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The G20 is an increasingly important forum of nations (well, 19 nations plus the EU).
Its membership, though, is controversial. To make room for countries from different parts of the world, countries in well-represented regions have been excluded. The most glaring example is Spain. By any reasonable measure, the Spanish economy easily makes the global top twenty. But because western Europe is rich in medium-sized powers – with four in the G20 – it was thought that adding a fifth to the list (at the expense of, say, Argentina or South Africa) would result in a regional imbalance. And so Spain is fobbed off with “permanent guest invitee” status.
That’s the Spanish story more generally: it’s a country that doesn’t get the global attention it deserves. Never mind the size of its economy, just look at the influence its culture and language has in shaping the modern world. But even when the media’s attention is on Europe alone, it’s as if the continent stops at the Pyrenees.
Of course, if the news is about the fraught relationship between the richer northern and poorer southern members of the Eurozone, Spain (and Portugal) may get a mention, but the focus tends to be on the latest Italian drama or Greek tragedy.
But perhaps that goes to show that ‘no news is good news’ – because as Clara Wright reminds us in an AFP report (via the The Local), there is some good news about the Spanish economy:
“Spain’s economy shrank during the financial crisis from 2009 to 2013 but rebounded in 2014. Its rate of expansion has since outstripped much of the EU with growth of more than 3 percent.”
Furthermore, “Spain’s jobless rate is down from a peak of nearly 27 percent in 2013 to 14.5 percent in September”.
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