A very clear mandate: public-private collaboration needs to be strengthened, which is not as good as it seems, and without which Spain will fall behind in the digitalisation processes of all productive sectors. This is the main demand that Ametic, the technological employers’ association, has made clear at its annual event held in Santander and marking the start of the technological year.
Although the Association’s top officials have not pointed the finger at the Central Government or at the other regional and local governments, they have hinted that it is the political parties and their inability to reach agreements that are responsible for the fact that progress is not being made at the speed demanded by the market. The problems affect, more than private companies, the Public Administrations, which are falling far behind in the digital transformation, which results in worse services for citizens and lower productivity.
The Minister of Industry, Jordi Hereu, was the main government official who attended the event, replacing the minister of industry, José Luis Escrivá, who was more concerned with his foreseeable appointment as governor of the Bank of Spain than with attending the event that marks the start of the technological year. Hereu ignored the association’s demands and focused on highlighting the positive economic data: “This is a start of the year that takes place in an economic environment that is growing at 2.4% and that is solid growth. We have an economy that shows resistance in an environment that is not easy.” The minister highlighted the role of Ametic as an association to advance in what he called the fourth industrial revolution in which we are immersed. “Innovation is the engine to gain in productivity and competitiveness. We are now in the fourth industrial revolution and technology companies are the engine of innovation in the sectors. Ametic represents that engine and plays a prominent role in innovation because without innovation there will be no future for the Spanish and European economy.”
The Minister of Industry also stressed that one of his main objectives as minister is to undertake a collective project such as the Law on Industry and Strategic Autonomy. In it, “we will incorporate challenges of the industrial sector in Spain.” This law, he insisted, “cannot be the product of just one ministry, but of a great pact of the whole country.”
This great national pact is a nod to the demands of Ametic, which stresses the need to establish state pacts to move forward and ensure that the different sectors are not left behind compared to other countries. The president of Ametic, Pedro Mier, said that “these state pacts have to be focused on reindustrialization, training and innovation. We believe that it is necessary and we feel we have the right and obligation to demand, and this is not a demand to governments, but to political parties, that there must be agreements on issues that have a long-term impact on our industry; because if they have a long-term impact on our industry, they have a long-term impact on society.”
The landscape that Mier described was grim as far as Public Administrations are concerned. In his opinion, it is more than necessary to modernise the Administration. “We must ensure the digital transformation of the Administration, to avoid problems with managers and companies, as is the case with the distribution of funds. Administrative and legal mechanisms are sometimes so rigid that they prevent the correct functioning of procedures. From this sector, from civil society, we demand action along these lines that, as I say, goes beyond the parties. There are many problems in this sector in its modernisation and we cannot continue like this. This goes beyond the parties.”
How to move forward
Beyond the claims, the CEO of the Santander Bank, Ángel Rivera, pointed out how collaboration and change are two fundamental concepts. Rivera denounced that “there is talk of public-private collaboration, but I have the feeling that many times these are empty words. We have to have collaboration because to cooperate is to win. We have to have a mentality of moving forward as a country. In Spain there is a lot of talent and we have to start having collaboration protocols. We have to have a path of public-private collaboration so that the projects are developed quickly, because we are losing competitiveness. We have to approve the execution of the final phase of the European funds so that growth is long-term and structural.”
In this environment, to advance growth and digitalization, Red.es plays a fundamental role. The public entity has been working for two decades focused on the digital transformation of Spain. Within the framework of the Ametic event, the general director of Red.es, Jesús Herrero, accompanied by the director of Administration and Finance, Luis Palomo, reviewed the most relevant milestones achieved by the entity, as well as the challenge posed by the budget increase in recent years, where it has gone from managing 317 million euros in 2021 to nearly 1,600 in 2024, which represents an increase of more than 400%. They have also valued the magnitude of programs to promote the digital transformation of our business fabric, such as Kit Digital or Kit Consulting, favoring the reduction of inequality between small and medium-sized companies and an increase in their productivity.
At its annual event in Santander, Ametic has stressed that political parties should reach state agreements on reindustrialisation, training and innovation
Some of the achievements of the entity’s work are reflected in the second Report on the state of the Digital Decade, published in July, which places Spain in a reference position in terms of connectivity, with a fibre coverage of more than 95% compared to the European average of 64% or in the digitalisation of SMEs, with 61% of at least basic digital intensity compared to the average of 58%. It also exceeds the average in at least basic digital skills, with more than 10 points above, and the digitalisation of public services (84% compared to 79%). Two Red.es initiatives are also highlighted as good practices: the launch of the Digital Rights Observatory and the promotion of the Digital Rights Charter, with agreements signed with more than 50 entities and nearly 150 collaborators.
Government announcements
Despite the absence of Minister Escrivá, the Government did not want to miss the opportunity to announce new initiatives. In this case, it was the Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures, María González Veracruz, who was in charge of announcing the launch of new calls to continue deploying fixed and mobile connectivity throughout the country. These are the Redes Activas 5G II and Banda Ancha 2024 programs. Both are part of the Government’s strategy to consolidate Spain as a leader in digital transformation and in the 4th industrial revolution through a public investment of more than 2 billion euros since 2018 to provide our country with more robust digital infrastructures.
González Veracruz stressed that “thanks to the investments and policies implemented, Spain has positioned itself as the second country in Europe with the best fibre optic connectivity. With more than 92.5% of households connected at speeds of up to 1 Gbps, the country continues to advance towards full digitalisation, which will allow Spain to consolidate itself as a benchmark in the global technological field.”
In this regard, the Secretary of State has pointed out that “in order to achieve this, we have a key tool that we are going to use as a Government to lead this time, which is the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT). A recently created public business entity to promote innovation, which is beginning its journey with almost 20 billion euros in financial instruments in the form of loans, subsidies and capital investments.
