Garamendi demands independent organizations after the departure of the president of the INE

He criticizes that the Government wants to "punish" the electricity companies and says that the anti-crisis package should go "in another direction"

MADRID, 28 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), Antonio Garamendi, stated this Tuesday that "independent organizations must be independent", after learning of the resignation of Juan Rodríguez Poo from the Presidency of the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

"I cannot go into why or how the resignation of the president of the INE is, but in any case I do claim and defend the independence of the body. I think it is fundamental, it is a highly prestigious body, it always has been and it is very important for everyone, to analyze the issues", said Garamendi upon arrival at the Summer Course of the Association of Self-Employed Workers (ATA).

The president of the businessmen has stressed that the CEOE has given its "explicit support" to the Bank of Spain and its governor, Pablo Hernández de Cos, as well as to the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility of Spain (AIReF) and its president, Cristina Herrero Sanchez. All organizations that in recent weeks have had friction with the Government, as has happened with the INE.

"In a country like ours, it is essential that there are independent organizations that say and evaluate things when they like and when they don't like it. It is not bad to tell things as they are, the reality of things, because the best way to deal with issues is knowing the reality", Garamendi pointed out.

The president of the businessmen has also questioned the measures announced last Saturday by the Government, as part of the package of anti-crisis measures to mitigate the impact of the war in Ukraine.

"You have to help people who may be most in need. I think the measures should go in another direction," he pointed out.

Garamendi has also opposed "à la carte taxes" and has stressed that "taxes must be measured." Regarding the tax on electricity companies, he recalled that it is these companies that have to finance the Climate Law with some 240,000 million euros until 2030, so he does not understand that the Government wants to "punish" these companies.