died, which definitively plunged Cercanías into chaos, courtesy of Renfe, Adif and the Ministry of Transport (and which, by the way, significantly affected the AP-7).

The first opinion piece of Teresa Garcia-Milà's term as head of the Círculo de Economía (Circle of Economy) focuses on immigration, a phenomenon that all political parties, regardless of their political leanings, use more as an electoral tool and a means of conflict than as a means of finding solutions. A calm and in-depth debate is necessary to address this issue, as it is a structural one. In recent years, both Catalonia and Spain have experienced a surge in newcomers, which, while not the sole factor, has contributed to rising housing prices, as supply has failed to meet the accelerated demand, also putting pressure on public services. In a short time, compared to other countries, our numbers have grown significantly. Therefore, this prestigious forum, whose members represent a broad range of ideologies, has chosen to dedicate its opinion piece—the document through which it establishes its position on major issues—to a subject that is often treated demagogically by politicians. There are no magic formulas or easy solutions to a complex issue with many facets, from economic and labor issues to social ones, which has fallen too heavily into the hands of populist rhetoric.

The Circle of Economy has decided to address a central issue that sparks debate and even poisons politics: immigration. In an opinion piece, a document through which this organization expresses its views on essential matters, the Circle calls on the PSOE and the PP to reach an agreement to regulate immigration, which, it argues, requires treatment as a matter of national policy. The document, titled The need for a migration policy: production model, integration and social welfareThe Circle criticizes the lack of a "genuine immigration policy" in Catalonia and Spain and the application of "a succession of reactive and fragmented responses," such as the regularization announced by the Spanish government, which it sees as necessary but also as "an acknowledgment of failure, which should not perpetuate past mistakes." One of the Circle's recommendations is to review the "arraigo" (rooting) policy, which is rarely used in other countries and, although conceived as an exception, has become the most common way to obtain residency and employment. Furthermore, it contributes to the precariousness of the labor market, fosters a low-wage economic model in which per capita income does not grow sufficiently, and generates a pull factor that increases irregular immigration. Without specifying how, the Circle advocates "modulating" the entry of immigrants and aligning it with the objective of shifting towards a more productive and less labor-intensive economic model based on low wages.

For years, the arrival of tourists has steadily increased. This constant influx of visitors has significant economic implications. Tourism has become a strategic sector, representing around 11% of Catalonia's GDP, primarily due to... more than 20 million foreign tourists that were registered last year, a figure that has more than doubled in just 25 years. This unprecedented growth has also had consequences for residents, with the overcrowding of city centers and the loss of local identity, as well as the disappearance of thousands of apartments from the housing market due to their conversion into tourist apartments, which are much more profitable than conventional rentals.

"From an economic standpoint, it's certainly not a good agreement, but it's more or less tolerable. The political cost is another matter." With these words, he described the trade agreement between Brussels and Washington Ignacio García Bercero, analyst at the think tank Bruegel and for 35 years EU trade negotiator. At an event this Thursday at the Círculo de Economía (Circle of Economy) on the impact of tariffs, García Bercero lamented the European Commission's strategy in the face of the aggressive trade offensive by the US government under Donald Trump: "It has given a certain image of weakness to the EU," he opined, since the EU has ended up signing an agreement that is "just an agreement."

One outstanding issue for Catalonia is improving technology transfer, that is, the process of transforming knowledge from scientific and technological research into practical solutions or applications for the market. It is an essential element of innovation and, by extension, improving productivity, the variable that ensures long-term progress. The Basque Country in Spain and Flanders in Belgium are two benchmarks that Catalonia looks to, characterized by having innovative ecosystems focused on industry.

Jaume Guardiola is stepping aside and leaving public life; at least for the time being. The current president of the Círculo de Economía and chairman of the board of trustees of the Esade Foundation is retiring. Last week, the changeover at the Círculo took effect. Professor Teresa Garcia-Milà, and this week the replacement at the head of the Esade Foundation, Anna Xicoy, has been made official. Guardiola makes way for two women, who in both cases will be the first to hold these positions. Former CEO of Banc Sabadell and previously of BBVA, Guardiola also chaired the economic committee of Barça between 2021 and 2022. As life would have it, the former banker was the host of the Círculo conferences in which BBVA's takeover bid for Sabadell, the two banks of his life, was.

Teresa Garcia-Milà (Barcelona, ​​1955) has taken over from Jaume Guardiola as the head of the Círculo de Economía (Economics Circle) for the next three years. The economics professor has earned the title of being the first woman to preside over the organization in its 67-year history and asserts that she intends to continue the initiatives developed by the previous board. Garcia-Milà, who has a more academic profile than her predecessors, points to the challenge of productivity and the need to redefine the regional financing model as key pillars for the Catalan economy in the coming years.

A long round of applause resounded in the auditorium of the Círculo de Economía this Monday afternoon. It was a big day for the institution. Guardiola, a long-time executive in the banking sector who has earned the sympathy of the business and institutional sectors over the past three years at the helm of the Círculo, took stock of his three years in office and thanked the board of directors and the committee for their work during the last term. "We have carried out more than 100 activities, many linked to current issues or news [...]. And we have also seen how younger people have become more involved, although in this institution the concept of young "It's relative," Guardiola joked.

