MADRID WEEKLY ECON/COMMERCIAL/AG UPDATE - FEBRUARY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MADRID 000179 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/WE AND EEB/IFD/OMA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: BTIO EAGR ECON EFIN EINV ENRG KFRD SCUL SENV SOCI, SP SUBJECT: MADRID WEEKLY ECON/COMMERCIAL/AG UPDATE - FEBRUARY 11-15 MADRID 00000179 001.2 OF 003 Table of Contents: EFIN: European Central Bank (ECB) President Claude Trichet in Madrid ENRG/EINV: European court rules against Spanish law on foreign investment in electricity firms ECON/EFIN: Rate of small business closings increases ECON/SCUL: Spanish Banking Association protests Financial Times and Daily Telegraph coverage ECON/KFRD: Tax administration cracks down on fiscal fraud, turns eye towards 500 euro bills EAGR/BTIO: Will U.S. poultry-meat exporters ever regain access to the European Market? SENV: Wrecked ship spills more fuel off Gibraltar and Algeciras EINV/ECON: The King offers Spain's economic experience to Egypt SOCI: Ovules for sale - Spain's reproductive tourism EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK (ECB) PRESIDENT CLAUDE TRICHET IN MADRID ¶1. (U) Speaking to an overflow audience at a February 15 event, Trichet argued for further structural reform in the Eurozone, citing particularly the need for more flexibility in the labor, products and services markets. He argued strongly that price stability was not inconsistent with job creation and growth, indeed that it was a necessary condition for job creation and growth in the medium term. He noted that since 1995 the Eurozone had enjoyed such price stability and had created 15 million new jobs, vice 13 million in the U.S. He would not be drawn into a discussion as to whether interest rates should come down, and he would not comment substantively on the observation that the Fed and the ECB appear to be "rowing in different directions," as one questioner put it. In both cases, he emphasized that his job was to look at the Eurozone as a whole, not individual members, and that price stability was the ECB's overriding priority. (Comment: No surprises from Trichet.) EUROPEAN COURT RULES AGAINST SPANISH LAW ON FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN ELECTRICITY FIRMS ¶2. (U) The European Court of Justice on February 14 ruled that EC jurisprudence was violated by a Spanish law that requires publicly owned foreign firms acquiring more than 3 percent of a Spanish energy company to seek Spanish government approval to use their voting rights. Spain argues this law is necessary to maintain fair competition in the European energy market. Why? Several years ago, Spain privatized its energy companies. However, France and Germany still have integrated publicly owned energy giants. Recently, there has been a lot of speculation in the media that French energy company EDF might team up with Spanish construction firm ACS to buy Iberdrola, something the Spanish government would prefer not to see happen. The Court ruled that the Spanish provision contravened the EC Treaty's regulation of the free movement of capital within the EU. Despite Spanish arguments for the law, Economy Minister Pedro Solbes says Spain is unlikely to appeal and will introduce means to comply with the court ruling. (El Pais and International Herald Tribune, February 15) RATE OF SMALL BUSINESS CLOSINGS INCREASES ¶3. (U) In the month of January, over 4,000 small stores went out of business across Spain, a 300 percent increase from January of 2007. According to Spanish trade union UGT, many businesses were affected by lower-than anticipated holiday spending as well as growing competition from major supermarkets and store chains. Small store shopping has long been prevalent in Spain, where going to the local produce store or clothing boutique instead of a supermarket or a store chain is common. (Expansion, February 13) SPANISH BANKING ASSOCIATION PROTESTS FINANCIAL TIMES AND DAILY TELEGRAPH COVERAGE ¶4. (SBU) Recently, the AEB has sent letters to the editors of the FT and the Daily Telegraph criticizing these publications, coverage of possible weaknesses in the Spanish banking sector. The AEB was particularly concerned about a Daily Telegraph article comparing credits requested by Spanish banks from the European Central Bank (ECB) with loans requested by bankrupt British bank Northern Rock. (Comment: It is a fair bet that BBVA's Francisco Gonzalez and Santander's Emilio Botin approved the letters to the editors. Both the GOS and many members of the Spanish business MADRID 00000179 002.2 OF 003 establishment are irritated