León Facing the New Strategic Challenges of the European Union: Business Meeting Led by ICAMCyL

The city of León hosted the business breakfast “León Facing the New Strategic Challenges of the European Union”, organized by the ICAMCyL Foundation in collaboration with the City Council of León and the Federation of Companies of León. The event brought together institutional representatives, business leaders, and members of the innovation ecosystem to analyze León’s positioning in light of the EU's strategic priorities and the opportunities arising from European funds.

León and Its Positioning Regarding European Strategy

The event was inaugurated by the Mayor of León, José Antonio Diez, and featured the participation of MEP Raúl de la Hoz, member of the European Parliament's Committee on Industry, Research and Energy for the European People's Party. During his speech, De la Hoz presented attendees with updates on European developments and Spain’s situation, as well as León province’s status in the European innovation landscape.

In his analysis, the MEP highlighted that Spain currently has a return rate of 11% on total European funds, noting that although participation is increasing, there is still a need to lead a greater number of consortia. He also emphasized the challenge posed by the concentration of innovation hubs in regions such as Catalonia, the Basque Country, and Madrid.

European Funds, Strategic Autonomy, and Energy Transition

The analysis of the European scenario was conducted by Santiago Cuesta-López, Director General of the ICAMCyL Foundation. The discussion addressed key topics such as the European Union’s strategic autonomy, energy transition, and their direct impact on territories, highlighting the importance of translating European priorities to the local and business level.

The Role of ICAMCyL in Connecting León and Europe

The institutional opening of the event was led by Alberto Sutil, Chairman of the ICAMCyL Foundation Board, who emphasized the importance of strengthening León’s connection with Europe through collaboration, anticipating strategic changes, and promoting innovation as a lever for territorial development.

In this context, the event served as a space for analysis and debate on the impact that European policies can have on León’s economic development, employment, and competitiveness, as well as on the opportunities available for companies, public administrations, and knowledge centers.

University, Business, and Innovation in León

Subsequently, Natividad Rodríguez, Manager of Ildefe, presented the “León 360º” report, a comprehensive overview of the socio-economic fabric of the city and province, highlighting key sectors for employment and structural challenges faced by León in the European context. Ildefe conveyed a message of confidence in the city’s potential and the opportunities related to innovation and business development.

One of the central moments of the event was the roundtable on business and the León science and innovation ecosystem, moderated by Carmelo Alonso, City Councilor for Economic Promotion of León. Representatives from companies, universities, and technology centers agreed on the need to strengthen effective collaboration between academia and business as a key factor for advancing competitiveness.

The University of León highlighted the lack of trust that exists in part of the business sector toward the university, which limits the use of generated knowledge. In this context, Luis Ederra, COO of TECOI, stressed that in countries such as Germany, universities act as the R&D department of companies, moving toward integrated research-industry models.

The debate also underlined that León cannot compete in volume with major industrial powers, but it can compete in specialization, knowledge, and added value. INVICSA also noted the difficulties SMEs face in accessing European programs, although there is growing interest from the business community in participating in European funding calls.

Regarding the differential capacities of the University of León to strengthen R&D&I and accelerate technology transfer, it was highlighted that the institution has more than a hundred research groups and that 108 local companies employ university graduates, 25 of which are currently in growth, investment, and workforce expansion plans.

In this context, the ICAMCyL Foundation’s role as a facilitator has been emphasized, promoting contact and collaboration between universities and companies to turn talent into joint innovation projects. As highlighted during the roundtable, the university serves León and is committed to its economic and social development.