At the opening of the ICEX forum in Madrid, Ana Botín, executive chair of Banco Santander, challenged the pace and complexity of EU rules. Speaking alongside Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo, she argued that European regulation, rather than domestic policy, is the basic obstacle for Spanish businesses. Botín called the regulatory environment an expensive burden for citizens and warned that without faster reforms, European companies will struggle to compete globally. The issue also sits at the centre of Santander’s 2026 conference agenda, where “A European Agenda for Growth and Competitiveness” is a dedicated theme connecting regulation with investment and productivity, while addressing ability to recover.
Botín said she supports clear rules but argued that Europe has gone too far, creating unnecessary hurdles to growth. She noted that Santander invests more in the United States, where a single, unified market makes expansion easier, while in Europe companies must handle the bureaucracy of 27 different economies. The EU Single Market guarantees the free movement of goods, services, capital and people, but integration remains uneven: goods markets are more advanced than services, capital, energy and digital markets. Divergent national implementation, administrative practices and case law can leave companies facing distinct compliance environments, even when rules originate at EU level. An Atlantic Council report calls that outcome fragmentation, not deregulation.
The economic stakes are impressive. The Atlantic Council estimates that the Single Market’s existing freedoms contribute roughly 9% to EU GDP annually, while completing services integration could add an estimated €1.8 trillion to €2.1 trillion to EU output, roughly the size of Spain’s economy. The estimate covers financial, professional, digital and healthcare services. For companies expanding across borders, Botín’s argument is that inconsistent requirements can blunt the advantages of a market of 27 member states and make it harder to match the scale enjoyed by competitors in more unified markets.
Carlos Cuerpo agreed that removing barriers and improving scale are shared goals. He cited data showing that European companies have invested more in Uruguay over the past decade than in all Eastern European countries combined, despite the larger market size of countries such as Poland. Cuerpo acknowledged the need to simplify regulation and reduce the obstacles businesses face, noting that many of these burdens should be invisible to companies.
The minister said the Spanish government is closely following recommendations in the report by former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, which sets out a strategic roadmap for revitalizing the EU Single Market. One basic proposal is the “Estado 28,” or twenty-eighth regime: an optional EU-wide legal structure alongside national systems, intended to let companies operate under a common set of rules instead of navigating 27 separate regimes. The aim is to lower cross-border expansion costs without abolishing national company-law systems. The European Commission’s EU Inc. initiative has been described as an initial step towards this model. Cuerpo said Spain is already applying similar principles domestically and working with Portugal to remove cross-border barriers. Trade between Spain and Portugal now exceeds trade with the United States.
Letta has framed the next stage of Single Market integration as a matter of security as well as competitiveness. At the NetZero Milan event organized by Fiera Milano on 20 October 2026, he emphasized energy independence and the need for cross-border interconnections so member states can use renewable power across national boundaries. His view points to a policy tension behind Botín’s criticism: EU rules can create costs and complexity, while common frameworks and infrastructure are intended to strengthen ability to recover and reduce strategic dependence. Letta has also called for “One Europe, One Market” as a priority to attract investment, bring jobs and savings back to Europe, and improve the bloc’s ability to compete with the United States and China.
Óscar García Maceiras, CEO of Inditex, also attended the roundtable, underscoring the discussion’s significance for major Spanish businesses. The debate at the ICEX forum reflects broader tensions within the EU over how to balance necessary oversight with agility and competitiveness. These concerns echo recent political debates in Spain over the future of government leadership and regulatory direction, including discussions about PSOE and Catalan demands highlighted in recent coverage.
The European Union’s regulatory structure is designed to protect consumers and financial stability while ensuring fair competition across member states. Critics argue, but, that overlapping national and EU-level rules can create duplication and slow decision-making. Spain, one of the EU’s largest economies, is particularly sensitive to these issues because of its reliance on exports and the international presence of its leading companies. The debate is so about whether common standards can be made more consistent and easier to apply across borders while preserving the protections they are meant to provide.
