European Investment Bank President Nadia Calviño opened the second day of the World in Progress forum in Barcelona by arguing that multilateralism remains functional, despite its shortcomings and calls for reform. She said there was strong determination to preserve its principles amid geopolitical tensions and fragmentation.
Calviño urged Europe to strengthen its voice and retain a central place in global governance. She said international institutions, the transatlantic relationship, trade globalisation and technological leadership were under pressure, making European values more important.
She also described the European Investment Bank as one of the European Union’s major successes, saying its financing helps turn political priorities into practical results. Calviño said the bank’s annual operations would exceed €100 billion this year.
Josep Tabernero, president of the CaixaResearch Institute’s Scientific Council and director of the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology, said carefully applied artificial intelligence could make a significant difference to the treatment of many diseases. He said AI was already being used to design medicines computationally, rather than relying only on modifying existing drug collections.
Tabernero added that AI could help extract more information from diagnostic scans, including CT scans, MRI examinations and mammograms. He said such tests currently provide more information than is used in practice, and suggested that AI-based assistants could help personalise patient monitoring and support clinical decisions while reducing the risk of errors.
The forum’s Tuesday programme also included Telefónica España president Borja Ochoa, former Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos and former Israeli foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami. Later sessions were scheduled to feature International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi, International Energy Agency chief economist Tim Gould and French lawmaker Agnès Pannier-Runacher, followed by World in Progress president Arancha González Laya and former US ambassador Julissa Reynoso.
Sources: El País Portada.