Murtra calls for facilitating mergers in Europe amid rumors of a Vodafone takeover

"Our goal is to make Telefónica relevant." Marc Murtra , chairman of Telefónica , appeared before the Congress of Deputies to outline his challenges as CEO of the Spanish telecommunications company. As he did during the presentation of its initial results and at the shareholders' meeting, the executive insisted that he wants to be a key player in Europe.

To achieve this prominence, Murtra believes it is essential to facilitate consolidation in the telecommunications sector in Europe. "We need European champions, with scale, vision, and the ability to innovate," he stated, while urging EU regulators to make "adjustments" to facilitate transactions. These words come amid rumors that Telefónica is planning to explore the acquisition of Vodafone Spain.

According to 'Expansión', Telefónica has reportedly hired AZ Capital to evaluate the transaction as part of its strategic planning. This has never been confirmed or denied by the telecom company, although Murtra recently stated that its approach to Vodafone is speculative.

Murtra calls for European champions to "reduce dependencies, compete globally, and advance toward European technological sovereignty." He believes the Old Continent is falling behind in every sense, especially in technology, where the United States and China are clearly ahead.

The chairman of Telefónica emphasized the importance of the Draghi and Letta reports in boosting Europe's competitiveness and strategic autonomy compared to other regions of the world. "Europe must act and change quickly. We must foster technological and innovation ecosystems," he stated at Congress. Without action, Murtra warned that "Europe will continue to lose technological relevance and will not be able to decide its future autonomously."

In any case, the executive emphasized that Telefónica is going to undertake a major internal transformation to become a "leading player" in the European ecosystem. However, "to unleash our full potential, significant change is required," he added.