The Leitat technology center is undergoing a period of restructuring. After a few difficult years, in which the Vallesan entity It was forced to lay off 114 workers and accumulate debt that made its existence difficult. –which has survived largely thanks to the public injection of almost ten million euros from the Generalitat–, the center now seeks to enter a new era under the leadership of a new president, Ramon Pastor, a long-standing figure in the Catalan technology sector. Furthermore, the Círculo de Economía will have a woman as president for the first time in its history, and Carles Puig de Travy will repeat as dean of the College of Economists of Catalonia. These and many others are some of the main executive signings of the week.

Economics professor Teresa Garcia-Milà was appointed this Thursday as the new president of the Círculo de Economía, replacing Jaume Guardiola. She was the only candidate nominated to lead the institution. The deadline for submitting nominations was this Thursday, June 26, and there was no competition. Garcia-Milà, Elisabet Alier (president of Alier), Jordi Amat (philologist and writer), Maite Barrera (founder of Bluecap), Ignasi Biosca (CEO of Reig Jofre), Núria Cabutí (CEO of Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial), Clara Campàs (Clara Campàs), Pilar Conesa (president of Anteverti), Josep Franch (director of investments for southern Europe at Rockfield), Carmina Ganyet (corporate general manager of Inmobiliaria Colonial), Jordi Gual (professor of Economics at IESE), Pau Guardans (CEO of Único Hotels) (director of CIDOB), Osmar Polo (CEO and president of T-Systems Iberia), Marc Puig (president and CEO of Puig), Camino Quiroga (notary), Laura Urquizu (CEO and president of Red Points) and David Vegara (Executive Director-CRO of the Bank, Aspachs Technical Secretary and Xavier Vives will continue to lead the Productivity and Innovation Initiative (IPI).

What impact do advances in artificial intelligence have on industrial policy and labor market organization? How should industrial policies change in the face of the new world order? These are the questions that three renowned economists sought to answer: Richard Blundell, professor of economic policy at the University College London; Pinelopi Goldberg, professor of economics at Yale University; and Preston McAfee, distinguished economist at Google and former chief economist at Microsoft; at an event organized by the Círculo de Economía and the Barcelona School of Economics (BSE) and hosted by economist Andreu Mas-Colell.

The conferences organized by the Círculo de Economía have left us with a very disappointing and old-fashioned dialectic between the social convergence and the left-wing tripartite coalition. The parties of the Proceso coalition had opened a huge gap for anyone willing to put the reform of Catalonia's economic model at the center. Salvador Illa has come to power by installing himself in this field to run. But, just as everyone knows that Spain's good macroeconomic figures have no translation into real life and do not come from deep reforms (Miquel Puig has tiredly reminded us in these pages that the Spanish and Catalan economies have not increased productivity for 30 years, that we grow by importing workers) low cost (inflating a bubble that will sooner or later collapse the welfare state), the center-left and center-right proposals for the post-Process period radiate a stratospheric lack of ambition. Since everything the radical center puts on the table sounds like prolonging the agony of an essentially fraudulent model, a new credibility gap opens up, which the new right exploits in a perfectly logical way.

This morning Two conclave votes are scheduled, in Rome. Since the dean of cardinals gave Cardinal Parolin a double peace, it has been read between the lines that, this time, Parolin will contradict the saying: a cardinal will enter the conclave, and a pope will emerge. We'll see, because Pietro Parolin has campaigned, which began before Pope Francis's death, and there are cardinals who didn't like his candidacy. Parolin is more of a diplomat than a pastor; he's the current Secretary of State and he's the man who fits the idea that after a Polish pope, another German pope, and another Argentinian pope, the Vatican should put its house in order and return to an Italian pope, one who knows what's going on in the political and economic organization of the city. "inventions" (a word that refers to the Eurocentric vision of the Church). But we'll see.

Jaume Guardiola, president of the Círculo de Economía, could hardly have imagined that two of the three annual meetings under his tenure would be the subject of discussion about the future of the two banks that had shaped his professional and personal life until just five years ago. While last year's Círculo meeting—which fell right in the middle of the announcement of BBVA's takeover bid for Banc Sabadell—was a clear show of strength by both banks, with an overwhelming attendance of Sabadell executives who filled the auditorium; this year the discussion took to the podiums, where none of the speakers escaped answering the question "and the takeover bid, what about it?"

Inequality is growing in Europe, but it has fallen in recent years in Spain thanks to the strong performance of the labor market. senior of the Bank of Spain Laura Hospido, and the deputy director of the Foundation for Applied Economic Studies (Fedea, the think tank of banking and other large Spanish companies), José Ignacio Conde.

A new call for European integration, this time from the former governor of the Bank of Spain and future director of the Bank for International Settlements, Pablo Hernández de Cos, has called for the elimination of trade barriers within Europe as a measure to survive the tariff policies of US President Donald Trump. He said this at the Annual Meeting of the Círculo de Economía (Economics Circle), where he asserted that "in a context of potential deglobalization, this entails a loss of productivity, and the way to compensate for this is with greater European integration."

The PP has so far avoided taking an open position on BBVA's takeover bid for Banc Sabadell. That's why, this Tuesday, all eyes were on the party's leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who participated in the Círculo de Economía conference in Barcelona. "I like banking competition." Regarding what he did want to openly express his rejection of, he was on: The public consultation proposed this Monday by Spanish President Pedro Sánchez"I don't find it serious," Feijóo argued, calling the consultation a "frivolity unbecoming of a eurozone economy."