Global Giants in Focus: A Look Back at the El Económico Economic Forum in Palma

Full house, serious topics: The El Económico Forum in Palma

On Tuesday, around 7:00 p.m., the main hall of the conference palace was unusually lively. I stood briefly in the foyer — coffee, doors, the clatter of voices — and thought: this won't be a cozy evening. The organizers were right: the ninth edition of the El Económico Economic Forum was sold out to the last seat.

An unusual start and clear messages

Antoni Riera, for many years a steady voice in the island's discussions, appeared this year via a video message from Brussels. For the first time in many years, he was not present in person; his core message was pragmatic: We live in unsettled times, economic growth must be adjusted to the limits of space and climate — a call that many in the audience nodded to in agreement.

Banks, technology and responsibility

Gonzalo Gortázar, at the helm of CaixaBank for more than a decade, spoke openly about productivity and digitization. What stuck: banks no longer see themselves only as financial service providers, but also as societal actors. In the break, one often heard the word sustainability, not as a buzzword, but as a demand on business models.

The big focus: USA vs China — and Europe?

The liveliest round was the discussion between former ambassadors Santiago Cabanas and Rafael Dezcallar, moderated by Ana Fuentes. Both painted a picture that cannot be captured in black and white: it is less about military confrontation than about technological supremacy — semiconductors, rare earths, networks. One attendee later summed it up: "It's a race for standards and chips, not a classic frontline."

Dezcallar warned that Beijing is catching up at a rapid pace and is already building a dominant position in certain key industries. Cabanas added pointedly that the USA also faces internal polarization and shrinking research investments — which opens gaps that other countries try to fill.

Europe between aspiration and action

What remains for us here in Europe? Both diplomats called for a more active response: not just words, but an economic mobilization of the internal market. In a brief closing round, local representatives pointed out how much such decisions ultimately affect our islands — infrastructure, research, and training must be considered.

At the end of the evening, Carmen Serra and Antoni Costa reminded us that the forum should be more than a stocktaking: it should provide impulses. Whether that is enough remains to be seen. I left the congress palace with the impression that many questions are still open — and that Palma must become a more frequent venue for such debates if the island is to have a say.