MADRID, 4 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Minister of Economy, Carlos Body, has defended an extension of European funds so that Europe is not left behind and has stated that "it is not about growth for the sake of growth. There must be a redistribution of wealth."

He has also assured that the Ministry is working to raise the "lowest" salaries of young people and admits that at an international level the balance of salaries within companies is being debated.

"Not only at an international level is the level of salaries debated, but also the balance of salaries within companies. How much does the CEO earn compared to workers who have lower salaries. We have to work so that the lowest salaries begin to rise , especially because they are salaries that are related to young workers," he admitted this Sunday in an interview in 'El País', reported by Europa Press.

The minister has celebrated the economic growth of 2.5% in 2023 and considers that it is a "good image" for 2024 due to the "carry-over effect" and adds that Spain has half of the European funds awarded with a monthly rate of about 1,500 -2,000 million euros.

"The growth of the last quarter accelerates and is differential with respect to the rest of the EU countries. It is a good starting image for 2024. There is a carryover effect, which already represents a point of growth for this year. This combined with the strong creation of jobs is very positive in an international context of deceleration," he assures.

Body adds that Spain is the fourth country in the world in new investments in "leading" sectors, behind the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. "This attests to the strategic interest that Spain has for foreign investors and companies," he indicated.

The new minister affirms that it is an "honor" to replace Nadia Calviño at the head of the Ministry and highlights that he will maintain a continuous vision based on social justice "to advance in the reduction of inequality", productivity, competitiveness and structural reforms and, finally, fiscal responsibility.

During the interview, Body referred to the Government's relationship with the directors of the Ibex 35 and assured that the messages exchanged are "positive" and there is no feeling of "confrontation." "There are many elements of common interest on which we can work. For example, the use of Next Generation funds. Now the second stage of the recovery plan begins with 84,000 million credits. A large part of these credits will be channeled through of the financial sector," he commented.

In relation to the banking tax, the minister believes that it has been a "success" due to the impact it has had on the redistribution of the costs of the crisis and points out that the objective is that it "helps carry out relief measures for households" without assuming a "distorting" element for the solvency of the entities.

Asked if the tax will be maintained permanently in the future, the minister recalled that the Government has extended the two taxes, that of banking and that of energy companies. "And within a general context of continuous review of all tax figures, these are already part of the tax set," he stressed.