Evropský polytechnický institut, s

INTRODUCTION

At present the European Union is shaking to its foundation due to the economic crisis that has affected the Eurozone. Greece is where the crisis hit the hardest but the other EU countries such as Portugal, Ireland and Spain and others are no exceptions. It is because of this crisis that the Euro countries have earned an unpleasant moniker “PIGS” which was made by combining the first letters of the countries Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain – PIGS.

It is just Spain that has become the subject of the bachelor’s thesis. The goal of the work is a complete analysis of the entrepreneurial environment in Spain for entrepreneurs from the Czech Republic. The thesis deals with the analysis of the geographical, economic-political, social and ethical environment with a detailed analysis of macroeconomic factors for the past 11 years, therefore 2000 to 2011. All mentioned information comes from official sources of Spain, the Czech Republic and the European Union, for their credibility and exactness and a possibility of a prediction of further developments. A substantial part of the thesis deals with the foreign trade of Spain and the Czech Republic and selected economic associations such as NAFTA and ASEAN. The thesis also takes a look at the development and mutual business balance between Spain and the Czech Republic.

The goal of this thesis is to analyze in detail the mutual cooperation between both the countries in terms of trade-economic relations. Having studied the thesis as a summary of information on geographic, economic-political, social and ethical environment a potential Czech entrepreneur should get a view of the present state of the Spanish-Czech market. Information of this character may serve as a challenge to entrepreneurial subjects considering the entry to a foreign market and may be necessary for a successful implementation of goals.

The thesis was elaborated for the European Polytechnic Institute, Ltd. and may be expanded, which may in future be a challenge to other students interested in this subject. The scope of analyses that the thesis contains is constantly on the move and ever developing. It is also here where we may see prospects for the future expansion and an accumulation of even greater amount of data and information. The work will mainly contribute to the expansion of general knowledge in the given field.

Part of the elaboration of the bachelor’s thesis on the topic of Spanish-Czech cooperation is the capability to work with data and values that do not always remain constant. That’s why it is very important to learn to obtain necessary data from local and mainly foreign sources and process them in a practical way. Professional literature and trustworthy official internet sources are the necessary sources of information.

The thesis has drawn from professional Czech and Slovak and other foreign publications and literature. Spain and also the Czech Republic publish an array of publications and news on the past and present situation. However, it is necessary to process the gathered data correctly. We have to take into account that a multitude of data and values published this way is influenced by lots of factors and that’s why it is essential to continue working with them.

Predictions of further developments of the cooperation between Spain and the Czech Republic provide an advantage in predicting possibilities that the given market can offer us. That can help an entrepreneurial subject to better get ahead in the merciless foreign market.

The thesis also lists Czech companies that have already been operating on the Spanish market for a long time and may represent competitors or partners in developing business activities. There is also an analysis of the Spanish partner and conditions for the entry of Czech entrepreneurial subjects to the Spanish market. All data are provided in a well-arranged tabular or graphic way.

1 The Theoretical Basis of the Analysis of the Entrepreneurial Environment

What matters for a present Czech entrepreneur is that the European Union is formed of countries with highly developed economies and a huge productive potential, ability to compete, high standard of living and modern infrastructure.

Since 2000 the European Union has been promoting the so-called Lisbon Strategy, which is a package of measures of member states and whose task is to place the European economy to the global top, to ensure long-term growth of employment and ecological responsibility. The aims of the Lisbon Strategy include the development of the information society, support of innovations, research and developments for the ability to compete, liberalization of the common market and its branches, integration of the financial services market, sustainable development and last but not least the growth of employment. .

The primary tool for achieving a high level of employment and social security, higher quality of life, economic cooperation and well-balanced and sustainable growth respecting environmental needs is the internal market of the European Union. The EU internal market stimulates the performance of member states’ economies. It helps to effectively distribute production factors among individual directions of use and thus enables to manufacture more effectively, to increase economic performance and to create stimuli for investments.

The external environment of companies is divided into the macro environment and branch environment of a company. The main signs of macro environment are macro-economic environment (inflation, economic growth, modifications of interest rates and exchange rates), legal and political environment, scientific-technical environment, demographic environment, social environment, international environment and ecology. The environment within the branch is formed of suppliers, customers or buyers, and competitors. In order to achieve the best possible results in the given strategy it is necessary to examine the competitive environment and to identify and name the competitors’ strengths on the basis of the results of this analysis. Thanks to this analysis a company can predict opportunities and threats that the company may run into.

In terms of politics and law	In terms of economics	In terms of society
Stability of regime	Level of economy	Size of consumer market
Stability of government	GDP per capita	Size of consumer market
Legal culture and order	Economic cycle	Demographic trends
Administrative culture and administration	Rate of integration	Values and traditions
International relations and alliances	Currency stability	Multiculturalism
Economic and fiscal policy	Interest rate	Education and qualifications
Foreign-trade policy	Exchange rate	Labor ethics and discipline
Competitiveness support	Level of prices and inflation	Labor ethics and discipline
Protection of economic competition	Unemployment	Power of civil society
Commercial law	Investments	Structure of employment
Labor law	Consumption	Social/income structure of society
Environmental protection	Availability of loads and resources	Labor market and social dialog
Consumer protection	Availability and price of raw materials and energies	Consumer patterns and trends
Protection of intellectual property	Availability of suppliers	Prevalent and generational lifestyle
Technical legislation	Road infrastructure	Consumer costs

Table no. 1: The elements of the analysis of entrepreneurial environment of the state

Source: [3]

Before a company starts dealing with the analysis of the external environment it should focus on the analysis to be aimed purposefully. Table no. 1 lists aspects that are necessary to be focused on from various points of view such as that of economy, politics and law
and society.

1.1 PEST Analysis

PEST analysis is that of political, economic, social and technological factors. It is part of strategic management and is used when a company makes decisions concerning its long-term plans or implementation of larger projects whether in its country or abroad. PEST analysis is commonly used before an entry to a given market, introduction of a new important product but also before the opening, say, a new factory in the market. [3]

The analysis of the economic environment is crucial for the estimate of the price of labor, products and services. It monitors the trend of taxation, customs duties, currency stability and its exchange rate, height of interest rates, issues of economic cycles in the market, macro-economic indicators, the market orientation and trends in distribution. It also includes offers of foreign investors willing to invest into the given market.

The issues of the stability of political scene also having an impact on the legislative stability are dealt with in the analysis of political factors. The important aspect is the present but also future trend. Substantial bills and acts for the sphere of influence of the company are monitored.

The most predictable part of PEST analysis is the social environment. This information is easy to find in the database of the National Statistical Office, where it is freely available. This area is quite important for companies dealing in retail prices. It deals with demographic indicators, present tends in lifestyle, religious and ethical issues but also the perception of advertising and influence of the media.

The analysis of the technological environment concentrates on the issues of infrastructure, orientation and development of industry, the situation of the research and science support but also universities. To a certain extent it also deals with the issue of intellectual property and ecology. [3]

1.2 Five-Forces Analysis

The model of five forces having an influence on the branch of commerce of a company which tries to be successful in a new market was elaborated by Michael E. Porter. This American expert on company strategies realized that these forces are the threat of new competitors – entrants in the market, the scope of competitiveness, customers’ strength, the power of suppliers and a possibility of substitute products.

In the case of a new competitor entering the market there is a threat the price may go down and a threat of lower profits. If the competitive force is low companies have a chance to increase prices and thus increase their profits. In the opposite case there could be a decrease in profits.

By lowering prices or increasing the quality of performance and by providing better services the strength of customers can be felt. The force of customers reaches its top values in the case the company becomes dependent on buyers who in turn are not dependent on the company.

The force of suppliers can be felt as an ability to increase prices or decrease the quality of supplied goods. Weak suppliers take the opportunity to decrease the price and require higher quality of goods.

Competitors also pose a threat of substitute products. As long as there is a low chance for substitute products a company has an opportunity to increase prices and achieve higher profits.

1.3 Basic Territorial Information

Officially: the Kingdom of Spain

Area: 504 782 km²[4]

Population: 47,19 mil. (as of January 1, 2011) [4]

Density: 94 inhabitants/km²[4]

Capital: Madrid (3,27 mil.) [4]

Head of state: Juan Carlos I.

Prime Minister: Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero

Currency: Euro, 1€ = 100 cents

Official language: Spanish

Spain is a sovereign state and a member of the European Union located in the southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east bz the Mediterranean Sea except for a small boundary with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, to the north and north east by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay, and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal.

Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. Furthermore, the town of Llívia is a Spanish enclave situated inside French territory. With an area of 504,030 square kilometers it is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union after France and the fourth largest country in Europe after Russia, Ukraine, and France.

Mainland Spain is a mountainous country, dominated by high plateaus and mountain chains. After the Pyrenees, the main mountain ranges are the Cordillera Cantábrica, Sistema Ibérico, Sistema Central, Montes de Toledo, Sierra Morena and the Sistema Penibético whose highest peak, the 3,478 m high Mulhacén, located in Sierra Nevada, is the highest elevation in the Iberian peninsula, while the highest point in Spain is the Teide, a 3,718 m high active volcano in the Canary Islands. The Meseta Central is a vast plateau in the heart of peninsular Spain.

There are several major rivers in Spain such as the Tagus, the Ebro, the Duero, the Guadiana and the Guadalquivir. Alluvial plains are found along the coast, the largest of which is that of the Guadalquivir in Andalusia

Quite a large part of Spanish territory is not used for agriculture for reasons of drought. It is only about 40% of the country that is suitable for agriculture. The quality of land is mostly low and only about 10% can be considered excellent. Erosion of soil poses a serious threat, mainly in dry plains in Castilla-La Mancha. In the Pyrenees and the whole northern part of the country with the oceanic climate people raise cattle. It is the autonomous areas of Aragon and Castile and León where growing grain prevails. In the south and east it is Mediterranean crops that are raised and where irrigation is practiced. Spain exports citrus fruit and early fruit and vegetables to the other parts of Europe.

The most dynamic industrial areas can be found around Madrid and Barcelona. Other industrial centers include Zaragoza and Valencia. Heavy industry developed in the area of Gijón and Bilbao on the coast of the Atlantic. After a crisis lasting several years and which caused Bilbao to even reduce its population this city goes through a period of resurgence. Important car producers have their seats in Valladolid (Renault), in Vigo (Peugeot), in Martorell (Seat) or in Valencia (Ford). In Getafe, Illescas and Puerto Real parts of airplanes Airbus are made.

