- In the first edition of Moeve Legal talks, representatives from public and private institutions such as the CNMC, Ministry for Ecological Transition, Telefónica, CEOE, and Banco Santander, came together to analyze the impact of regulation on business competitiveness in a context marked by regulatory overload and geopolitical uncertainty
The need for a more predictable and efficient regulatory framework in Europe, which would allow companies to maintain their competitiveness in a context of greater geopolitical, regulatory, and technological uncertainty, was one of the main takeaways from the first edition of “Moeve Legal talks.” The annual event held at the energy company’s headquarters brought together nearly 200 attendees, including legal sector representatives from major law firms and corporate legal counsel and legal representatives from the public sector.
Maarten Wetselaar, CEO of Moeve, kicked off the event by noting that "to know what the future will be like, the most interesting thing is to create it." He emphasized how the business transformation must be accompanied by an in-depth analysis of regulation, where public-private collaboration takes on an essential role.
Virginia Beltramini, EVP of Legal & Assurance and Secretary of the Board of Moeve, pointed out that “the competitiveness of companies will be greatly influenced by the ability of their legal teams to navigate the current regulatory tsunami.” A solid, well-managed legal environment is the only thing that allows us to innovate and transform. For this reason, she said that the work of legal teams “consists in being very close to the business and being a true ally of the company.”
Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, Board member and part of Moeve’s Audit, Compliance, Ethics and Risks Committee, moderated a panel titled “Geopolitics and Regulation: Their Impact on Business Competitiveness”. She warned that “geopolitical risks have become a structural factor shaping economic activity.” Faced with these risks, governments, she assured, “are increasingly more protectionist and, therefore more interventionist, so regulation is a key element when carrying out any activity.”
In the session, Jaime Pérez Renovales, Secretary General and from the Board of Banco Santander, warned about the differences between national regulations, even within the European Union, which, in his opinion, have become more evident in sustainability matters. Thus, he highlighted how in Europe, “the regulations are quite prescriptive, as companies must have plans to mitigate climate change and a business model compatible with the transition to a sustainable economy, whereas in other regions, the trend is the opposite.”
In the same vein, José Luis Ayllón, director of the Department of Presidency, Public Affairs, and Relations with the Courts of CEOE, pointed out that the Institute of Economic Studies (IEE) of the employers' association has estimated the cost of excessive regulatory compliance generated in recent times for companies at 13 billion euros. The problem, he said, “is not compliance itself, which is necessary, but the kind of regulations we have.” He highlighted several legislative anomalies in Spain that “affect companies when making decisions,” such as the repeated absence of General State Budgets, the abuse of Royal Decree-Law, especially omnibus decrees, or the intrusive amendments that introduce regulatory changes in projects that have no connection to the subject matter. These practices "generate a lot of uncertainty.”
Idoya Arteagabeitia, Director of Corporate Regulation at Telefónica, agreed by emphasizing the excessive regulatory burden on the EU and the differences between countries, stating that “the EU needs to start thinking about where it wants to be," because "any European regulation has a very significant impact on the business sector.”
Miguel Bordiú, Secretary of the CNMC Board, also spoke, emphasizing that the idea of co-regulation is a public-private collaboration technique increasingly present in new forms of regulation, “so that the private sector participates more actively in the preparation of regulation and in its supervision, as is already the case in areas such as audiovisual or digital services.”
Lastly, Manuel García Hernández, General Director of Energy Policy and Mines of the Ministry for Energy and Ecological Transition, also emphasized the need for greater public-private collaboration and highlighted regulatory sandboxes as a useful tool for testing innovative solutions in technologically uncertainty and highly regulated environments.
Connecting generations
The session “Connecting Generations to Transform Ourselves” was also held during the “Moeve Legal talks” event, addressing how the legal sector of the present and future should evolve, combining the experience of established leaders with the vision of young lawyers. The talk, moderated by Jesús Silvestre, senior Legal M&A counsel at Moeve, featured Rafael Fontana, president of Cuatrecasas, who emphasized the need to "embrace technology, such as generative AI, but without neglecting to review the results it produces. There always has to be a human behind it.” “But be clear,” Fontana added: “AI will not be of no use to you if you don’t have a deep understanding of the Law.” For his part, Paco Salcedo, president of Microsoft Spain, defended that “diversity is a source of wealth and competitiveness that leads to more productive teams" and added that new generations “increasingly require ‘T-shaped’ skills: technical depth and transversal abilities.”
Law students Alexa Couttolenc (IE Law School), Álvaro Ortiz (Universidad Carlos III of Madrid) and Alejandra Lozano (Universidad CEU San Pablo) also participated, appealing to the strength of teams representing different generations and stating that, although younger generations have integrated AI as a tool, “it will never replace the analytical and critical thinking of an expert.” All agreed that “with responsible use, a cultural and social transformation can be achieved.”