Garrigues was guest of honor at the second round table of the seminar conducted by the España-Florida 500 Years Foundation and the University of Alcalá’s Benjamin Franklin Institute.

The major role Spain has played in U.S. history would by itself justify preserving this special relationship, but, in addition, there are now more than 45 million Spanish speakers in the United States who deserve special attention, Garrigues said.

Life in the United States is very different from life in Europe, he noted. In the United States, civil society is everything, and ethics play a larger role.

“You have to explain this reality in a politic manner, and make sure it is not interpreted as mere chauvinism, but as showing why we can and should maintain a very special relationship,” Garrigues said.

In his presentation, Garrigues pointed out that Spain-U.S. relations have had their ups and downs, from the intense relationship between Bush and Aznar to “distance” after Rodríguez Zapatero took office to more balanced ties at present between Zapatero and Obama.

“But there’s a lot of work to be done. In Spain, we don’t realize how critical the relationship with the United States is, though we are beginning to. We have to develop a very intense cooperation policy, bringing people into the discussion,” he added.
Garrigues noted that in contrast to Spain, in the United States civil society plays an essential role at all levels, and regretted that Spain does not exercise stronger, more influential “parliamentary diplomacy.”

He underscored that U.S. society is conservative and marked by a deep religious sense, but at the same time it is essentially dynamic, in contrast to Spain and the rest of Europe, which is an aging continent.

Something else that differentiates the two nations, Garrigues said, is the level of ethics that is practiced in U.S. society compared to Spain’s.
That is why, Garrigues continued, the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the founding of Florida by Juan Ponce de León offers a historic opportunity to bring the two nations closer together.

“Our relationship with the United States should be regarded as strategic and fundamental,” he said.
At the same round table, Roman Escolano of the BBVA financial group highlighted the importance of the Spanish financial sector in the United States, noting that an unprecedented expansion has occurred through the purchase of local banks.
Escolano stressed the significance of the opportunities the U.S. banking industry offers Spanish financial institutions, which can provide a more competitive business model, featuring multiple services.

Jaime Montalvo, the ICEX’s director general for promotion, reviewed the Spanish industries that have fully penetrated the U.S. economy, namely banking, electricity, infrastructure and insurance.
Montalvo said large corporations in those industries will be followed into the U.S. market by small and medium-size service companies, as part of an unprecedented investment process that shows Spanish businesses have lost their fear of competing in such a market.