Spain’s economy has been open since the 1960’s and particularly after its entry to the European Economic Community in 1986. Madrid is the university and business center but lots of universities can be found in Barcelona as well.

After France Spain is the second most attractive country for tourists in the world. It has excellent conditions for tourism – the Mediterranean coast offers beaches and tourist resorts (Marbella, Málaga, Benidorm, Palma de Mallorca). The consequences of tourism are significant in a positive way – it is an important source of income but on the other hand it leads to construction activities along the coast and problems concerning water management. Tourists also visit towns with rich cultural heritage (Segovia, Santiago de Compostela, Ávila, Cáceres, Salamanca, Toledo, Córdoba, Alcalá de Henares).

1.4 Population

The population of Spain is distributed unevenly. The central part of the country is sparsely populated and the population is concentrated along the coast. The capital of Madrid is an exception, though.

In the past people went searching for a better life even abroad and this happened even in the 20th century. Thousands of Spanish citizens looked for work or better life in Western Europe. Between 1960 and 1975 the figure of people leaving the country for economical or political reasons was 100 000 annually. Most of them headed for Belgium, France or Germany. At present, due to the economical and also political liberalization of the country there are hardly any more emigrants.

Age structure of the population
Total population	47,19 mil.
0 – 16 years of age	15,7 %
16 – 44 years of age	41,8 %
45 – 64 years of age	25,3 %
Over 65 years of age	17,2 %
Average age	38
Life expectancy - men	78,9
Life expectancy - women	84,9

Table no. 2: The age structure of the population

Source: [4]

There is no state-approved religion in Spain and therefore all religions are accepted. The state, however, cooperates with the Catholic Church which is prevalent among the population.

Graph no. 1: Religious structure of the population

Source: [4]

Roughly about 76% of Spanish worshippers are Catholics. In terms of the Catholic Church the country is divided into 11 archdioceses and 54 dioceses.

Graph no. 2: The structure of nationalities in Spain

Source: [4]

There are three major nationalities in Spain. The largest of them are Spaniards and Catalonians account for almost a quarter. The Catalonian metropolis is Barcelona with more than 3 million citizens. The smallest group is formed by Basques. There are Basque-speaking people who consider themselves Spaniards or Spanish-speaking Basques and radical Basque separatists.

2 The Timelines of Macroeconomic Indicators for the Past 11 Years

In the analysis of the entrepreneurial environment we focused on the evaluation of the overall economy of the country. We pay attention to the economic development during certain periods that will facilitate the analysis from the national point of view. This evaluation of the development is essential for concretization of certain export and import subjects. In this part we focus on monitoring the share in the creation and consumption of GDP, share of individual industries in the creation of GDP, inflation rate, industrial production and other crucial segments. A subject entering the Spanish market should also be aware that the banking system of Spain is highly developed.

It is the services that have the greatest share in the creation of GDP. In 2009 the figure reached 66.6 % of the total share of GDP. A large portion of this particular figure can be credited to tourist industry which plays the major role among services in Spain. [5]

Period	Value in %
2000	5.0
2001	3.6
2002	2.7
2003	3.1
2004	3.3
2005	3.6
2006	4.0
2007	3.6
2008	0.9
2009	-3.7
2010	0,2
2011	0,7
2012	1,7

Table no. 3: The rate of real GDP growth in the period between 2000 - 2012

Source: [6]

2.1 Gross National Product, Gross Domestic Product

Years 2000 – 2004

In this period the Spanish economy experiences a fluctuation of GDP values. In the years 2000 – 2002 it records an abrupt drop from 5.0 % (year 2000) through 3.6 % (year 2001)
down to 2.7 % (year 2002). In 2003 the situation improves slightly and GDP grows up to 3.1 % and in 2004 the figure reaches 3.3 %. [6]

Year 2005

A constant problem of the Spanish economy is the increasing speed of passive balance of trade which shows – 1.8 %. Increasing, but in this case, positive values can be seen in the case of the gross domestic product which, compared to the previous years, shows a slight increase to 3.4 %. Governmental officials expressed the untenability of the economic model that worked on the basis of domestic consumption and capital equipment – mainly in the building industry. There would be an effort to reduce this dependence and transfer the functionality of this model to some other capital equipment – for instance production and to put greater stress on foreign trade. [6]

Year 2006

Compared to the previous year GDP increased by 3.9 %. The state coffers ended up with the surplus of 17,898 billion Euro which made up 1.83 % of GDP, the debt in public finance decreased under 40 % of GDP (39.8 %), which was expected and despite that it was the best result since 986. [6]

Year 2007

There is some economic growth compared to 2006 by 3.8 %. The economic growth was influenced by negative results on the current account – the deficit was 105.9 billion Euro – compared to 2006 we see an increase by 21 %. On the one hand the drop in export was attributed to the decrease in competitive strength of domestic producers and on the other hand it was excused to a certain extent by the decrease in the economic growth of major business partners – Germany, France, Italy. Domestic consumption showed some decrease while investment activities showed some rise. The annual rate of inflation reached 4.2 % - the highest figure in the past 12 years. The number of unemployed people also went up to 2.1 million of the total number of employable population. The deficit in balance of trade was 99 billion Euro. Despite a slight decrease in the development of tourist industry Spain enters the year 2008 with a surplus in its coffers by 23.368 billion Euro in total. [6]

Year 2008

The economic growth at the level of 3.1 % was expected but this figure was gradually dropping until the interannual GDP growth halted at the value of 0.9 %, which exceeded even the most pessimistic estimates. In this year the Spanish government did not succeed in managing with a positive balance in the state coffers and ended up with the deficit of 3.81 % of GDP. Negative balance appeared in the public debt, too, and it was 39.5 % of GDP. The unemployment rate grows continually – reaching 14 %, which represents both social and political and economical problems. [6]

Year 2009

The financial and economic crisis became felt and GDP dropped by 3.6 %, industrial production by 16.2 %, production in the building industry by 22.2 %, export by15.9 % and import by 26.2 %. The unemployment rate continues to grow and reaches 18%, which means that there are more than 4 million employable citizens of Spain without a job. A government financial support for economic revival was granted, which results in increasing the deficit of the state coffers to -11.4 %, the national debt went up to 55 % of GDP. [6]

Year 2010

In this year Spain managed to decrease the state budget deficit to 9.3 %. The government lead by prime-minister Zapatero surely plans to further decrease the deficit. As for the unemployment rate – the figure went up to unbelievable 20 % (in comparison with the Czech Republic – here the unemployment rate in December 2010 rose to 9.6 %), Spain has the largest figure of unemployed people within the European Union. In the coming years it is expected that the development and economic growth will reach some 2 to 2.5 %. It is expected that by creating new jobs there will be a gradual decrease in the unemployment rate. The government enters 2011 with a resolution to reduce the state budget deficit to 6 %. [6]

Year 2011

In the last quarter of last year the Spanish economy recorded a drop of one percent compared with the previous quarter which recorded a 0.3 % drop thus getting into its first recession since 1993.

Thus Spain joined other European countries already stricken by the recession - Germany, Italy and Great Britain. Interannually Spain’s gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by 0.7 %.

Despite these negative figures the Spanish economy does better than analysts predicted.
These predicted that Spain would record an inter-quarterly drop into red by 1.1 % and 0.8 % inter-annually.

Graph no. 3: The share in HDP of Spain

Source: [7]

The graph no. 3 shows that the largest share in GDP of Spain is created by services, predominantly by tourism.

Graph no. 4: The real GDP growth rate of Spain between 2000 and 2011 in %

Source: [6]

Country/ period
Country/ period	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
USA	3,5	1,8	2,5	3,6	3,1	2,7	1,9	0,0	-2,6	2,6	2,3
EU	2,1	0,9	0,8	2,2	1,7	3,0	2,9	0,5	-4,1	1,7	1,5
Canada	3,3	2,9	1,9	3,1	3,0	2,8	2,2	0,5	-2,5	3,1	2,7
Japan	0,9	0,3	1,4	2,7	1,9	2,0	2,4	-1,2	-5,2	2,8	1,5
Germany	1,7	0	-0,2	1,2	0,8	3,4	2,7	1,0	-4,7	3,3	2,0
Australia	3,8	3,9	3,2	3,6	3,2	2,6	4,8	2,2	1,2	3,0	3,5
England	2,9	2,1	2,8	3,0	2,2	2,8	2,7	-0,1	-4,9	1,7	2,0
France	2,1	1,1	1,1	2,3	2	2,4	2,3	0,1	-2,5	1,6	1,6
Italy	1,6	0,5	0,0	1,5	0,7	2,0	1,5	-1,3	-5,0	1,0	1,0
Slovakia	4,4	4,6	4,8	5,0	6,7	8,5	10,6	6,2	-4,7	4,1	4,3
Czech	1,7	1,9	3,6	4,5	6,3	6,8	6,1	2,5	-4,1	2,0	2,2
Spain	3,5	2,7	3,1	3,3	3,6	4,0	3,6	0,9	-3,7	-0,3	0,7

Table no. 4: The comparison of the real GDP growth in selected countries

Source: [15]

Table no. 4 compares the real GDP growth in selected countries for the period between 2001 and 2011 and it can be seen that Spain reached the highest values in 2006, the year before the crisis hit. After the crises hit the figures recorded a rapid decline.

2.2 Inflation

Inflation is the cause of the crisis in Europe, therefore also the crisis in Spain. That’s why it is important to look for and find solutions. The essence of inflation is the volume of money in the economy. This money is largely formed of that in bank accounts but it also includes the value of loans. With the aid of loans it is possible to cover bank loans, which can mean the amount of money rises faster even though the volume of cash in bank accounts rises more slowly.

Inflation is primarily a redistribution of wealth. The moment newly created money is put into circulation all cash holders lose. However, those who first get at the newly produced money usually gain at the expense of the former as they can purchase using the new money at old prices. Under standard circumstances each banknote corresponds to some service which the present owner had to provide to the previous one in order to gain it. It can be, for instance, wages being paid for providing labor. New money, however, could be gained by its owner without any hard work in the market but it was created for him practically from nowhere, instead. The money is covered just by labor of all its holders. As the money passes through the economy people realize there has been some change in its value and that it loses its original value. Those that are the last to get at it lose the most as for a certain period of time they were forced to new higher prices while their incomes were not increased yet to the new level. This redistribution is therefore very uneven and it cannot be exactly predicted who gains most.

