In terms of competitiveness to attract companies and talent, Asturias is closer to the impoverished Sud-Est region of Romania than to the booming Utrecht in the Netherlands. They are the floor and the ceiling in the competitiveness index of the regions that the European Commission calculates every three years based on 68 indicators. Asturias is ten points below the average (90.1 over an equator of 100) and ranks 140 out of 234 regions. It stands out in terms of technology and infrastructure availability, but is weighed down by the size of its market, the sophistication of its companies, its labor market, and its innovation. Despite improving its overall score, it has gone from being the seventh most attractive Spanish region three years ago, to being the eighth.
“Territorial competitiveness is the ability of a region to offer an attractive and sustainable environment for companies and citizens to establish and work in it,” said Elisa Ferreira, Commissioner responsible for Cohesion and Reforms of the European Commission, who stressed that ” This revised index offers a more comprehensive picture of the different levels of competitiveness in the EU regions and is a valuable tool to improve policy making.”
Compared to previous triennia (the study was launched in 2010), the index uses a revised methodology to refine its diagnosis and no longer includes the regions of the United Kingdom after “Brexit”. For this reason, the values of the two previous studies, those of 2019 and 2016, have also been updated to be able to compare.
The European classification. Analyzing the 68 competitiveness indicators, Asturias is ranked 140 out of 234 regions. It is just below Pomorskie, in Poland, and above Piedmont, in Italy. Establishing an average of 100, Asturias registers an index of 90.1, almost ten points below. The ranking is headed by the Dutch regions of Utrecht (150.9) and Zuid-Hollad (144.1), and the French Île-de-France (142.8) , and is closed by the Bulgarian region of Severozapaden ( 46.9) and the Romanian Nord-Est (46.6) and Sud-Est (44.9). From the European Commission it is pointed out that the index shows that there are still large differences between regions of the EU, but also that the less developed territories have improved their competitiveness. It is worth noting that in Southern Europe, the regions of Portugal and Spain, as well as most of Greece, improved their results. Thus, the index of 90.1 for Asturias in 2022 is above the 83 of 2019 and the 85.3 of 2016.
classification in Spain. With its index of 90.1, Asturias occupies the eighth position in competitiveness among Spanish regions. Asturias loses one position with respect to the classification of three years ago, which has been revised using the current criteria. Only three communities are above the European average (100), which are Madrid (119.3), the Basque Country (107.6) and Catalonia (101.3). With a higher rate than Asturias, but below the European average, are Navarra (96.4), Cantabria (92), Comunidad Valencia (92) and Aragón (90.4). The Valencian Community advanced the Principality compared to three years ago. The communities with the lowest competitiveness index are Andalucía (76.6), Canarias (76.1) and Extremadura (70.9).
The criteria. The competitiveness index is made up of three sub-indices with eleven pillars. There is the basic sub-index (which includes the pillars of institutions, macroeconomic stability, infrastructure, health and basic education), the efficiency sub-index (with the pillars of higher education, training and lifelong learning; efficiency of the labor market, and size of the market ) and the innovation sub-index (with the indices of technological availability, business sophistication and innovation). Asturias is above the average of the European regions (100) in the basic criteria (100.7), but it is below those of innovation (97.1) and especially in those of efficiency (81.1 ).
The strengths of Asturias. Asturias stands out positively in technological availability (126.1) and in infrastructures (114.5) and this despite the fact that the region still has large projects considered key pending, such as the high-speed rail connection with the plateau. In three other pillars it is also above the average for European regions, they are health (110.7), institutions (109.7) and higher education, training and lifelong learning (103.7). Based on what the study says, it can be said that Asturias is leading the way from a technological point of view and that it has little to envy in terms of infrastructure, institutions, health system and quality of life, and university and professional training. Satisfaction surveys on the Asturian health system always show high levels, but the same is not usually the case for institutions or infrastructures. Furthermore, employers tend to be critical of the training provided in the region.
The weak points. The dimension of the Asturian market is the main ballast for attracting companies and talent (an index of 43.9). The sophistication of existing companies in the region does not help much either (76.9), as does macroeconomic stability (78.1) or the efficiency of the labor market (79.5). Asturias obtained the best result, although far from the average for European regions, in innovation (80.2). And also basic education remains below the average values 92.5).
The AIDS. Asturias is at the bottom of the competitiveness table, according to a study by the European Commission. It is a sign of weakness, but also a call to highlight that the region still needs EU support to reduce the gap with other regions. From the European Commission it was highlighted that cohesion policy is the main tool and that to apply it it takes into account the regional competitiveness index.