La Coruña has been chosen to house the physical headquarters of the Spanish Agency for the Supervision of Artificial Intelligence (Aesia), as announced the Minister of Territorial Policy and spokesperson, Isabel Rodríguezin the press conference after the Council of Ministers this Monday.
The Galician city has defeated the other thirteen candidates who also applied to host this body, among them, Granada or Alicante, two of the favourites, in addition to its ‘neighbor’ Ourense or Barcelona, Gijón, Guadalajara, Jerez de la Frontera, Leganés, Palma, Salamanca, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Segovia or Zaragoza.
Rodriguez has stood out the “important university ecosystem”both in training and in research, related to the artificial intelligence present in La Coruña as an important reason for their choice.
[De Puertollano a Palma: las 35 candidatas para albergar las sedes de la agencia espacial y de inteligencia artificial]
In addition, he specified that the Galician city has a “excellent economic and business ecosystem” with two hubs digital innovation that generates 10% of Galician employment.
The minister also mentioned the “large number of companies” that have supported the candidacy along with the “collaboration and support” of the Autonomous Community. Also, the support measures presented to facilitate the mobility of displaced personnel.
Rodríguez recalled that, with the implementation of this body, “Spain will be the first country in the European Union to have an artificial intelligence supervisory agency, prior to the entry into force of the future European regulation”.
Seville, headquarters of the Spanish Space Agency
For his part, Seville has been selected to host the headquarters of the Spanish Space Agency, after surpassing the other 20 cities that aspired to it.
Specifically, it has been imposed on Cabanillas del Campo, Cebreros, Ciudad Real, Elche, Estella-Lizarra, Huelva, Jerez de la Frontera, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria/Agüimes/ San Bartolomé de Tirajana, León, Ourense, Palencia, Puerto del Rosario , Puertollano, San Javier, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Teruel, Tres Cantos, Vitoria and Yebes.
The minister specified that the city meets the “important national and international connections” that were demanded in the criteria. Specifically, it was requested that the location be less than an hour away from an international airport with connections to Brussels and Paris.
In addition, it has highlighted its “research, business and aerospace environment”. “The choice of Seville will contribute to strengthen the capacity of the southern region Spain to attract talent and investment”, he stated.
He has also pointed out that another of the criteria that have tipped the balance towards said city has been the offer of a building that is ready to be put into operation, in line with another of the criteria that was demanded.
Thus, it is expected that this organization will have around 60 employees at the beginning and start operating in the first quarter of 2023.
A unanimous choice
The Minister of Territorial Policy has specified that the election has been done unanimously by the Advisory Commission in charge of the process, which includes representatives of the Ministries of Territorial Policy; Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation; Work and Social Economy; Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge; Foreign Affairs; European Union and Cooperation; Treasury and Public Function; Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda; Presidency; Relations with the Courts and Democratic Memory; and Social Rights and the 2030 Agenda.
Rodriguez and emphasized in the “transparency” of the process, remembering that all the criteria that were taken into account were published in the BOE, “adapted to the needs of professionals and logistics”.
The minister thanked all the cities for their participation and described the call as a “success” which, as she specified, it is a reflection of the region’s potential “for change towards the future economy”.
