The president of the Foment del Treball, Josep Sánchez Llibre (Vilassar de Mar, Barcelona, 76 years old), when he took the reins of the Catalan employers’ association at the end of 2018, proposed to obtain the return of the registered office which had left Catalonia due to the trial. Seven years later, he sees the path halfway through and predicts that in the coming months the situation in the community will completely normalize. Sánchez Llibre shares Catalan President Salvador Illa’s aspiration that Catalonia can lead Spain’s economic policy, but warns that this will not be possible without extending the useful life of nuclear power plants.
Ask. The nuclear power plants of Ascó and Vandellòs produce 60% of Catalonia’s electricity. Do you think the Catalan parties lived up to the PP’s recent parliamentary amendment that did not move forward to extend the useful life of the plants?
Answer. Nuclear energy is vital to ensure the energy transition towards renewables. It is an energy that does not pollute, does not emit carbon dioxide, guarantees electricity supply and gives stability to the system. And it will continue to be necessary until there are alternatives for renewable storage. The Foment del Treball fully supports aligning itself with climate neutrality in 2050, but nuclear energy is essential for Catalonia to lead Spanish economic policy. Without it, it would lose competitiveness and productivity and go from being the locomotive of the Spanish economy to being the van behind it.
Q. If there is consensus on this, what happened in the congressional vote last week?
R. Various circumstances occurred. First of all, the overload of responsibility and political protagonism of Junts for Catalunya, who was forced to abstain when he should have expressed a favorable vote. Esquerra Republicana, for ideological reasons, went from abstention to voting against. And the PSC also voted against it. If Catalonia wants to lead Spanish economic policy, President Salvador Illa will have to lead the possibility of expanding nuclear production in Catalonia at the Ascó and Vandellòs plants.
Q. We understand that we are talking about the useful life of the systems…
R. YES. They have a lot of capacity and many years to be able to continue producing nuclear energy in Spain. Without nuclear energy we would be condemned to a very important energy blackout in 2030, with very negative consequences like those we have already experienced in the finals of April 2025. We will help the Government of Catalonia to make an ideological change, to stop voting NO to the Congress of Deputies to vote affirmatively.
Q. What is the scope of the battle that Almaraz is waging? Does Foment contemplate a Catalan exception in the nuclear issue?
R. No. We are very realistic. If Almaraz is closed, other Spanish factories will undoubtedly be too, which is why we support extending Almaraz’s useful life. The matter is very well underway. Since the owners of the plant want to extend its useful life, we are convinced that the National Security Council will publish a report that will give the state the opportunity to give the green light to the expansion of Almaraz. We do not want any differential treatment from Catalonia.
Q. Catalonia has been at the forefront in the field of renewable energy for years. Isn’t the problem really that 60% of industrial consumption comes from nuclear energy?
R. This gives us more reasons. If the Ascó and Vandellòs plants were shut down, we would not have enough energy from renewable sources. There has been negligence on the part of the political forces that have governed Catalonia over the last ten years, which has made it impossible for renewables to have a presence of 50% or 60%, as in other autonomous communities.
Q. Are there other factors that are determining the positions of pro-independence parties, for example amnesty in the case of Junts, which could move to another level when the end of the useful life of nuclear power plants comes?
R. In the case of Junts there is an overload of political protagonism. There is no way that Junts will solve absolutely everything in Spain. This is impossible and we understand it. I think this will all be resolved in the near future. In the case of Esquerra it was an ideological overload and, at the same time, the government of Catalonia and the leadership of Salvador Illa were not up to the task, because if he wants to guide Spanish economic policy from Catalonia, without nuclear power he will not succeed.
Q. What is the balance of the tender offer of BBVA and Sabadell? And above all, does Sabadell now become easy prey for other parties after the effort to defend itself from the hostile offer?
R. Very positive. At Foment we have always maintained that this takeover bid was a real joke for the shareholders, because the price was ridiculous. Time has proven us right and it will be a case that will be studied at Harvard. Two issues need to be considered. First, the government and the National Securities Market Commission must consider reforms so that a takeover bid cannot remain pending for 18 months. At the same time, Sabadell has learned the lesson very well about what needs to be done to win a takeover bid if it is hostile. I understand that this will strengthen the hard core of minority shareholders and broaden the base of customers who are not shareholders so that a very important part of them can buy shares and form a hard core.
Q. One of the key elements was the change of location. When will CaixaBank make a gesture in this direction, which would probably cause a definitive traction effect for the rest of the companies?
R. The first point since we arrived in Foment was to normalize the political and economic life of Catalonia and, at the same time, try to bring back the companies that had moved. It is true that with Illa’s arrival the political situation normalized. Today we are in an almost 100% normalized situation and I sincerely think that when Puigdemont returns to Catalonia, that 100% will be reached. There have already been significant examples of companies that have left and returned and I am very convinced that in the coming months the situation will completely normalize.
Q. So it is very difficult to understand that CaixaBank is not based in Catalonia…
R. I won’t talk about particular cases, but I can tell you that we have news of relevant companies that have left and that are thinking of returning in the next few months.
Q. It seemed that Junts wanted to regain the influence and influence he had on the business world, but he announced that he will vote this way NO to everything in Congress after the break with the PSOE. It is useful to have a party that already goes to vote NO to everything?
R. Let’s see what he will vote for. Even if elections are not called, we will seek to defend our entrepreneurial approach, which we believe will be positive for growth and reindustrialisation, by talking to all political parties. With the PSOE and the PP, but also with Junts and ERC. I understand that Junts will vote against all government initiatives and in favor of all those who are in favor of Catalonia. Let’s see how this translates. You have to play game by game.
Q. Can a country spend an entire legislature without budgets?
R. No. We have repeatedly asked for its approval both in Madrid and in Catalonia. It is unnatural that they should be extended for three years. But until a general election is called, the party will be totally open and always playing, championing the generation of wealth, good jobs and a fair distribution of that wealth. This is why business is one of the fundamental pillars of democracy. And unfortunately, not by the President of the Government, but by the Second Vice President, Yolanda Díaz, entrepreneurial activity has been criminalized and in some cases entrepreneurs have been treated as alleged criminals. We will not tolerate it.
Q. And how does social dialogue work when we have to deal with issues such as the minimum wage, social contributions and dismissal?
R. The second vice president has willfully torpedoed social dialogue with her attempt to implement by law the reduction of working hours below 40 hours, which has only been done in France and Belgium. The reduction in hours will be reflected in future collective agreements currently being negotiated. In future agreements that will be negotiated in Catalonia there will be a gradual reduction of workers’ working hours.
Q. I wanted to ask you about El Prat. The approved project convinces them completely. What could be improved?
A. We are very satisfied with the approach adopted by the Government of Salvador Illa, which coincides 80-90% with the solutions provided at the time by the commission created by the Treball Foment for expansion. The conditions set will allow it to go from 40 connections with the whole world to 70 or 80. Now Aena must meet investments of almost 3.7 billion euros. And both Aena and Ecological Transition must submit to the European Commission a management plan that corrects the environmental anomalies requested by the European Commission.
