Luis de Guindos: "We must take advantage of the situation of uncertainty to improve integration"

During his speech, de Guindos pointed out that much of the economic growth that is taking place in Spain is due to immigration and warned that housing, especially rental housing, is becoming a "bottleneck" that could put a brake on the increase in Spanish GDP.

De Guindos urged Europe to work towards "independence and autonomy" from external actors and proposed that the region speak with "a single voice" to avoid the fragmentation of internal markets. "There is still a lot of national regulation that prevents us from being a single market. Situations of uncertainty such as the one we are experiencing must be used to get our act together and improve the integration process".

The ECB Vice-President also spoke of the need to increase defence spending. "The US has sent a clear message and Europe can no longer count on its umbrella of protection. Once again, the fundamental problem is again fragmentation", he said.

The vice-rector for Identity and Mission, and for Alumni and Students, Jaime Tatay SJ, was in charge of welcoming de Guindos, recalling that "his experience and knowledge combined with his capacity for dialogue make this a very enriching meeting for the entire university community".