Country/ period
Country/ period	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
USA	2,7	1,6	2,3	2,7	3,4	3,2	2,9	3,8	-0,3	1,4	1,0
EU	2,2	2,3	2,1	2,2	2,2	2,2	2,1	3,3	0,3	1,6	1,5
Canada	1,7	2,3	2,7	1,8	2,2	2,0	2,1	2,4	0,3	1,8	2,0
Japan	0,4	-0,9	-0,3	0,0	-0,3	0,3	0,0	1,4	-1,4	-1,0	-0,3
Germany	2,1	1,4	1,0	1,8	1,9	1,8	2,3	2,8	0,2	1,3	1,4
Australia	2,3	3,0	2,8	2,3	2,7	3,5	2,3	4,4	1,8	3,0	3,0
England	2,1	1,3	1,4	1,3	2,0	2,3	2,3	3,6	2,1	3,1	2,5
France	1,6	1,9	2,2	2,3	1,9	1,9	1,6	3,2	0,1	1,6	1,6
Italy	3,3	2,6	2,8	2,3	2,2	2,2	2,0	3,5	0,8	1,6	1,7
Slovakia	4,9	3,5	8,4	7,5	2,8	4,3	1,9	3,9	0,9	0,7	1,9
Czech	2,2	1,9	0,1	2,8	1,8	2,5	2,9	6,3	1,0	1,6	2,0
Spain	3,7	3,6	3,1	3,1	3,4	3,6	2,8	4,1	-0,2	1,5	1,1

Table no. 5: The overview of the inflation values in consumer prices in selected countries

Source: [8]

It is necessary to count on inflation when planning long-term investments. The information on what rate of inflation to expect in future can be acquired from inflation estimates processed by professional institutions and then there is a sort of a lighthouse in the behavior of the central bank. If the information on by how much percent the central bank is going to increase the volume of money per year is known, it is a significant guideline. The increase in the volume of money not corresponding to the increase in the volume of production in the whole economy is again a signal for possible inflation. In market economies these data are commonly published and money owners follow them closely. Another factor of inflation is the rise of interest rates. The increase in the interest rate is a usual reaction of the central bank to the increase in inflation and it leads to a lower volume of production of new money.

Graph no. 5: The expected development of inflation in Spain and the EU between 2010 and 2015

Source: [8]

2.3 Employment and Unemployment

Spain continues to occupy the leading position as for the unemployment rate of all the EU. There are almost 5 million unemployed people in Spain. Its 21.5 % unemployment rate stands out like a sore thumb for the Spanish government as well as for the European Union itself. Compared to the Czech Republic whose unemployment rate reaches almost 9 % this state is alarming. According to the Spanish Statistical Office it is the building industry, services and agriculture where most people lost their jobs. The public sector reduces the number of jobs due to the saving measures taken by the government and the private sector does not show any positive figures thanks to a weak performance of the economy. This unemployment rate has a direct connection with the inflation curve in the country.

Graph no. 6: The unemployment rate in Spain between 2000 to 2011

Source: [9]

2.4 State Debt

The reason for growing worries about the fate of Spain is the fact that in its case the primary problem is not state but private debts which span debts of households and companies and reach almost up to 180 % of GDP and rank as the second largest within the EU after Ireland with their 200 % of GDP. The total debt share (private + state) of Spain then reaches 230 % of GDP, which again ranks as second within the EU right after Ireland (265 %). This figure, however, is supposed to further increase. In 2012 the budget deficit should show 7.3 %.

Country/ Period
Country/ Period	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
EU	70,5	69,6	60,4	61,9	62,2	62,8
Germany	60,2	59,5	60,4	63,9	65,8	68,0
Greece	106,2	107,0	101,7	97,4	98,6	100,0
England	42,1	39,1	37,5	39,0	40,9	42,5
France	57,3	57,3	58,8	62,9	64,9	66,4
Italy	110,5	109,8	105,7	104,4	103,8	105,8
Slovakia	43,5	43,5	43,4	42,4	41,5	34,2
Czech	13,2	14,7	28,2	29,8	30,1	29,7
Spain	60,5	57,1	52,5	48,7	46,2	43,0
	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
EU	61,5	58,8	62,3	74,4	80,0	82,5
Germany	67,6	64,9	66,3	73,5	83,2	81,7
Greece	106,1	105,4	110,7	127,1	142,8	162,8
England	43,4	44,5	54,4	69,6	80,0	84,0
France	63,7	63,9	67,7	78,3	81,7	85,4
Italy	106,6	103,6	106,3	116,1	119,0	120,5
Slovakia	30,5	29,6	27,8	35,4	41,0	44,5
Czech	29,4	29,0	30,0	35,3	38,5	39,9
Spain	39,6	36,1	39,8	53,3	60,1	69,6

Table no. 6: Public debt to GDP in selected countries between 2000 to 2011 in %

Source: [10]

3 Analyses of Spain’s Position in Global Economy

Spain is a member of all significant international organizations such as the EU (European Union), NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), UN (United Nations), OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe), OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), European Council and many other organizations and groups including international control regimes.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has its seat in Spain’s capital – Madrid. The Kingdom of Spain is a member of African Development Bank (AFDB), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Spain participates in activities in more than a hundred international institutions.

On January1, 2010, Spain took over the lead at the Council of the European Union after Sweden. In its history this is for the fourth time and the last time, it was in the first half of 2002, that Spain presided the Council of the European Union. The third presidency of Spain at the European Council announced the adoption of Euro.
This long process started a long array of opportunities for the growth and development of the Spanish and European market. This single currency brings integrity of financial markets and economic policies, which strengthens relations among individual member countries, their tax systems and the overall enhancement of the stability in the EU. Besides this the adoption of Euro has a clear impact on the international level. The Eurozone becomes visible at the international but also at the financial level, for instance a G7 meeting.

One of the major tasks of the Spanish presidency was the approval of the Lisbon Treaty in parts concerning the issues of single commercial policy. Another goal set by Spain was the adjustment of a desired mechanism of co-operation among individual institutions of the European Union and the opening of a substantial discussion on concrete issues such as the investment strategy of the EU. Further, Spain continued the negotiations on mutual agreements on co-operation and partnership with third world countries, on business agreements and other negotiations on the liberalization of trade within DDA (Doha Development Agenda). The Spanish presidency recorded successes in individual negotiation agendas in the area of lowering trade barriers concerning the approach of some member states to dealing with this issue. However, we cannot speak here of some significant progress. We can look positively at the continuation of monitoring the introduced protection measures taken by the organs of WTO (World Trade Organization). [11]

3.1 The Competitiveness Council

The Spanish presidency at the Council of the European Union pledged to analyze new opportunities to improve conditions for small and medium businesses within the EU. On May 25, 2010, there was a debate of the Competitiveness Council ministers where a modification of the directive on services and the system of mutual evaluation were negotiated. Some progress was achieved in negotiations concerning the late payment directive. This proposal was made by the European Commission in April 2009 and also is part of the Act on small and medium businesses. Its aim is the improvement of financial flows of European companies. [11]

As for intellectual property rights the Spanish presidency was dealing with a battle against falsification, plagiarism and piracy. The council settled on respecting intellectual property rights. Due to this there was the initial impulse leading to the future revision of the system of trademarks in the European Union. [11]

3.2 Power Industry

Since Spain focused on dealing with problems connected with the global economic crisis, power industry was not the main priority of its presidency. Despite all this there were several dealings that took place during its presidency concerning a new energy strategy for the period 2011 – 2020. In connection with the proposal on regulations concerning secure gas supplies, there was an agreement reached in all substantial issues of this proposal. The only step that remains to be taken is just a formal approval of these regulations in the sessions of the Council and the European Parliament.

The primary items of the prepared regulations mainly include:

- Preventive action plans

The member states will be required to meet minimal standards concerning supplies capacities and reverse flow of gas supplies.

- Crisis measures

In the case of high danger cross-frontier access to gas supplies must be allowed among member states.

- Customer protection

Customer protection mainly concerns households, or also small and medium businesses and social services, which should, in the case of crisis, be given priority in gas consumption. [11]

3.3 Science and Research

The government’s determination to support science and research improved the fact that between 2004 – 2007 the amount of investments in this sphere increased threefold. In 2009 these investments exceeded 8.2 million EURO, which had an impact also on the increase of budget constraints that also influenced the present economic situation. In 2008 these investments into science and research were 12 % lower than in 2009. In order to improve competitiveness of companies in 2009 there arose a so-called Interempresa program, which was co-financed both by domestic (36 million), and international (10 million) sources. This program was focused on the support of small and medium businesses in the area of health service and power industry. [11]

In modern economies, on a macroeconomic platform, what holds true is that the economic growth at present is based on the capability of economies to introduce technological innovations. On the macroeconomic level technology is considered to be a strategic element of company competitiveness in industries that are introducing new ways of production and distribution of products and services. Technology is a piece of knowledge that is a result of experience gathered during a course of many years. The core of the whole process is an enterprise as the main element of creating new technologies. There are several sources of technological knowledge. These can be research and development results at universities, research centers, foundations, companies, or they can stem from supplementary activities transforming the results of research and development into innovations. Another option is the import of this knowledge from abroad. [12]

During the period of industrialization the economic development was affected by the incapability to create necessary technologic inputs. Thus Spain became a country dependent on the import of technologies from abroad. Technological process was a key factor of the growth of Spanish economy only in the second half of the 20th century. The phase of a strong economic development, which started in 1960, sparked the acceleration of the economic growth and along with it also demand for technological sources connected with it. With respect to the lack of internal technological capacity of Spanish economy the country continued to keep a dependent position from imports.

Some attempts, however, were launched to extricate Spanish economy from this inconvenient situation. The past developments in Spain can be characterized as follows: Although more and more means in the country goes to technological innovations the abyss towards developed countries continues to deepen and this leads to a structural weakness of the whole economy. That is why the key thing is to reappraise policies concerning technological innovations, to try to actively participate in the general program of the EU for research and development and also to make more inner effort to overcome these technological gaps towards other EU countries. This process is inevitable and Spain has sufficient capacities to occupy better positions in it than it has until now. [12]

In the 80’s economic policies for the support of science, technologies and innovations were beginning to be elaborated. In Spain there has been elaborated a so-called scientific-technological policy whose part is also the National Plan for research, development, and innovations (NP). According to Act 13/1986 on support and general coordination of scientific-technological research the National Plan is its main tool. Since the approval of this act there have been elaborated five NP’s with significant differences responding to the changing and developing conditions science and technology. [12]

The basic goals of the National Plan include:

1. To strengthen cooperation between AGE (Central Governmental Institution) and regions, to improve coordination of the national and regional plans of research and development.

2. To improve coordination between regulatory authorities of the NP and the institutions in the public sector for research and development.

