Carlos Cuerpo on the takeover bid: "We are very cautious about where we are in the process."

Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo has argued that a European-level banking union with banks large enough to be competitive is compatible with "safeguarding a diversified financial sector, where there are also medium-sized or even smaller institutions at the national level."

In an interview with La Vanguardia, reported by Europa Press this Sunday, he argued that the government should set conditions for BBVA's takeover bid for Banco Sabadell, to protect public interests during the transition to a more competitive European financial sector.

"Let's not lose some of the comparative advantages we have right now , particularly in Spain, with banks, with a stronger presence and greater proximity" to customers at the regional and local level, he said.

He denied that the approved measures are intended to hinder the transaction and expressed confidence that all conditions will be met, "because it is also in the bank's own interest to be able to limit this period to three years and not extend it to five."

Regarding BBVA's ability to appoint new Sabadell directors if the transaction goes through, he stated that the new directors must " continue to look after the interests of their institution independently and maximize the value, in this case, of Banco Sabadell."

Regarding the possibility of Sabadell's headquarters being relocated to Bilbao, he noted that the Catalan bank itself has just returned to Catalonia: "This is what we expect in that regard: continuity in the bank's own policy."

" We're very cautious about where we are in the process. We're currently talking about an acquisition; we haven't started talking about a merger," he said.

"We are strictly following what our regulations allow us to do," which are also compatible with European regulations, he stated regarding the government's conditions.

Regarding BBVA's appeal to the courts, he defended the government's ability to set conditions that protect the general interest "that are distinct from those of competition."

For him, these conditions can be interpreted as conditions of flexibility or hardening, " but they are different objectives from those of competition."

Cuerpo also spoke about possible US government retaliation against Spain in response to the tariffs: he rejected speculation while the EC negotiates with them, but assured Spanish companies and producers across all sectors that "Spain and the EU will be there to defend their interests."

He believes the approach to negotiations must be prudent and open to protect the trade relationship, which he defines as the most important in the world, because "€4.6 billion crosses the Atlantic every day."

Therefore, he believes Spain will support a solution to enable it to move forward and even integrate further, but Europe "has the necessary tools if a fair and balanced agreement is not reached to defend its interests."

The minister is aware of the difficulty of his candidacy to preside over the Eurogroup (the forum of eurozone finance ministers) given the possible re-election of the popular Irishman Paschal Donohoe , but he sees it as a possibility: "I wouldn't have formalized my candidacy if I hadn't perceived it."

He believes the Eurogroup "must play a greater role" in making the European political agenda more agile and ambitious given the geopolitical landscape, and that Spain wants to maximize this role to accelerate progress in key areas for growth, strengthening the welfare state, and eurozone integration.

At the International Conference on Financing for Development, which begins Monday in Seville, Spain will jointly propose a platform for exchanging experiences in debt swaps with the World Bank: "It is the ability we, as creditors , in this case bilateral creditors, have to forgive debt in exchange for an investment."

"We want to promote the long-term development and growth of these countries," he explained.