Cornellà de Llobregat Mayor Antonio Balmón has called for stronger public-private alliances and criticised administrative bureaucracy at a breakfast event in the city. The meeting, organised by the Asociación Empresarial de L'Hospitalet y el Baix Llobregat (AEBALL), took place at the Auditori de Cornellà.
Balmón, who is also Executive Vice-President of the Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona (AMB), said the region needs more social cohesion, more collaboration between the public and private sectors, and faster administrative processes. Santiago Ballesté, president of AEBALL, introduced the event and praised the competitiveness of Cornellà and the wider Baix Llobregat area, part of the community around Barcelona.
Ballesté also set out priorities for local business, including preserving and modernising economic activity zones, speeding up procedures, and securing funding for sustainable mobility and energy efficiency. He said links between businesses, vocational training and residents are important for attracting talent.
Balmón described businesses as “necessary allies” for local government. He rejected the idea that the business sector is only made up of large corporations, saying local owners also work to improve the community and should be valued for that role.
He then turned to bureaucracy, saying excessive control and regulation can hold back cooperation between companies and public bodies. Using housing as an example, he said it can take four or five years for an agreed development to become reality, which he argued is too slow for an accelerated world.
The mayor also spoke about social cohesion and housing. He said Cornellà has 39,000 homes and recorded seven squatting incidents last year. He stressed that such data should not be used to target people based on skin colour, and said the city was built on respect. He also described fear as a major force in society, saying it shapes behaviour even if it does not appear on the stock market.
On future investment, Balmón said Cornellà is a modest city but could attract more than €2 billion over the next 10 years. He linked that outlook to housing access and backed the idea of building vertically, while saying this should not mean inhumane spaces. He also pointed to a proposal by President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, about gradually reducing the living space some people need.
He finished by highlighting the Sant Ildefons rehabilitation plan, a €30 million project that will benefit 1,900 homes. The scheme is jointly funded by property owners and the Cornellà City Council. Balmón, who lived in the neighbourhood in the 1960s, said it will give the flats 30 more years of life.