3. To strengthen the system of connections and cooperation between the public and private sector in the area of research and development.

Special attention, when fulfilling goals of the agenda of the National Plan for research and innovation, is paid to the role of regions. On the level of autonomous communities - regions responsibilities and powers are specified, too. The NP is to be created and followed both on the national and regional level. The regions elaborate their own scientific-technological company system as the basis of their social economic growth. Some regions adopted their own laws on science and technologies and have regional organs for this area. All of them elaborate regional plans for research, development and innovation. The Poslech

Fonetický přepis

Slovník - Zobrazit podrobný slovník

National Plan and regional plans have areas of joint interests such as the creation and strengthening of competitiveness of research centers, creation of scientific-technical infrastructure and support of scientific-technical culture. The first three positions as for the participation in programs within the NP were occupied by regions Madrid, Catalonia and Andalusia. [12]

A significant form of science and research support in Spain is tax incentives for science-research and innovative activities. The amendment of Act 43/1995 on corporate income taxes categorized Spain among the best countries as for tax incentives for science-research activities within the OECD. Only 20 % of science-research and innovation projects have made use of these tax incentives during the past years. The given legislation anchors the tax incentive for activities concerning research and development, for example, a general tax relief of 30 %, supplementary tax relief of 20 % for research expenses, contractual projects with universities, technological centers, 10 % for investments into science and research. Tax reliefs in the area of technological and innovative activities are, for example, 10 %, and up to 1 million EURO for expenses on projects concerning industrial design, advanced technologies in the form of patents, know-how and licenses, acquisition of ISO 9000 quality certification, 10 % on expenses to purchase TIC
worth up to 5 million EURO. According to an OECD analysis Spain is a country offering the highest tax incentives for large companies implementing research-development activities. The following countries include Portugal, Austria, Canada. As for SME the first rungs are occupied by Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. [12]

Another no less important form of science and research support in Spain is the creation of science and technology parks (STP). The first STP’s in Spain arose for the purpose of regional development and not for the reason of the transfer of technologies. Until the mid 90s the leading participants in VTP’s were not subjects engaged in research. Gradually, VTP’s realized that without research at universities there was no moving forward. [12]

Spanish High-Tech export in USD
2000	672 404 845	2006	10 037 210 229
2001	6 776 845 471	2007	9 915 961 256
2002	6 764 028 100	2008	10 145 836 978
2003	8 888 952 860	2009	10 035 917 655
2004	9 932 438 176	2010	10 259 731 546
2005	10 408 959 799	2011	10 368 248 394

Table no. 7: Spanish High -Tech export

Source: [9]

4 The Situation in the Area of Corrupt Dealings in the Business Environment within the past 10 Years

According to Transparency International (TI) corruption is defined as the abuse of given powers for personal profits. This includes corruption practices both in the private and public sectors. We use Corruption Perception Index (CPI), which is a summary indicator combining various sources of information on corruption. CPI uses these sources for comparing the extent of corruption in individual countries. [13]

In 2011 Spain was ranked 31st in the worldwide comparison of corruption in a country. The Czech Republic ranked 57^th with the rate of 4.2. As we can see from the figure Spain holds a position among countries with a relatively low rate of corruption.

Unfortunately, there was a case of corruption even in the political parties. The last case brought charges against some influential members of the Socialist Party. It was proven that these members awarded contracts to their friends and acquaintances. The contracts were worth millions of EURO. The accused were taken into custody.

Reasons for corrupt dealings:

- Professionalization of politicians

Politicians regard politics as a source of income and not as a service to the state and its citizens.

- Resignation of citizens on collective responsibility

Society prefers personal prosperity to collective satisfaction.

- Underestimating of the public

Politicians do not respect citizens.

- Globalization

The space for various alternatives has gradually become too narrow.

Year	CPI
2000	7,0
2001	7,0
2002	7,0
2003	7,1
2004	6,9
2005	7,0
2006	6,8
2007	6,7
2008	6,5
2009	6,1
2010	6,1
2011	6,2

Table no. 8: The Rate of corruption in Spain

Source: [13]

The table no. 8 and graph no. 7 show that the extent of corruption in Spain in the past 10 years has dropped. These values, however, are floating and very optimistic. There are constantly appearing new cases of corruption such as bribery, illegal commissions for building permits etc.

Graph no. 7: The curve of the extent of corruption in Spain (2000-2011)

Source: [13]

5 Evaluation of Measures and their Effectiveness on the Reduction of Corrupt Dealing of Entrepreneurial and Public Subjects

Polls commissioned by the European Commission are called Eurobarometer. The Eurobarometer includes a wider public and their opinions including bribes of citizens, so-called minor corruption. As for data exactness these polls are at a very high level because they involve large numbers of respondents. The following graph compares answers of a wider public. “How has the corruption rate in the country changed within the past
3 years? “. These values are identical with the results of polls and surveys that covered the whole of the European Union.

Graph no. 8: Changes in the corruption rate in Spain

Source: [14]

From the public point of view the rate of corruption is increasing across the board and globally and Spain is no exception. The increase in the corruption rate is probably also related to the economic crisis. As for the rate of corruption Spain shows completely identical values as the results of the Europe-wide survey.

Graph no. 9 shows answers to the question “Which of the following institutions is in your opinion most influenced by corruption?“ In the survey there were marks from 1 to 5 while 1 meant the given area is the least affected by corruption and 5 for the area that’s the most affected by corruption. The results indicate that most respondents suppose the largest portion of corruption lies on political parties. The best outcome of all areas pertains to the school system where the value reached up to one half of the total value.

Graph no. 9: The rate of corruption in selected areas in Spain and the EU

Source: [14]

The following graph represents the percentage of the population who have given a bribe in order to get some sort of advantage. The graph contains areas in which the survey was carried out and which provided the average value. From the global point of view it can be seen that Spain keeps under the world-wide average and reaches the same average values as the European Union. It proves the fact that Spanish people are not willing to support corruption and pay bribes.

Graph no. 10: The percentage of citizens who have given a bribe

Source: [14]

Another survey that the Eurobarometer carried out was the issue of the perception of measures of states in the struggle to eliminate corruption.

Graph no. 11: State measures to fight corruption

Source: [14]

Graph no. 11 compares the effectiveness of measures between the average of the European Union and Spain. The total of 74 % of Spaniards maintain the position that the activities of the state in the issue of fighting the corruption are insufficient and ineffective. The average of the EU shows the same values.

There are these anti-corruption mechanisms for the public sector in Spain:

- Legislation (Articles 404 to 445 in the penal code)

- Anti-corruption legal regulations and provisions (the Act on Public Contracts)

- Supervision of legislators or the Parliament (directly or through control committees)

- Supreme financial auditing body (the auditing board is subordinate to the Parliament)

- the Public Defender of Rights

- Bodies assessing sanctions (courts, state investigating officers)

- Transparency of mechanisms (independent public control)

6 The Analysis of Mutual Trade between Spain,
ASEAN and NAFTA

The foreign trade of Spain is traditionally oriented to the European Union where more than one half of the total volume of the country’s exports end. The largest business partner of Spain is France, followed by Germany, Italy, Portugal and Great Britain.

As for the commodity structure of exports it is machinery that prevails, then exports in the automotive industry, chemical products and food products.

Imports are dominated by machinery, chemical products, food products, consumer goods, energetic products, automobiles, parts and accessories.

Period	Import	Export	Balance
2000	116 202,6	86 140,9	-30061,7
2001	117 794,3	88 273,1	-29 521,2
2002	126 098,9	95 662,9	-30436
2003	158 497,0	118 563,6	-39933,4
2004	197 041,3	138 872,8	-58 168,5
2005	220 104,2	146 526,8	-73 577,4
2006	182 381,6	162 686,5	-19 695,1
2007	297 340,1	192 852,9	-104 487,2
2008	318 233,5	212 215,9	-106 017,6
2009	218 501,2	169 580,5	-48 920,7
2010	239 815,9	187 161,6	-52 654,3
2011	239 271,0	197 482,0	-41 789

Table no. 9: The development of foreign trade of Spain between 2000-2011 (in mil. EUR)

Source: [9]

Spain recorded a change in the values of exports and imports mainly in 2008, as we can see in table no. 9. Despite the crisis the values showed quite a decent increase compared to the previous periods. As of 2009 though these values dropped again and due to the existing crisis the export and import values remain at the middle level.

Industry	Export	Import
Food products	15,0 %	12,2 %
Energetic products	5,1 %	10,4 %
Raw materials	2,4 %	3,8 %
Raw products (non-chemical)	12,1 %	7,4 %
Chemical products	15,3 %	15,1 %
Machinery	20,1 %	20,0 %
Automobile sector	16,1 %	10,2 %
Long-term consumption goods	1,9 %	3,4 %
Consumer goods	8,6 %	10,8 %
Other	3,3 %	0,5 %

Table no. 10: Commodity structure of Spain’s foreign trade in 2011

Source: [16]

Table no. 10 clearly shows that the commodity structure of Spain’s foreign trade in exports is dominated by machinery, automobiles and chemical products. Values are quite similar in the country’s imports where the largest share again belongs to machinery chemical products and food products. Fruit is the strongest food industry’s article for exports, mainly citrus fruit. Due to ideal climatic conditions Spain succeeds in growing oranges and lemons. Lately Spain has also expanded in services, mostly in the sector of information technologies. The strongest export articles from the chemical industry are pharmaceutical products. From the science and research point of view Spain invests considerably here. Unfortunately, during the crisis there was a slump.

6.1 Foreign Trade between Spain and ASEAN

ASEAN – Association of South East Asian Nations is a regional international organization, which was founded in 1967 and includes Brunei, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The primary goal of the organization ASEAN is a fast economic growth and social and cultural development and maintaining good relations among the member countries. At present ASEAN also develops military-political and international-political relations. The European Union represents the third largest business partner as for the foreign trade for ASEAN immediately after the USA and Japan. As for trade between Spain and ASEAN the volume of business cooperation moves at lower values as compared with the major business partner which is the USA. The most significant industry between Spain and ASEAN is machinery and pharmaceutical products.

Relations between Spain and Indonesia

The beginnings of diplomatic relations between Spain and Indonesia go back to 1958, when the cooperation was officially launched. The important part of the diplomatic cooperation is official visits of high-ranking politicians of both countries. Last of these visits took place at the beginning of 2007, when Spanish Queen Sofia visited Indonesia. The visit included the inspection of projects funded from the Spanish sources earmarked in aid of Indonesia. One of these major projects is the keeping of the national park Mount Leuser National Park.

