Together with a large representation of the 70 signatory entities, also the FUE-UJI, the Business Confederation of the Valencian Community (CEV), has presented today at the headquarters of CEOE, in Madrid, the "Manifesto for the maintenance of the economy of Castellón".

As explained by the president of CEV Castellón, Luís M. Martí, the manifesto, in addition to collecting proposals to achieve the goal of maintaining the economy of the province, tries to make everyone aware, especially the Government, of the critical situation that Castellón is going through. "We are presenting it in Madrid because that is where we feel the remoteness towards our problems", remarked Luís M. Martí.

Castellón is falling in the following indicators: exports, employment, home purchases, mortgages, business start-ups and industrial production. A situation that contrasts with that of the year 2000 in terms of employment, where 86% of the municipalities in the province were in a situation of full employment. "At the moment, Castellón is, together with Álava, the only province with an unemployment rate higher than that of December 2022. And it continues with a youth unemployment rate of 27.8%, something that will weigh down the future," said the president of CEV Castellón.

Among the causes of these poor indicators is the situation in the ceramics sector, which generates 1 in 4 jobs in the province. "We do not understand how the crisis in the ceramics industry is being tackled. We do not understand that there is no awareness of the link between this industry and the future of Castellón. It is incomprehensible not to realise that helping our industry is helping the whole territory and that we cannot afford the cost of not doing so," explained Luís Martí.  "The aid has been late, a year late, and insufficient, barely covering 5% of what is needed", he added.

To the lack of aid, in time and form, we must add the high deficit and indebtedness of the Valencian Community, caused in part by the unfair model of regional funding, which leaves no margin to support the productive fabric; high social contributions, well above the European average; the lack of strong support for public-private partnerships; excessive bureaucracy or the recent rise in the SMI.

The way to improve the situation in Castellón is to increase aid to industry. Aid that must be "direct, without unacceptable conditions, simple to process, urgent and sufficient". Without decisive and effective help from the government, a situation that is still temporary could become structural.

The European Union, Spain and the Valencian Region must take the reins of industry as a vector for the future. "We have been neglecting industry for decades, thinking that we could only be a country of services, and we must return to the path of manufacturing: it is not enough to know (science), we must know how to do (technology) and we must do it here (industry)".

Together with the President of CEV Castellón, the President of the Business Confederation of the Valencian Community (CEV), Salvador Navarro, the Regional Minister for Innovation, Industry, Trade and Tourism, Nuria Montes, and the President of the Provincial Council of Castellón, Marta Barrachina, participated in the presentation of the Manifesto. They were joined by the mayoress of Castellón, Begoña Carrasco; the mayoress of Onda, Carmen Ballester; the president of the Port Authority of Castellón, Rubén Ibáñez; senators and deputies for Castellón; the presidents of ASCER, ANFFECC, ASEBEC, APECC, AIECS, FACSA and NDCS; representatives of CONFECOMERÇ, ASHOTUR, FEDACOVA, AICECS, ANGED, Mercadona, ASICAR, the Universitat Jaume I, the Port of Castellón, the Association of Industrial Engineers of the Valencian Community and ITC-AICE.