Andorra la VellaThe president of the Andorran Family Business (EFA), Daniel Armengol, regretted this Friday the “reactive” policies that are taken both by the Government and by the common people when dealing with the country’s problems. As part of the celebration of the 22nd EFA Forum, and before his closing speech, Armengol has expressed the organization’s “concern” that “proactive” measures are not being taken to anticipate the problems that the Principality has on the table.
At the same time, he explained that currently “the economy is doing well, but individual perception is not always the same”, so he asked that the Government, the communes and politicians in general “put more agreement than ever to be able to give companies a path of hope”. Later, and as part of his closing speech before lunch, he stated again that “proactive regulation is key to generating confidence and laying the foundations for creating value”. So, he pointed out the need for the political class to give legal certainty to companies “avoiding reactive policies to correct imbalances”.
He also referred to one of the major challenges facing Andorra, as is the case with the association agreement, which must guarantee “that companies can prosper in this new framework”. Therefore, he stated that “we need a balance that protects the interests of the economic and business fabric without renouncing the opportunities” offered by the agreement. In addition, he added that diversification and competitiveness “will not be imposed by politics”, since “it is the market that must generate them”, but he insisted on the importance of enjoying good regulation and legislation for part of the politicians.
The EFA president has also advocated for a “strong dialogue” with the EU if the deal is to be a success. For this reason, he has asked to open “dialogue channels and joint decision-making processes”. In his opinion, joining Europe “should allow for the development of the commitment to the diversification of the economy”. So, it has opted to have an operational airport with several weekly connections with neighboring countries (France and Spain); create a logistics and service industrial zone through the free zone; and promote, through a public-private consortium, segregated transport in order to explore “new sectors that complement the traditional pillars” of Andorra.
Precisely, and in relation to public-private collaboration, Armengol has emphasized that it is necessary to carry forward national and cross-border projects, “having a unique internal voice”. He also pointed out that from the central administration “more and better training is needed for all public employees to ensure a better dialogue with those administered”. In this regard, he denounced the current “discoordination” between administrations, which only complicates administrative procedures. “From the EFA we believe that a mechanism is urgently and urgently needed to reach an agreement,” he explained.
Among other claims expressed, he has emphasized the fact that the reform of the CASS cannot be postponed, since it “compromises the future of our current model”, and in the framework of the announced review of the Golden Rule, he has advocated for an effort to “maintain current expenditure linked to GDP to maintain financial balance”. He also asked to have a debate on fiscal pressure and to avoid “the vessels communicated between the Government and the commons, which lead us to double internal taxation”. Ultimately, he added, “we cannot allow fiscal measures to discourage productivity.”
In the last one, Armengol has advanced the main data of the macroeconomic report for the period 2019-2023 that the entity is just completing. Broadly speaking, the document emphasizes that in order to maintain competitiveness and sustainable growth “it is essential not to continue increasing the weight of the State in the GDP”, and for this reason it has detailed that “either public-private initiatives are promoted or the State will arrive to represent 40% of GDP”. So, he reaffirmed the EFA’s commitment “to be a proactive part of the solutions” that the country needs, since “we want to contribute to progress and give a global perspective within the economic fabric”.
Other topical issues
Armengol has also superficially referred to the omnibus law, ensuring that the members of the entity “are in the sectoral organizations that interact directly when a law concerns them or they see that they can improve it”, so, he added, “I understand that many of the amendments that have been made by our partners have been collected and we will see how the law ends after its legislative process.”
Regarding the expansion of the Maià landfill, he stated that “it is good news that it is being expanded”, but he regretted that during this week it will be closed and will be inoperative for four months. In this sense, he recalled that he has been fighting for years to be able to open new landfills. “We have a certain commitment with the Government and we hope that it can be done in other areas”, he concluded.