Spain and Indonesia have also been cooperating in the area of marine fishing as part of the development cooperation since 2005. The cooperation also includes the area of education. Due to the support from the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI) the Spanish Government provides scholarships to Indonesian students for master and doctoral studies in Spain. Indonesian diplomats are also enabled to study international relations at the Diplomatic School of Spain. Through technical cooperation Spain ensures the administration of schooling covering the fields of health care, power engineering and tourism for the citizens of Indonesia. [17]

A great priority is the battle against terrorism.

Spanish – Vietnamese relations

On November 23, 2010 in Vietnam there was a forum on trade and investment cooperation which was attended by 176 Spanish and Vietnamese businessmen. The purpose of this forum was to create new cooperation opportunities between the two countries in areas of finance, industry and technology. The forum was also attended by top Spanish companies such as Mondragon, Befesa and Logisfashion. The Spanish ambassador in Vietnam Fernando Curcio expressed the interest of a number of Spanish companies in the Vietnamese market and the willingness to aid Vietnam. In 2009 the trade turnover between Vietnam and Spain reached 1,434 billion USD. During seven months of 2010 the trade turnover reached 650 million USD, which represents an increase by 6% compared to the same period in 2009. [18]

Trade between Spain and ASEAN						Imports into Spain				Exports into Spain
Trade between Spain and ASEAN						2000	2005	2010		2000		2005		2010
Agricultural and food products						10 %	12 %	18 %		15 %		16 %		15 %
Electronics						6 %	7 %	4 %		13 %		16 %		16 %
Machinery and transport apparatus						18 %	16 %	9 %		37 %		24 %		19 %
Chemicals and pharmaceutical products						27 %	26 %	32 %		11 %		12 %		11 %
Textile and clothes						22 %	27 %	19 %		13 %		13 %		12 %
Mineral fuels						15 %	10 %	14 %		11 %		11 %		12 %
Others						2 %	2 %	4 %		9 %		8 %		5 %
ASEAN countries	Imports into Spain					Exports from Spain
ASEAN countries	2000	2002	2004	2006	2008	2010	2000	2002	2004		2006		2008	2010
Brunei	8,5	7,9	15,2	14,8	17,2	6,3	0	0,3	2,1		3,9		5,7	4,8
Philippines	37,6	49,3	37,5	42,2	33,5	23,2	111,4	102,3	87,6		92,1		93,7	159,2
Indonesia	10,7	12,3	12,4	18,8	15,1	14,3	91,8	82,7	69,7		77,6		74	75,8
Cambodia	1,2	0,7	1,1	1,1	1,6	1,7	4,2	4,4	8,5		9,2		19,5	22,2
Laos	0,7	0	0,2	0,9	1,3	1,3	0,2	0	1,1		0,3		0,6	4,7
Malaysia	138	112,1	153,2	177	203,6	148	503,6	487,7	532,7		609,1		594,4	559,5
Myanmar	0	0	0	0,1	0,3	0,3	0,6	0,4	2		4,7		8,5	12
Singapore	298,4	352,3	399,7	427,1	385,3	426,4	127,8	203,6	278,1		319		347,5	395,4
Thailand	192,8	223,6	265,7	212,4	200,7	172	92,9	115,7	104,9		118,7		123,6	114,3
Vietnam	76,2	79,5	73,4	68,7	54,2	57,9	64,7	72	68,5		71,9		71	63,5
Total	764,1	837,7	958,4	963,1	912,8	851,4	997,2	1069	1155		1307		1339	1411

Table no. 11: Foreign trade with ASEAN countries (in % and mil. EUR)

Source: [9]

Table no. 11 shows that the largest portion of business cooperation goes on between Spain and Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand while business relations with Myanmar almost equal zero. These values are partly due to the fact that ASEAN is not the primary business partner of Spain. The major business partner is the European Union as was already mentioned before. ASEAN has not yet published information for 2011. This information should be published during the second half of 2012.

6.2 Foreign Trade between Spain and NAFTA

NAFTA – North American Free Trade Agreement. What was the foundation for the establishment of NAFTA were the relations between the USA and Canada. The result of endeavor of both countries after the creation of a free trade zone lasting long years was the agreement reached in 1987. The later modification of NAFTA was dependent on American – Mexican agreements and their mutual trade.

NAFTA is based on the principles of a free trade zone. A free trade zone is the basic stage of economic integration in which the member countries pledged to remove customs duties and other barriers to mutual business cooperation. The integration of the market enables producers and consumers to respond in a more effective way to the market changes and to changes of economic conditions. For producers it opens new trade territories and new business opportunities. Due to it the producers have easier access to cheaper inputs and create opportunities for foreign investments. As for the Third World countries NAFTA has kept its own business policy. NAFTA, however, is not a typical free trade zone. It does not only enable free movement of goods but also of services and capital. As NAFTA does not include free labor movement it cannot be approached as a common market.

Country NAFTA	Imports into Spain
Country NAFTA	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
USA	526,9	484,2	435,5	494,6	553,4	577,8	617,1	823,3	1023,6	729,2	712,6	635,3
Canada	37,1	46,5	50,3	51,3	77,2	82,5	77	88,5	89,5	83,0	96,4	67,8
Mexico	127,38	104,49	118,75	122,33	168,91	243,21	273,3	289,2	370,6	199,4	216,8	124,7
Total	691	635	605	668	799	903	967	1201	1484	1012	1026	828

Table no. 12: Spain’s imports from NAFTA countries (in mil. USD)

Source: [19]

Table no. 12 shows clearly what impact the economic crisis had on mutual business between Spain and the NAFTA association. The changes in the development were really felt in 2008, when the crisis hit and when the imports drooped, mainly from Mexico.

Spain - Canada cooperation

Canada and Spain have pledged to a relation of active cooperation based on common interests in the international sphere, bilateral exchange at the political and economic level and cooperation in the area of security, science, and academic
and cultural relations. On the regional level the exchange programs between Spain and Canada have been on the rise. Both countries have pledged to protect democratic values and global security based on the international cooperation. They are excellent partners in multilateral sphere and worked together on the platform of The United Nations organization (UN), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other institutions.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero had an opportunity to hold bilateral negotiations in January 2010 at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Canada and Span are constructive partners in the issue of the management of fishing. Both the countries work on ensuring the situation where fishing resources are utilized in a sustainable and responsible way. In 2007 the countries signed a memorandum on understanding for the support of sustainable management of fishing and the support of bilateral trade exchange in this area. [20]

Economic relations between both countries have developed considerably over the past few years and there is still a great potential for growth.

Mutual co-operation concerning science and technology led to notable projects. In 2007 both countries signed an agreement on the support of co-operation in these fields. The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the Spanish National Research Council have been cooperating for a number of years in key areas of research such as health, renewable energy sources, and environment. Both countries are partners in the International Cancer Genome Consortium along with Great Britain and the USA. [20]

Academic relations between Spain and Canada are quite dynamic as well. More and more Spanish students choose Canada for their university studies or language courses. Further proof of good academic relations is more than 100 agreements between Canadian and Spanish universities. [20]

Spanish - Mexican cooperation

During the Spanish Civil War a lot of Mexican volunteers joined the Spanish Republican Party. Although the Republicans lost the war relations between both countries deepened markedly. Today’s cooperation is a follow-up of the international relations between the USA, Mexico and Spain. Spain has strong relations with Mexico as well as with the other Latin-American countries. However, at present the cooperation between the two countries has been on the decline. There are two consulates and the Spanish embassy in Mexico. Spain also occupies quite an unpleasant position in the issue of illegal drugs. It has become the key gate for importing cocaine from Latin America. [13]

NAFTA countries	Exports from Spain
NAFTA countries	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
USA	476,1	432,7	473,1	559	623	718,1	818,2	882	924	655,4	475,9	367,2
Canada	52,8	47,6	54,4	70,8	80,7	82,5	91,1	93,2	135	97,3	78,7	62,3
Mexico	119,17	152,28	185,32	190,66	237,71	277,02	303,2	320	338,1	250,3	178,3	121,5
Total	648	633	713	820	941	1078	1212	1295	1397	1003	732,9	551

Table no. 13: Spain’s exports into NAFTA countries (in mil. USD)

Source: [19]

The changes of values in the exports of Spain into NAFTA countries were not really felt until 2009 when due to the economic crisis these values dropped quite substantially. Despite this Spain’s exports still keep the optimal level.

Spanish – American co-operation

Spanish – American relations improved considerably after Barack Obama became the president of the USA. Spain came with the offer to admit some prisoners from the closed prison in Guantanamo. The major commodities in which the USA and Spain trade include machinery, motor vehicles and food products.

7 The Structure of Mutual Trade between Spain and the Czech Republic

Since 1999 business cooperation between the Czech Republic and Spain has risen four times, export from our republic (4.5x) exceeds import (3.5x), which gives evidence of higher dynamics from the Czech Republic. Within the past few years we have been able to enjoy successful mutual business exchange of positive balance, which for the Czech Republic means a more favorable development of both higher rate of economic growth and decrease in competitiveness of Spanish production.

A loss of significant trade for multinational car manufacturers meant a drop in Spanish export into the Czech Republic and automotive industry supplies have a significant impact on trade not only between Spain and the Czech Republic but also in other countries in central Europe where multinational car manufacturers’ production is concentrated. [21]

Period	(in millions of EURO)
Period	Export	Import	Turnover	Balance
1999	421	399	820	22
2000	509	639	1 148	-130
2001	667	765	1 432	-98
2002	812	819	1 631	-7
2003	906	821	1 727	85
2004	1 192	1 105	2 297	87
2005	1 601	1 188	2 789	413
2006	2 039	1 413	3 452	626
2007	2 361	1 674	4 034	686
2008	2 269	1 779	4 048	490
2009	1 877	1 423	3 300	453
2010	2 251	1 598	3849	653
2011	2 284	1 617	3 901	667

Table no. 14: The development of trade exchange between the Czech Rep. and Spain (1999-2011)

Source: [22]

In 2009, which was marked by the worldwide economic crisis, trade with Spain suffered a drop both in Czech exports and imports. Expressed in figures Czech exports decreased by 17 % and imports dropped to values equal to 2006, therefore down by 20 %. Despite all these events the Czech Republic keeps active trade balance with Spain.

