De Guindos insists on the need for greater spending on defense and warns of the lack of budgets in Spain

The vice president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Luis de Guindos, has described defense investments as an “existential priority” for Europe in a context in which the protection of the United States is increasingly “less reliable” and the threat from Russia is growing. The ‘number two’ of the organization has highlighted the economic impact and the knock-on effect that this greater military spending can have while warning of the effects that the political instability that some European countries are going through, including Spain, can have, without the capacity to approve new budgets.

During his speech at the ‘Euro 2025 Yearbook’ presentation, De Guindos addressed some of the challenges facing the Old Continent, such as the maintenance of the Welfare State, whose survival is subject to increased immigration. In this regard, De Guindos has also pointed out that the housing supply in Spain is not currently responding to the increase in population derived from increased immigration and urges us to rethink the rental market. “We should make ourselves look at rent regulation,” he said.

The vice president of the ECB has highlighted that migratory flows explain most of the expansion of activity in recent years, a factor that also puts pressure on services such as education and health, which is why he recommends greater investment. A few days ago he already commented that the housing crisis is a “bottleneck” and can slow down growth at the national level after several quarters registering GDP rates above the European Union average.

The digital euro could reach stores in 2029

The vice president of the ECB has also addressed the situation of the digital euro, which after starting the pilot phase, will promote its implementation in the coming months so that by 2029 it will be available both for the institutional sector and in businesses. In the face of “conspiracy” theories, De Guindos has exposed the advantages of this means of payment that will allow Europeans to have “good treatment” from the point of view of costs and that reduces their independence from American technology.