with the FT's depiction of the Spanish economy.) (El Pais, February 14) TAX ADMINISTRATION CRACKS DOWN ON FISCAL FRAUD, TURNS EYE TOWARDS 500 EURO BILLS ¶5. (U) The Presidency reiterated its commitment this past week to combating money laundering and fiscal fraud. In addition to having quadrupled the number of its fraud investigative units in 2007, Spain's Tax Agency will focus more intensely on 500 euro bill transactions. Up to 25 percent of 500 euro notes in Europe are reportedly in circulation in Spain. The use of these large notes has often been linked to money laundering and tax evasion schemes, in many cases tied to Spain's real estate boom of recent years. Spain's Tax Agency reported that up to 70 percent of reported 2003 transactions involving 500 euro bill notes have exhibited signs of potential fraud. In 2007, the Tax Agency collected an additional 6 billion euros as a result of its fraud investigations. (El Pais, February 14, Moncloa website) WILL U.S. POULTRY-MEAT EXPORTERS REGAIN ACCESS TO THE EUROPEAN MARKET? ¶6. (U) New reports indicate that the European Commission (EC) will soon grant U.S. poultry exporters renewed access to the European market, which the EC has denied for the last ten years because some Europeans (poultry producers) reportedly "thought" that U.S. poultry might be unsafe to eat. The EC has denied market access while the Europeans studied the possibility that U.S. chlorine-treated poultry carcass meat might produce cancer when consumed. The intervening countless studies and trials have not produced any support for the theory, so after the issue was raised in the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC),the EC has reportedly said that it will follow the TEC's guidance and grant renewed access as early as this next summer. Potential Spanish importers (in the Canary Islands) are watching the EC maneuvering with guarded optimism, while U.S. officials will likely keep the issue high on the agenda of future meetings. WRECKED SHIP SPILLS MORE FUEL OFF GIBRALTAR AND ALGECIRAS ¶7. (U) The release of additional oil from a wreck that sank in disputed waters off the coast of Gibraltar has sparked new tensions between Spain and Great Britain. The Panamanian-flagged vessel "New Flame" had collided with a tanker in August in waters claimed by both Gibraltar and Spain. Although the majority of the oil had been removed from the water since then, a small portion remained trapped underwater and was released after a heavy storm this past weekend, which covered nearby Spanish beaches with oil slick. The British ambassador was summoned to the MFA, which demanded that the UK clean up the mess. Authorities in affected municipalities are considering suing Gibraltar for damages. (ABC February 11, Embassy-UK Embassy meeting) THE KING OFFERS SPAIN'S ECONOMIC EXPERIENCE TO EGYPT ¶8. (U) Visiting Egypt, King Juan Carlos offered Spain's experience during a business meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister, Mohamed Rashid. The King cited Spain's experience in tourism - Spain receives 50 million foreign tourists a year, while Egypt receives 11 million - energy, telecommunications, the environment, and transportation. The King also encouraged the exploration of joint business opportunities with outside markets such as Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Through a Memorandum of Understanding, Spain will make available 250 million euros to be used for public projects or small businesses that contract Spanish companies. Spain agreed to take part in a study for the viability of building a high speed train from Alexandria to Egypt, and the Spanish company Eliop was granted a 100 million euro contract to improve security and sign postings on the main lines of Egypt's accident-prone rail system. (ABC, February 11) OVULES FOR SALE - SPAIN'S REPRODUCTIVE TOURISM ¶9. (U) Restrictive laws in their home countries and a desire for anonymity are some of the reasons foreign women hoping to have babies are seeking ovules (eggs) in Spain. More than 50% of the patients seeking donations are from countries such as Italy (which prohibits ovule donations),France (which limits them),and Britain (where there is no anonymity). The price is 6,000 euros per attempt with a successful pregnancy rate of 80%. Donating is a business for some donors, who receive 1,000 euros as compensation for the "discomfort" MADRID 00000179 003.2 OF 003 caused by the process. While total statistics are not available, the two leading Madrid clinics performed the procedure 720 times in 2007, up from 500 the previous year. (20 minutos, February 14) AGUIRRE