El Barcelona Economic Institute (IEB) and the Barcelona Zona Franca Consortium (CZFB) have signed an agreement that will allow the economic research centre to expand its activities and further strengthen its position as a benchmark in the areas of fiscal federalism, tax systems, urban economy, infrastructure, public policies and energy sustainability.

The signing ceremony, held at the offices of the CZFB, was attended by Pere Navarro, special State delegate in the Barcelona Zona Franca Consortium, and Martí Parellada, president of the IEB.
Pere Navarro stressed the CZFB’s commitment to research in the new economy as a way “of creating knowledge to help to meet the challenges we face as a society. These are turbulent times all over the world and it is more necessary than ever to turn to the academic world so that, together, we can foster the debate that will enable us to make the best decisions on economic policy”.

The partnership with the CZFB will help the IEB to promote activities in all its fields and, according to Martí Parellada, IEB president, “it allows us to incorporate a significant actor which is sure to make a major contribution to a project like ours, in which the public sector, the private sector and the University join forces”.

The Barcelona Zona Franca Consortium
The Consorci is a public company financed entirely via its own resources, such as the industrial leases of the Barcelona Zona Franca Industrial Estate and its assets management. Although its main field of activity is the industrial estate and its customs free zone, it also promotes buildings, urban and industrial land, acts as a catalyst for the transformation of business towards the 4.0 economy. and organizes major economic events in the city, such as the SIL Logistics Directors’ Symposium and the Barcelona Meeting Point Real Estate Congress. It also hosts major innovative benchmark events such as the Barcelona New Economy Week (BNEW) and the Barcelona Woman Acceleration Week (BWAW).

The board of the CZFB includes representatives of the Spanish government, Barcelona City Counci,l and the city’s leading economic institutions.