Cercle d'Economia President Teresa García Milà: 'The Renting Law is Pushing Homes Away from the Market'

Teresa García Milà made history by becoming the first woman to chair the Cercle d'Economia, one of Catalonia's deeply rooted and influential civil society organizations. Evaluating the first year of her term, Milà thoroughly discussed the strategic role the institution plays in the country and the reforms it has undertaken. The experienced academic, who serves as a faculty member at the Pompeu Fabra Üniversitesi and director of the Barcelona Ekonomi Okulu, presents a profound vision regarding economic processes. Under her leadership, the institution aims to adopt a more inclusive and solution-oriented approach to the economic challenges facing Catalonia. This one year marked not only a change in leadership for the institution but also the beginning of a new paradigm shift.

The housing problem and specifically the current rent law stand out as the most prominent topics she brought up in the interview where she was featured as the President of the Katalonya İktisadi Çevre. Milà explicitly states that the current rent law, which aims to regulate the rental housing market, has failed to achieve its purpose and has even produced the opposite effect. She emphasizes that rather than protecting low-income and vulnerable families who need protection the most, the law has led to a significant decrease in the number of available rental apartments. As property owners tend to withdraw their properties from the rental market due to the new regulations, the existing housing supply in the city faces the danger of a severe contraction. This situation emerges as one of the main factors exacerbating the accessible housing crisis by further disrupting the supply-demand balance.

In addition to the housing crisis, other major issues that need to be resolved in the country and directly affect the economy are also on the table. García Milà states the urgent need to address issues of vital importance for Catalonia, such as the energy crisis, the sustainability of regional public financing, and the budget adequacy of local governments. In particular, the autonomous financing model is seen as an urgent necessity to be redesigned in order to increase the region's competitiveness and to financially sustain public services. Believing that these multidimensional economic challenges can be solved not merely with theoretical discussions but with applicable and concrete policies, the president leads the way in taking steps in this direction. The Cercle d'Economia aims to create a common strategic flow by bringing the business world, academics, and public administrators together under the same roof to solve these problems.

García Milà's economic vision focuses not only on managing current crises but also on taking structural measures that will prepare the country's industry for the future. As an academic at the helm of the Barcelona Ekonomi Okulu, she frequently emphasizes the critical role of data-driven analyses and excellent scientific research in social policy making. According to the president's approach, the development of highly competitive regions such as Spain and Catalonia must be supported by smart and flexible tax policies. Furthermore, increasing investments in renewable energy and modernizing network infrastructure are both a guarantee of an environmentally sustainable future and will trigger the formation of new sectors. Thanks to these structural moves, the region aims to maintain its economic superiority in Europe and integrate into advanced technology.

The strategies and roadmap planned for the second year of her term appear just as ambitious and comprehensive as the first. García Milà plans for the Cercle d'Economia to establish a stronger dialogue with civil society during this period, particularly throwing its weight into urban transformation discussions. Creating opportunities for the active participation of young people in the economy and increasing investments in education are among the fundamental priorities of the institution's new term. The institution will continue to provide impetus for the development of comprehensive, fair, and realistic policies that encompass broad segments of society, moving beyond narrow interest groups. All these visionary steps hold the potential to further increase the Cercle d'Economia's influence and decisive power in shaping the socio-economic landscape of the region.