"Spain has 30% more businesses that export their goods and services, making us the leading exporter in Europe after Germany," stressed Isabel García Tejerina, the Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, at the University of Navarra School of Economics and Business Administration.

García Tejerina recently spoke on Spain: Our Future Ahead to students pursuing degrees and double degrees at the School. García Tejerina said to the young people in the audience, "Creating good jobs is the government's most important goal. To achieve it, we need to keep our economy growing. We have to be more competitive."

"Thirteen years ago was a tough time for jobs, but there's been an important shift: Spain has gone from eliminating one in two jobs in the EU to creating one in two," she continued. "Today, 85% of the jobs for young people under 25 are created in Spain. Spain is growing more than any other country in the EU," she asserted.

The Navarre Canal

When asked by the press about the Navarre Canal, García Tejerina said, "All of the State General Administration's work is under way." She went on to say, "A very important price agreement that will remain in effect until 2018 has been reached with all the irrigation farmers".

"The Ministry wants to complete all its infrastructure projects, because the Navarre Canal means new irrigation land, which in turn means jobs and prosperity for this community, where agriculture and the food industry are so vital", she asserted. Nevertheless, she has opposed an extension of the canal's repayment term on the grounds that it would drive up the final cost.

García Tejerina also told journalists, "Aid has already been given to all the farmers who had valid agricultural insurance during the 2015 floods. Aid for farmers who didn't have insurance at that time is in the works".

As for crop damages, which were managed through the Ministry of the Interior, García Tejerina said, "All those cases where the farms had valid insurance policies have already been settled, but I can't say the same of those without insurance, those who haven't provided proof of ownership of the farm, or those who didn't submit all the necessary documents. The government delegation has made a tremendous effort to remind people of the requirements," she added. Finally, she told the students that every year the Ministry earmarks over €200 million for its agricultural insurance policy.