The President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and former Minister of Economy, Nadia Calviño, defended that European leaders send a “clear message” to stimulate the European economy, on the eve of a key summit between heads of government of the European Union, and stressed the need to promote the EU-Mercosur trade agreement.
The conversation this Thursday in Madrid with EL PAÍS journalist Andrea Rizzi revolved around Calviño’s book, Two thousand days in government (Plaza & Janés) —published last month—, in which he recounts his experience in government since June 2018, after the motion of censure presented by the leader of the PSOE, Pedro Sánchez, until December 2023. A few months later, he headed to the EIB, which grants loans under favorable conditions, to projects which contribute to the objectives of the EU.
During his interview with Rizzi, Calviño mentioned that his time in the Executive was marked by “fiscal responsibility, the implementation of structural reforms and social justice.” Regarding this last aspect, he said that before the PSOE came to the government to replace Mariano Rajoy, “we had to face very high rates of youth unemployment and school dropouts.”
Another issue that he considered fundamental during his time in government was the agreement for the issuance of common debt between all countries of the European Union, concluded within the framework of the so-called Next Generation funds. A way to support European economies during the pandemic. Calviño stressed that it was very important to “make Europe understand the magnitude” of the economic chasm it would suffer if it did not receive new funds. “Europe saved Spain and Spain saved Europe,” he remarked. Regarding the pandemic, he asked “not to forget the impacts it has left, because they can explain what is currently happening in the world.”
Regarding the current geopolitical panorama, Calviño insisted on the need to “defend the European Union, its values, which constitute a great asset”. He also asserted that Europe is “a technological, economic, commercial and research superpower”, which is why he demanded that any public debate not be “negative” around the EU’s role in the world. And he believes that “more confidence” is necessary in the European project.
In his book, Calviño acknowledges that coexistence with the coalition’s minority partner has not always been easy. First of all, she had to deal with Podemos, which the president of the EIB described as a “far left” party. Later he had to co-govern with Sumar and had notorious clashes with the leader of this space, Yolanda Díaz. His relationship with the current Minister of Labor is the great mystery of the book, since none of its 336 pages mentions his name. Among these fights were for example the “ban on layoffs” during the pandemic, which prevented employers from terminating contracts due to the crisis caused by Covid, or the design of the Riders Actwhich requires that workers dedicated to delivery be employees and not self-employed.
Present at the event were Ander Gil, former President of the Senate, Andoni Ortuzar, former President of the PNV, Pedro Duque, former Socialist Minister of Science, and Dolores Delgado, Prosecutor of the Coordinating Chamber of Human Rights and Democratic Memory of the State Attorney General’s Office and former Minister of Justice, among other personalities who have crossed the political world.
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