Spain Pushes for Industrial Policy Law to Secure Strategic Autonomy Amid Legislative Delays

Jordi García Brustenga, Spain's Secretary of State for Industry, has advocated strongly for the approval of the Ley de Industria y Autonomía Estratégica, describing it as a crucial step for institutionalizing Spain's industrial policy. Speaking before the Congress's Industry and Tourism Commission, Brustenga emphasized that the law aims to consolidate recent efforts, stabilize industrial policy instruments, and prepare Spain to tackle key challenges such as competitiveness, digitalization, ecological transition, and strategic autonomy.

Despite its importance, the law has been stalled by 11 months of parliamentary delays and amendments, with no set date for resolution. It proposes several key components: ensuring strategic autonomy; establishing the Reserve of Industrial Capacities (RECAPI), which includes collaboration with the European Commission to secure critical product supply chains post-crises like COVID-19; and instituting a National Industry Strategy with a six-year span and triennial sectoral plans. Additionally, the creation of a State Council for Industrial Policy aims to coordinate industry-related measures across ministries.

Brustenga also highlighted public-private coordination efforts within the pharmaceutical sector, noting ongoing work on the regulation of strategic autonomy for critical medicines and the Plan Profarma initiative to enhance production capacity and attract investments.

The law seeks to provide a stable legal framework to foster reindustrialization and respond to contemporary international contexts. Brustenga stressed the necessity of building consensus in the legislative process. However, parliamentary groups expressed mixed reactions; some urged swift passage, while others criticized the government's approach and the lack of concrete solutions.

This legislative push comes amid broader economic concerns, with critiques of the Sánchez government’s fiscal policy showing an 8.5% spending ceiling increase for 2026 and an unsustainable public debt trajectory forecasted to reach 97.1% of GDP by 2027. The need for a stable industrial policy to support Spain’s economic security and strategic autonomy therefore appears particularly urgent in light of fiscal pressures and high unemployment rates. The fate of the Ley de Industria y Autonomía Estratégica remains a significant point of contention as Spain seeks to bolster its industrial sovereignty and economic resilience.