Besides the best known export commodities in the Spanish market such as Skoda automobiles, machine tools, hammering machines, chemical products, glass, beer or Gablonz glassware, it is the producers of Ravak bathroom systems, Tescoma kitchen ware, or rolled stock from Vítkovice and Ostrava that have become popular as well. [21]

Product name	Statistical value in EURO (in thousands)
Highway vehicles	508 437
Office machines and devices for automatic data processing	311 099
Telecommunication systems and systems for sound reproduction and recording	223 624
Electric appliances, equipment, and apparatus	186 939
Machinery and apparatus for general industrial use	179 805
Machinery and equipment for generating power	105 174

Table no. 15: The structure of commodity export of the Czech Rep. to Spain

Source: [22]

The table clearly shows that strongest Czech export articles for Spain are automobiles.

Product name	Statistical value in EURO (in thousands)
Highway vehicles	419 777
Telecommunication systems and systems for sound reproduction and recording	159 435
Vegetables and fruit	137 085
Machinery and apparatus for general industrial use	109 762
Electrical appliances, equipment, and apparatus	108 635
Drugs and pharmaceutical products	95 898

Table no. 16: The structure of commodity imports into the Czech Rep. from Spain

Source: [22]

The cooperation between Spain and the Czech Republic is on quite a good level whose proof is companies with Spanish ownership interest operating in the Czech Republic. Mutual trade between Spain and the Czech Republic is represented by companies which are actively engaged also in other areas of economic cooperation. These companies represent the form of production or business companies where domestic and foreign partners participate with the ratio given by the mutual agreement or which has been determined by the government of the country where the seat of the company is situated.

What can be considered a significant Czech-Spanish fusion in the past years is the capital entrance of Spanish renowned building company OHL Madrid (Obrascón-Huarte-Laín)
into a group of companies governed by the consortium ŽS Brno - Uherský Ostroh. In the area of services and tourism a significant role is played by the international network of hotels Barceló in the connection with the group Hotusa.

8 The Timelines of the Most Significant Areas of Economic Cooperation for the Past 11 Years between the Both Countries

Business cooperation between Spain and the Czech Republic is defined by the terms of the European Union. For the Czech Republic Spain represents a promising business partner both in exports and imports. Due to a dramatic pace of export growth the negative balance was gradually reversed and positive balance has been achieved in the business cooperation between both the countries. Czech exports keep greater dynamics than imports. Car exports dominate.

	Export	Import	Turnover	Balance
2000	509	639	1148	-130
2001	667	765	1432	-98
2002	812	819	1631	-7
2003	906	821	1727	85
2004	1192	1105	2297	87
2005	1601	1188	2789	413
2006	2039	1413	3452	626
2007	2361	1674	4034	686
2008	2269	1779	4048	490
2009	1922	1433	3355	489
2010	2385	1694	4079	691
2011	2329	1649	3978	680

Table no. 17: Trade between Spain and the Czech Republic in mil. EUR

Source: [24]

Table no. 17 shows that in 2011 the values of Czech imports and exports into Spain reached similar results as in 2010. This was caused by the economic crisis. The values, however, did not record as steep a drop as in 2009, when the economic crisis was culminating.

The following table shows the development of a turnover and balance in the economic cooperation between Spain and the Czech Republic. For the period of the past 11 years the balance has reached positive values and the turnover has grown by almost 200 %, compared with the values reached in 2000 and the values in 2011.

Graph no. 12: The development of the turnover and balance between Spain and the Czech Republic between

2000 and 2011

Source: [24]

The table and graph above show that the imports and exports of products from the Czech Republic into Spain had an upward tendency until the outbreak of the economic crisis in 2008. We can expect a slight growth in the coming years just like in 2010 and 2011. What can be perceived as alarming for the Czech Republic is the dropping interest in Czech products. As for cars and chemical products, however, no such drop is expected.

8.1 Economic Cooperation between Spain and the Czech Republic

The economic cooperation between the Czech Republic and Spain has a long-term tradition. Already former Czechoslovakia had created excellent bilateral relations not only with Spain but also the other European countries. However, the greatest development of economic cooperation between the two countries did not happen until the Czech Republic entered the European Union on May 1, 2004. It was just this year that the balance of mutual trade reached positive figures and continued rising. What contributed to the development of business relations were free movement of persons, services, goods and capital, common business, agricultural and transport policy and the removal of other barriers.

Significant roles within the cooperation of both countries were also played by bilateral agreements that the Czech Republic and Spain have signed.

An overview of bilateral agreements with the Czech Republic [25]

- „Treaty of Conciliation between the Czechoslovak Republic and the Spanish Kingdom (no. 18/1930 Coll.)

- Agreement between the CSSR and Span on Mutual Establishing of Consular and Business Agencies (no. 28/1971 Coll.)

- Long-term Agreement between the CSSR and the Government of Spain on Business Contacts (no. 31/1973 Coll.)

- Agreement between the Government of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and the Government of Spain on Air Transport (no. 89/1974 Coll.)

- Long-term Agreement between the CSSR and the Spanish Kingdom on Trade Exchange and the Development of Economic and Industrial Cooperation (no. 107/1978 Coll.)

- Agreement on Cultural Cooperation between the Government of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and the Government of Spain (no. 5/1980 Coll.)

- Agreement between the Government of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and the Government of the Spanish Kingdom on International Road Transport and Protocol elaborated on the basis of Article 19 of this agreement (no. 155/1979 Coll.)

- Convention between the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and Spain for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes on Income and Capital Gains
(no. 23/1982)

- Convention between the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and Spain relating to legal proceedings in civil matters (no. 6/1989 Coll.)

- Agreement between the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic and the Kingdom of Spain concerning the abolition of visas (no. 335/1992 Coll.)

- Agreement on friendly relations and cooperation between the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic and the Kingdom of Spain (no. 578/1992 Coll.)

- Agreement between the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic and the Kingdom of Spain for the promotion and protection of investments (no. 647/1992 Coll.)

- Agreement in the form of an exchange of letters between the Government of the Czech Republic and the Government of the Spanish Kingdom on succession into bilateral agreements (1995)

- Agreement between the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Education, Culture and sports of Spain on the establishment and activities of Czech-Spanish classes at the Gymnasiums in the Czech Republic(no. 35/2001 Coll.)

- Agreement on social security between the Czech Republic and the Spanish Kingdom (no. 52/2004 Coll.)

- Administrative agreement on the conduct of a memorandum on social security between the Czech Republic and the Spanish Kingdom (no. 53/2004 Coll.)“ [25]

Due to signing these bilateral agreements between the Czech Republic and Spain there was a development in trade of services and goods, support of individual entrepreneurial activities, a rise in investments and their protection, easier accounting between the countries and cooperation in other business activities.

9 The Description of Present and a Prognosis of the Future Development of the Spain’s Position in the EU

On January 1, 2010 Spain took over the leading position in the Council of the European Union. In history it is already for the fourth time, the last time of its presidency of the Council of the European Union being the fist half of 2002. The third presidency of Spain at the European Council announced the adoption of Euro. This long process started a long array of opportunities for the growth and development of the Spanish and European market. This single currency brings integrity of financial markets and economic policies, which strengthens relations among individual member countries, their tax systems and the overall enhancement of the stability in the EU. Besides this the adoption of Euro has a clear impact on the international level. The Eurozone becomes visible at the international but also at the financial level, for instance a G7 meeting. One of the major tasks of the Spanish presidency was the approval of the Lisbon Treaty in parts concerning the issues of single commercial policy. Another goal set by Spain was the adjustment of a desired mechanism of co-operation among individual institutions of the European Union and the opening of a substantial discussion on concrete issues such as the investment strategy of the EU. Further, Spain continued the negotiations on mutual agreements on co-operation and partnership with third world countries, on business agreements and other negotiations on the liberalization of trade within DDA (Doha Development Agenda). The Spanish presidency recorded successes in individual negotiation agendas in the area of lowering trade barriers concerning the approach of some member states to dealing with this issue. However, we cannot speak here of some significant progress. We can look positively at the continuation of monitoring the introduced protection measures taken by the organs of WTO (World Trade Organization). [11]

The commitment (made even within the EU) to achieve a maximal state budget deficit of 4.4% of GDP in 2012 will practically be impossible to keep. During the period of economic recession before Spain even radical budget cuts will not be enough as all the central budget and budgets of individual autonomous areas and local budgets will face low incomes. The Government, however, has so far had quite ambitious plans in as for the budgets. The new government of Prime-Minister Rajoy have already started mentioning that the original commitment within the EU being 4.4 % of GDP must be corrected.

The latest estimates of the International Monetary Fund concerning the further developments of the Spanish economy provide significantly worse data in most indicators of economic growth compared to the last evaluation of September 2011. The GDP growth estimate in 2012 was lowered by the IMF by 2.8 %, from 1.1 % HDP growth to the drop reaching -1.7 % GDP. Also the estimate for 2013 was lowered by the IMF from the growth of 1.8 % of GDP to the drop in value -0.3 % of GDP.

The public debt of Spain, which represented 60.1 % of GDP in 2010, according to the IMF, reached the figure of 70.1 % in 2011, in 2012 it will increase to 78.1 % of GDP and in 2013 to 84 % of GDP, whereas in the long term this percentual representation will continue to grow. According to the IMF by the end of 2012 the public debt will reach -6.8 % of GDP, in the following year then -6.3 % of GDP. The original intention of the Spanish government to reach a deficit of 3% of GDP by the end of 2013, according to the IMF, will not be achieved even after 2016, when it should still be moving around 4 % of GDP. [27]

Development and prediction of selected macroeconomic indicators in %
	2010	2011	2012	2013
GDP	-0,1	0,7	-1,5	0,2
Private consumption	0,8	0,0	-1,2	-0,5
Public consumption	0,2	-1,2	-6,3	-3,3
Investments into mechanisms	5,1	2,2	-7,0	-0,9
Investments into construction	-10,2	-7,8	-10,6	-3,1
Export of services and products	13,5	8,8	3,5	5,9
Import of services and products	8,9	1,4	-4,8	1,2
Domestic demand	-1,0	-1,3	-4,0	-1,4
Foreign demand	0,9	2,0	2,5	1,5
Productivity	2,6	2,4	1,6	0,9
Unemployment	20,1	21,5	23,4	23,3

Table no. 18: The development and prediction of selected macroeconomic indicators in %

Source: [27]

9.1 Prognosis of the Future Development of Spain in the EU with the Help of Fuzzy Logic

The first record of fuzzy logic appeared in an article by Professor Lofti A. Zadeh in 1965. The concept of fuzzy means unclear or blurry. This corresponds to the object of interest, therefore, the coverage of reality in its inaccuracy and vagueness. The basic concept of fuzzy logic was defined as fuzzy sets. The basis is to add the extent of veracity by an individual statement. The ground is to add the extent of veracity by the individual statement, against the statement logic we can add values in intervals <0;1>, when
0 means absolute non-membership and 1 absolute membership. [26]

Fuzzy logic happens in three basic follow-up steps:

1. Fuzzyfication – real variables are converted to language attributes. In the given step the grades are expressed with the help of function.

