Ignacio Juliá warns Europe cannot regulate faster than it innovates

Ignacio Juliá, CEO of Banco Santander Spain, has warned that Europe must not allow regulation to outpace technological innovation. Speaking at the AMETIC Digital Economy and Telecommunications Meeting in Santander, Juliá argued that competitive advantage lies in balancing rights protection with technological growth.

Juliá highlighted significant gaps in Europe regarding computing, cybersecurity, digital talent, and the ability to scale companies. While noting that Spain possesses solid digital infrastructure and a mature entrepreneurial ecosystem, he identified productivity as the primary challenge for the Spanish economy. He advocated for small and medium-sized enterprises to adopt artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and data as growth tools, and called for the completion of the European banking union to better direct savings toward technological projects.