National legislative elections on March 9 could well be a defining moment for the economic future of Spain. The bombing of several commuter trains in Madrid transformed the dynamic of the 2004 contest, the last general election between the center-right People’s Party (PP) and the Socialist Party. The murder of 191 innocent train passengers by al-Qaeda terrorists helped to galvanize the electorate against the government and its pro-U.S. President, Jose Maria Aznar, propelling to power the socialist candidate, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, whose platform called for Spain’s immediate withdrawal from Iraq.

1. What is Mifid? a) An opportunity to grind the competition into the dust. b) The best fee-earner since Y2K and my ticket to the Caribbean this Christmas. c) Haven’t the foggiest, but I just received a memo saying it’s costing us millions and it could kill our business. 2. How ready are you? a) We seconded several staff to the European Commission to help draft the directive, lobbied the European Parliament and then hired a team of rocket scientists and keen legal minds from our rivals in early 2000 to prepare for implementation. b) Been working on it for months – amazing how a few scare-mongering press releases and a couple of conference appearances have the suckers – sorry, clients – reaching for their cheque-books. c) When does it come into force again?

For several years now, one of the most important trends in international relations has been the apparent disintegration of what was once called "the West." Viewed from the other side of the world, however, and in light of recent developments, the differences within the West no longer seem so great.

La ampliación de la Unión Europea de 15 a 25 miembros que se produjo en mayo de 2004 empieza a traducirse en números. Las diferencias de poder adquisitivo entre las regiones de la Unión Europea aumentan cada año como consecuencia de la entrada de nuevos países, normalmente más pobres.

Que España es un codiciado lugar para las vacaciones es asunto bien sabido, pero también resulta ser el país más deseado como destino laboral por los europeos occidentales, por delante de otros Estados vecinos con economías más fuertes.

Increased immigration may not prove to be an easy solution to an ageing population in Europe.

This presentation examines the outlook for the Spanish economy in light of the adjustment which is underway in the real estate sector. It looks at four questions: To what extent has growth performance reflected supply side improvements or excessive domestic demand dynamics? What is the risk of a severe property market correction or crash? How significant is the need for economic adjustment in the context of rising external imbalances and debt levels and persistent inflation differentials against EMU peers? Could Spain could suffer a similar fate to Portugal which faced severe challenges following strong growth and a widening current account deficit in the late 1990s? The conclusions are set out on the final slide.