2. Fuzzy inference – defined with the help of rules <If>, <Then> in language attributes. The combinations of attributes always form one rule and then it is necessary to add the extent. The result of fuzzy logic requires the determination of the importance of defined rules, whereas the extent of the importance can be changed as part of optimization.

3. Defuzzyfication – translation of values of inference to real values.

In order to express the prediction of further development of Spain’s position it is necessary to determine the following risks: PR – political risk, LR – legislative risk, ER – economic risk, RR – raw material risk, MR – material risk, WR – work risk, CR – corruption risk.

It is essential to determine the extent of risks. When the transformation matrix is applied the following evaluation is used:

1 = maximal risk, 0 = zero risk. The same evaluation is used for all attributes.

Risk extent	Risk abbreviations	Evaluation
Very high risk	VHR	1,00
High risk	HR	0,70
Medium risk	MR	0,50
Low risk	LR	0,30
Very low risk	VLR	0,20
Zero risk	ZR	0,00

Table no. 19: The scale of evaluation

Source: Own

After making the scale of evaluation the next step is to make the transformation matrix with the use of the created scale of evaluation.

Extent of risk	Risk
Extent of risk	PR	LR	ER	RR	MR	WR	CR
VHR	1,00	1,00	1,00	1,00	1,00	1,00	1,00
HR	0,70	0,70	0,70	0,70	0,70	0,70	0,70
MR	0,50	0,50	0,50	0,50	0,50	0,50	0,50
LR	0,30	0,30	0,30	0,30	0,30	0,30	0,30
VLR	0,20	0,20	0,20	0,20	0,20	0,20	0,20
ZR	0,00	0,00	0,00	0,00	0,00	0,00	0,00

Table no. 20: Transformation matrix

Source: Own

By adding the extent to each of the risks on the basis of data from the previous chapters a state matrix was made.

Extent of risk	Risk
Extent of risk	PR	LR	ER	RR	MR	WR	CR
VHR	no	no	no	no	no	no	no
HR	no	no	no	no	no	no	no
LR	no	no	yes	yes	no	no	no
NR	no	yes	no	no	yes	no	yes
VLR	yes	no	no	no	no	yes	no
ZR	no	no	no	no	no	no	no

Table no. 21: The state matrix

Source: Own

The extent of the total risk R will be gained by scalar product of the transformation matrix T and state matrix S: R = 1*0,2+1*0,3+1*0,5+1*0,5+1*0,3+1*0,2+1*0,3 = 2,3

To calculate the final extent of risk it is necessary to use re-transformation matrix, with the help of which the numerical value is transformed to language value.

Extent of risk	Value
VHR	6,3 – 7
HR	4,9 – 6,3
MR	3,5 – 4,9
LR	2,1 – 3,5
VLR	1,4 – 2,1
ZR	0 – 1,4

Table no. 22: The re-transformation matrix

Source: [Table no. 20]

By including the value of 2.3 to the re-transformation matrix it is obvious that Spain is a country with low risk for the entry of entrepreneurial subjects into the market. However, it does not mean that the entry to the given market is easy for an economical subject. Therefore, for a reason of a successful entry to the market we analyze and evaluate more and more obstacles and conditions.

10 The Overview of Opportunities for Czech Entrepreneurs in the Spanish Market

Thanks to the fact that the Czech Republic became a member state of the European Union all administrative matters necessary in the mutual trade between the member countries were made easier. The priority of the business cooperation is the expansion of small and medium businesses from the Czech Republic in exports into the Spanish market and cooperation with Spanish entrepreneurial subjects in the exports of services and goods into third world countries. There is a considerable potential in the area of direct investments. Spanish investments in the Czech Republic are generally concentrated on science and research, automotive industry and machinery. An essential condition for maintaining and improving business relations is a quality marketing strategy of the Czech investment environment in Spain. [1 pg. 133]

Czech entrepreneurial subjects have to realize the following factors having an impact on trade between the countries:

- Spain is largely formed of small and medium businesses

- Domestic companies move part of the production to economies with lower costs

- Economy of Spain is based on foreign investments with a significant share in the formation of Spain’s GDP

- Stagnation of Spain’s exports caused by the economic crisis

There is a great advantage for Czech entrepreneurs in the regular monitoring of competitive tendering both by the government and large companies made public on the official websites of Spain. There are promising prospects for further developments in the sector of services due to the openness of both Spanish and Czech economy.

Industries good for business cooperation for Czech entrepreneurs:

- Power engineering – renewable sources of energy

- Food industry – supplies of technologies, food products and beverages

- Engineering – engineering production

- Environment and its protection – production of technologies

- Tourism

- Automotive industry – production of car components

The reason for little success of Czech products entering the Spanish market is the absence of long-term monitoring and presentation with the aid of local representatives. In order to enter the Spanish market in an easier way a Czech entity should be registered in the list of public contracts. Due to this updated list accessible to public a Czech company gains a bigger chance to succeed with its offer.

Another risk in business is a language barrier. It is crucial that a Czech company should have professional persons who will be in touch with the Spanish environment. This problem concerns companies both from the Czech Republic and Spain. A common solution is making use of specialized interpreters. However, if we want our relations with the Spanish market to be firm and a credit to our company it is an advantage to adapt to local ways and speak Spanish.

This problem is also related to comprehensibility of offered catalogs, advertising and informational materials, supporting trade between both parties. For economic reasons it is better for a Czech company to have the materials translated in the Czech Republic.

When a Czech entity enters the Spanish market in fields of chemical industry, automotive industry, engineering or electrical engineering, it must count on strong competitiveness.

When doing business with a Spanish businessman we have to realize who is standing in front of us. Spaniards are known to be quite eloquent, spontaneous, emotive, and they pride themselves on their family background. That is why we should know the basic behavioral rules for dealing with Spanish business partners. It has been scientifically proved that in conversation 10 % is accounted to verbal communication whereas 50 % is interpreted non-verbally. The remaining 40 % is ascribed to the tone of the voice. [24]

It is generally known that the Spanish prefer doing business with reliable and trustworthy partners. That is why it is very important to gain personal contacts. Effective decisions and business negotiations are often based on a personal feeling and trust. Even a perfectly prepared contract with all necessary documents can founder on personal contact between the business parties. Patience is also an inseparable part of it all. Spanish businessmen are known for their unpunctuality and not keeping appointed time schedules such as the times of meetings. It is a certain type of testing the trust of a partner. That is why it is essential for us to keep the appointed times terms. We should suggest such times of meetings that will suit our Spanish counterparts. It is not suitable to plan a meeting for Fridays as a large number of Spanish people do not work on this day and if they do it is usually only in the morning. [24]

“It is obvious that the foreign-trade exchange occupies an irreplaceable position in the process of the economic development. The more produce the domestic producers are able to place in foreign markets the larger volume of goods not produced domestically and whose production is limited can be imported. Thus the economy gets modern technologies, the standard of living of the population rises. Foreign-trade exchange also holds within a higher grade of risk compared to business in the domestic market. Principles of market economy do not allow direct support of exporting companies by subsidies or some other privileges because all the other producers and companies would be discriminated.“

[2 pg. 97]

A large number of foreign companies starting business in the Spanish market are often unsuccessful due to underestimating the financial demandingness of introducing a product in the market. Also the potential of local market environment is often overestimated.

It is mainly the fast Spain’s development in the sphere of infrastructure and environmental issues that require substantial investments. The Spanish government intends to continue investing large sums into infrastructure even in the future. The scheme of infrastructure and transport should not exceed 248 million EURO. This sum should be spent between the years 2005 – 2020. Unfortunately, the investments in the past 4 years have been so large that they exceeded 25 % of the scheme thus exceeding its goals several times. The railway system accounts for the largest share of these investments – 50 %. Speaking about the railway system, (15 000 km), high-speed rail has become the priority in the infrastructure plan. By 2020 there should be 10.000 km of high-speed rail according to the plan.

CONCLUSION

The goal that I was pursuing while working out the theme of my bachelor’s thesis was to understand the issues concerning the foreign trade of Spain and its influence on the world economy. The thesis describes mutual cooperation between Spain and the Czech Republic within the European Union, analyzes relations with the international organizations NAFTA and ASEAN. This thesis is a result of the analyses necessary for an entry of a Czech entrepreneurial subject into the Spanish market.

The opening part of the thesis focuses on theoretical aspects of the analysis of the entrepreneurial environment of the given country, deals with the methods of analyzing with the aid of Five Forces Model and PEST analysis. It contains the analysis of the geographical environment of Spain, describes natural conditions, administrative division and demographic indicators.

The thesis analyzes the economical environment of Spain for a period of 11 years, therefore from 2000 to 2011. There is also a prognosis for the coming years provided with some selected macro-economical indicators. There is also a description of the GDP trend in Spain with the help of graphs and tables. The GDP values are compared with selected countries from the European Union and the world. Using the analysis of the growth rate of GDP volume per individual periods between 2000 – 2010 I find that the growth trend is average compared with the EU member states. The world economic crisis had a significant impact on the Spanish economy and the indicators showed negative values. Gradually the Spanish economy started showing positive figures and the pace of growth can be called slight. From the point of view of the Spanish government there is a GDP growth by 2.5% supposed for the year 2012 whereas the views of international organizations are not as optimistic. The GDP trend in 2012 is estimated at 1.7 %.

One of the subheads of chapter 2 deals with the Spanish labor market in the period between 2000 and 2011, analyzing the trend of unemployment rate for the given period. The end of the second chapter deals with the public debt and its future curve. The thesis documents the corruption environment largely on the basis of documents provided by the agency Transparency International, which is engaged in analyses of corrupt dealing.

The following chapters focus on the foreign trade of Spain with the international organizations ASEAN and NAFTA. As for cooperation with international organizations such as NAFTA, Spain intends to continue participating actively in foreign trade, mainly with Canada and Mexico. The primary pillars of Spanish-Canadian cooperation remain mineral products, machinery, vehicles and production of paper and cellulose, where Spain shows very positive results. The volumes of trade balance and commodity structure are analyzed as well.

In this part of the work attention is predominantly paid to the economic cooperation between Spain and the Czech Republic. There are bilateral agreements between the two countries that facilitated positive trends of mutual cooperation.

