Dani Rodrik was one of the first economists to warn years ago about the internal contradictions of the process of hyperglobalization of the world economy. In a way, the facts have come to prove him right: today we are facing a process of open redefinition of the phenomenon both in terms of its social and political consequences and the need to adapt to a new scenario where the security factor seems to take precedence over other strictly economic considerations.

It has been said that data is the oil of the 21st century, which reflects an indisputable reality: the great transformation brought about by Digitalization and the Digital Economy comes from the growing capacity to store and, above all, process data to give new value to the activities of all economic sectors, both traditional and emerging. The European Digital Strategy, whose latest manifestations are the Data Governance Act and the future Data Act, will not only mark European regulation in this area, but will become a global regulatory benchmark.

China's prominence on the world scene has become so indisputable that the great international political issue of our times is to define the relations of each of the different actors with the Asian giant. In a completely polarized USA, the only consensus that can be perceived today is the need to strengthen its strategy vis-à-vis China, which is considered much more than a serious trade competitor. Europe's first priority is to deal with the end of the war in Ukraine, but it must also decide what role it should play in this new landscape of growing strategic and commercial tension.

Lula's return to the presidency of Brazil and his active international presence has given Ibero-America an even more important role in the new map of world geography. The West has discovered that its prolonged absence from Ibero-America and Africa has left the field open for its main rival to establish solid alliances in both areas of the world. Europe and the US are once again looking at Ibero-America with less moral superiority and a greater willingness to understand the transformations taking place in the region.

Western countries not only face threats from abroad, but also within liberal democracies there are phenomena that undermine the essential principles of their functioning. We are talking about polarization, the rise of extremism and threats to freedom of expression and, in particular, to academic freedom, a phenomenon that is much more pronounced in US universities.

The period of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union has a milestone of paramount importance: the definition of new fiscal rules for Europe that should come into force next year. The common objective is to achieve simple, clearer and less voluntarist rules than those currently in force. Combining the flexibility that was lacking in the past with effectiveness in meeting the objectives does not seem easy. Nor will it be easy to arbitrate a system that allows the necessary resources to be found for convergence policies or to face common challenges such as climate change.