The presidents of the provincial councils and business organizations of Cuenca, Soria and Teruel have signed a collaboration agreement at a key moment for the future of the three provinces
Cuenca, Soria and Teruel, June 15, 2021. The Provincial Councils of Cuenca, Soria and Teruel have signed an agreement with CEOE CEPYME Cuenca, FOES and CEOE Teruel by which the provincial administrations support the different works that the provincial organizations have been carrying out in the framework of the European lobby of the SSPA Network to fight against depopulation.
Since 2014, the CEOEs have been working proactively at a national and European level in order to promote measures that help tackle the main structural challenges that affect sparsely populated areas of Spain. The results of this work are beginning to be visible, such as the possibility that has been opened, thanks to the joint work of the three CEOEs and the Autonomous Governments, to obtain state aid for the operation of the companies of the three provinces. But it is necessary to continue advancing in the realization of achievements in the face of depopulation.
Along these lines, this significant agreement implies that business organizations and Provincial Councils from different regions unite their efforts and approaches in order to defend the differential elements of the three provinces, as sparsely populated areas, at a decisive moment to achieve the goals set.
The agreement was signed by the president of the Diputación de Cuenca, Álvaro Martínez Chana, the president of CEOE CEPYME Cuenca, David Peña, the president of CEOE Teruel, Juan Ciércoles, the president of the Diputación de Teruel, Manuel Rando, the president of FOES, Santiago Aparicio and the president of the Diputación de Soria, Benito Serrano.
Appreciations
The president of CEOE CEPYME Cuenca, David Peña, has indicated that “the problem of depopulation has affected the three provinces and therefore part of the solutions also have to come from the provinces themselves, which is why an agreement such as the that we captured this morning in Cuenca. I would like to point out that what we do at the CEOE to fight against depopulation and that the councils support, are not just demands, but rather it is about justifying more measures to support our territories with reports, works, studies and content that serve to achieve our goals.”
For his part, the president of the Cuenca Provincial Council, Álvaro Martínez Chana, has positively assessed that this agreement is made from the province of Cuenca with the aim of “fighting for our people from unity”, the Cuenca leader has stated that today begins a long road that others will continue, but which represents a victory, since “it gives visibility to the demographic challenge that is already on the European, national and regional agenda”. Martínez Chana ended his speech with a true declaration of intent stating that the fight must be from the bottom up and that “the time for words has passed, it is the time for action”.
The president of CEOE CEPYME Teruel Juan Andrés Ciércoles Bielsa has indicated that “we are closer to achieving what would be a historic event and undoubtedly beneficial for the three provinces, that is, getting them to receive State aid, but we still have a lot to do and the current moment is crucial, because the future of our provinces will depend on what we do today”.
For his part, the president of the Diputación de Teruel, Manuel Rando López, has pointed out that the SSPA Network “is proving to be very useful, especially after the good results of its work to recognize the right to have differentiated taxation”. For the president of the Teruel provincial institution, “having the help of professionals who are well versed in European legislation and how the decision-making processes that are taken from Brussels are extremely important for political action. We still have many challenges to face, the battle against depopulation is a long-distance race and the SSPA Network is a great ally. That is why this signature is important, always appealing to inter-institutional cooperation and public-private collaboration, which is how things work best”.
For his part, the president of FOES, Santiago Aparicio, pointed out that “the three provincial organizations are going to continue fighting for our companies and for the economic growth of Soria, Cuenca and Teruel and we are very sincerely grateful that in this long-term battle we can count on with the support and backing of our reference councils”.
For his part, the president of the Diputación de Soria, Benito Serrano, highlighted the importance of uniting the efforts of the three most depopulated provinces to complete the step taken in Europe to achieve differentiated taxation that materializes the National Government as soon as possible and finally benefits companies from Soria for their growth or new ones for their installation. “Private initiative must boost the economy, but always with the support of public authorities, which with means such as the one adapted by Europe, will allow provinces such as Soria to regain prominence and provide investment attractiveness.”