The ninth chapter deals with the prognosis of Spain’s position in the European Union which is elaborated with the use of economic-mathematical method of fuzzy logic. This chapter describes the procedure of applying the fuzzy logic using the value scale, transformation and re-transformation matrices.

The tenth and last chapter analyzes opportunities of Czech companies trying to succeed in the Spanish market. Individual prospective industries and investments are mentioned here. Spanish trade will continue focusing mainly on European countries in areas of motor vehicles, telecommunication technologies and agriculture. Planned expansion of local infrastructure should improve conditions for road and rail transport. The development and expansion now in progress will go on till about 2020, as predicted, providing the financial means is sufficient, which appears to be quite improbable.

The benefits of this thesis consist in embracing the prognoses of further trends of the Spanish market environment, Spanish economy, ability to compete, which are quite necessary when a Czech company tries to enter the Spanish market. The goal of this thesis is to create an aid for a Czech entrepreneurial subject interested in the environment of the Spanish market and an entry in it with its own product or service.

Supports used in order to create this thesis were books by experts on international trade Petr Baláž or Elena Trienčanská. The analyses, graphs and tables come from official sources such as CzechTrade, CzechInvest, OECD, Spanish and Czech statistical offices and others. The thesis draws on foreign sources both on the Internet or from foreign publications.

Evaluation of the company

ABSTRAKT

Michal NOSEK Popis a příležitosti podnikatelského prostředí Španělska
pro podnikatelské subjekty v ČR a predikce dalšího vývoje. Bakalářská práce. Evropský polytechnický institut, s.r.o. Kunovice

Vedoucí práce: Doc. Ing. Miroslav Mečár CSc.

Klíčová slova: Ekonomika, mezinárodní spolupráce, podnikatelské prostředí, konkurenceschopnost, vývoz, dovoz, hrubý domácí produkt, podnikatelský trh, globální ekonomika, Evropská unie

Práce analyzuje podnikatelské prostředí Španělska za období posledních deseti let. Sleduje vývoj španělské ekonomiky z pohledu státu jako jednotlivce, tak i jako člena Evropské unie a dalších mezinárodních organizací. Sleduje a vyhodnocuje mezinárodní spolupráci Španělska mezi členskými zeměmi EU i mezi mezinárodními organizacemi (NAFTA, ASEAN). Zahrnuje podmínky pro vstup českého subjektu na španělský trh i dodržování podmínek při obchodním jednání. Analyzuje spolupráci s Českou republikou v oblasti dovozu a vývozu.

ABSTRACT

Michal NOSEK Description of the Spanish business environment and opportunities for Czech businesses and the prediction of future development. Bachelor work. The European Polytechnic Institute, Ltd. Kunovice

Leader of the bachelor: Doc. Ing. Miroslav Mečár CSc.

Key words: Economics, international cooperation, the business environment, competitiveness, exports, imports, gross domestic product, the business market, global economy, European Union

The bachelor work analyzes the business environment in Spain during the last ten years.
It follows the evolution of the Spanish economy from the perspective of the state as individuals and as a member of the European Union and other international organizations. Monitors and evaluates the Spanish international cooperation between EU member countries and between international organizations (NAFTA, ASEAN). Includes requirements for the entry of the Czech subjects on the Spanish market and compliance in business negotiations. Analyzes cooperation with the Czech Republic in the import and export.

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[25] Ministerstvo zahraničních věcí České republiky, Zahraničně – politická orientace [online]. Page updated 2010-04-01 [cit. 2010-10-21]. Available at WWW: <http://mzv.cz/jnp/cz/encyklopedie_statu/evropa/spanelsko/politika/zahranicne_poli ticka_orientace.html>.

[26] RYDVAL, Slávek. NaWEBka [online]. 2005-07-12 [cit. 2011-12-16]. Základy fuzzy logiky. Available at WWW: ˂http://www.rydval.cz/phprs/view.php?cisloclanku=2005061701>.

[27] Banco de Espaňa [online] 2012 [cit. 2012-01-28]. Dostupné z WWW: ˂http:// www.bde.es/webbde/SES/Secciones/Publicaciones/PublicacionesBCE/ProyeccionesMacroeconomicas/11/eurosystemstaffprojections201112en.pdf˃

List of abbreviations

% Percent

AECID Agencia Espanola de Cooperacion Internacional

ADB African Development Bank

AGE Central governmental institution

ADB Asian Development Bank

ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations

no. Number

CPI Corruption Perception Index

ČSSR Czech Socialist Republic

DDA Doha Development Agenda

VAT Value added tax

Dr. Doctor

ENP European Neighborhood Policy

EU the European Union

G7 Association of 7 most developed countries in the world

GDP Gross domestic product

IADB Inter-American Development Bank

IAS International Accounting Standards

Km Kilometer

Mil. Million

IMF International Monetary Fund

NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement

NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NP National plan

LR Low risk

NRC National Research Council of Canada

OSCE Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

UN United Nations

R Extent of total risk

S State matrix

Coll. Collection

MR Medium risk

T Transformation matrix

TI Transparency International

UNWTO World Tourism Organization

USA the United States of America

USD American dollar

VLR Very low risk

HR High risk

VHR Very high risk

WTO World Trade Organization

ZR Zero risk

List of Figures, tables and graphs

Table no. 1: The elements of the analysis of entrepreneurial environment of the state

Table no. 2: The age structure of the population

Table no. 3: The rate of real GDP growth in the period between 2000 - 2012

Table no. 4: The comparison of the real GDP growth in selected countries

Table no. 5: The overview of the inflation values in consumer prices in selected countries

Table no. 6: Public debt to GDP in selected countries between 2000 to 2011 in %

Table no. 7: Spanish High -Tech export

Table no. 8: The Rate of corruption in Spain

Table no. 9: The development of foreign trade of Spain between 2000-2011 (in mil. EUR)

Table no. 10: Commodity structure of Spain’s foreign trade in 2011

Table no. 11: Foreign trade with ASEAN countries (in % and mil. EURO)

Table no. 12: Spain’s imports from NAFTA countries (in mil. USD)

Table no. 13: Spain’s exports into NAFTA countries (in mil. USD)

Table no. 14: The development of trade exchange between the Czech Rep. and Spain

(1999-2011)

Table no. 15: The structure of commodity export of the Czech Rep. to Spain

Table no. 16: The structure of commodity imports into the Czech Rep. from Spain

Table no. 17: Trade between Spain and the Czech Republic in mil. EURO

Table no. 18: The development and prediction of selected macroeconomic indicators in %

Table no. 19: The scale of evaluation

Table no. 20: The transformation matrix

Table no. 21: The state matrix

Table no. 22: The re-transformation matrix

Graph no. 1: Religious structure of the population

Graph no. 2: The structure of nationalities in Spain

Graph no. 3: The share in HDP of Spain

Graph no. 4: The real GDP growth rate of Spain between 2000 and 2011 in %

Graph no. 5: Expected inflation developments in Spain and the EU between 2010 and 2015

Graph no. 6: The unemployment rate in Spain between 2000 to 2011

Graph no. 7: The rate of corruption in Spain

Graph no. 8: Changes in the corruption rate in Spain

Graph no. 9: The rate of corruption in selected areas in Spain and the EU

Graph no. 10: The percentage of citizens who have given a bribe

Graph no. 11: State measures to fight corruption

Graph no. 12: The development of the turnover and balance between Spain and the Czech

Republic between 2000 and 2011

List of Appendices

Appendix no. 1: Maps and national emblems of Spain

Appendix no. 2: Spain’s imports and exports – particular raw materials and products

Appendix no. 3: Spanish entrepreneurial subjects in the Czech market

Import and export of motor vehicles (thousands of EURO)
Period	Import to Czech	Export from Czech
2000	156 693	186 333
2001	197 059	268 090
2002	215 605	273 944
2003	185 544	290 058
2004	288 575	375 305
2005	275 123	522 245
2006	372 062	616 887
2007	408 019	628 805
2008	420 554	512 035
2009	382 321	522 950
2010	428 910	658 167
2011	467 765	621 823

Import and export of plastics (thousands of EURO)
Period	Import to Czech	Export from Czech
2000	20 162	14 676
2001	29 156	16 024
2002	37 038	14 342
2003	43 550	24 456
2004	57 873	33 106
2005	78 511	37 710
2006	91 777	42 050
2007	91 883	45 453
2008	102 565	52 315
2009	88 335	37 090
2010	107 982	46 990
2011	110 953	50 122

Import and export of raw materials, inedible, except fuels (thousands of EURO)
Period	Import to Czech	Export from Czech
2000	5 596	14 020
2001	6 395	19 156
2002	6 128	16 202
2003	6 482	19 425
2004	8 423	17 185
2005	7 283	23 644
2006	7 785	26 846
2007	7 141	30 499
2008	5 960	25 629
2009	6 808	17 792
2010	12 290	24 279
2011	12 793	39 673

Import and export of pharmaceutical products (thousands of EURO)
Period	Import to Czech	Export from Czech
2000	22 090	1 954
2001	24 918	623
2002	22 723	1 659
2003	26 869	2 289
2004	24 942	2 028
2005	23 703	2 805
2006	45 403	1 624
2007	73 460	3 248
2008	95 410	4 130
2009	109 207	7 614
2010	94 571	9 526
2011	101 083	17 618

Import and export of iron and steel (thousands of EURO)
Period	Import to Czech	Export from Czech
2000	3 548	7 555
2001	4 755	9 150
2002	5 115	8 258
2003	5 612	9 001
2004	12 673	17 647
2005	21 008	26 878
2006	28 277	31 256
2007	37 519	48 308
2008	35 704	44 721
2009	26 027	29 572
2010	30 918	34 480
2011	17 618	36 451

Import and export of copper and copper products (thousands of EURO)
Period	Import to Czech	Export from Czech
2000	1 414	402
2001	1 873	471
2002	2 136	886
2003	3 914	659
2004	7 636	29
2005	7 501	139
2006	1 954	1 542
2007	4 251	1 034
2008	5 104	513
2009	1 673	100
2010	5 316	926
2011	5 692	3 982

Import and export of aluminum and aluminum products (thousands of EURO)
Period	Import to Czech	Export from Czech
2000	1 367	1 177
2001	3 658	1 828
2002	3 281	4 606
2003	3 302	6 440
2004	4 837	6 610
2005	6 877	5 757
2006	11 951	8 187
2007	17 708	10 751
2008	20 162	11 013
2009	12 694	8 754
2010	16 441	12 296
2011	13 763	14 355