Last Friday 9th May, FORO ATEIA ARAGON took place, an annual event that invites to reflect on the logistic panorama of our region.
All the interventions were very enriching, starting with Mariano Aso (president of ATEIA ARAGON) who spoke about this space as an environment for the meeting, analysis and projection of ideas both in the present and in the future of international trade, logistics and customs representation.
The round table, led by Ricardo López, Director of Zaragoza Airport, highlighted the united community that exists in the precinct, generating an exponential development from the end of the 90’s to what it has become today. He highlighted the great flexibility of the operators, with the capacity to attend cargo aircraft operations in less than 90 minutes. The airport’s strategy is committed to continuous growth, increasing both passenger and cargo routes and connectivity, as well as expanding the airport’s own facilities and services.
Afterwards, Pedro Sas, Managing Director of APL (Aragón Plataforma Logística) gave us his point of view on the current problems and how many of them are temporary. He made a comparative exercise of the reflections made by him last November 2022 in the same auditorium under the event of the 20th anniversary of ATEIA ARAGÓN. He recalled his SWOT analysis and made us see how the strengths and opportunities remain practically the same (geostrategic position, social peace…) and, on the other hand, the negative aspects have changed their direction (high interest rates compared to the current low ones, inflation close to double digit compared to today, etc.).
Ismael de Marcos (ATEIA Aragón); Mariano Aso (president of ATEIA Aragón OLT); Juan Antonio Muñoz Royán (inspector of the State Agency of Tax Administration), and Carmelo González (president of FETRAZ).
After a short coffee break, the tax inspector Jose Antonio Muñoz Royan developed the philosophy of the CAU (Customs Union Code) reform. During his presentation he highlighted the change of model of the administration replacing the declarations by a database. He also highlighted the relationship between the taxable person, the country of the declarant and the responsibility of the member state with its exporting and importing companies. He insisted that these processes are massive and therefore not immediate. He recommended that we should be busy and adapt, but that we should not be blocked by concern.
Finally, the round table of the ports dealt with the current situation of rail connections and how it affects each one in one way or another.
The Port of Barcelona stressed that the major works have already been carried out and they hope to return to normality by 2025.
The Port Authority of the Port of Valencia highlighted the development of the Zaragoza-Teruel-Sagunto-Valencia line, which will start operating in the coming months.
The Port of Tarragona emphasised its specialisation above all in the movement of raw materials and how rail infrastructures are being developed for the transfer of goods from our region.
The port of Bilbao also intervened and reminded that its main relation with the Aragonese territory is the connection with the North of Europe and that, unlike other ports, it has not suffered imbalances due to railway works.
The conclusions were developed by Carmelo Gonzalez, president of FETRAZ, who did not miss the opportunity to demand an improvement in the road infrastructure due to its deficient state and highlighted the role of the lorry in the global supply chain.
The Director General of Transport, David Sánchez, concluded by highlighting the united logistics community that we have in our Community and how the DGA is committed to this sector.
From BestWay we support the celebration of this type of events as they offer the necessary pause for reflection, analysis and development of the logistics activity in Aragon.
*This article has been automatically translated from its Spanish version.
