Barcelona defends at the OECD an innovative and responsible free zone model

• The Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB) is participating in the second edition of the Forum on the Fight Against Illicit Trade, held from March 17 to 19 at the OECD headquarters in Paris.

• The executive president of the CZFB, Pere Navarro, and the general director of the CZFB, Blanca Sorigué, have strengthened the international positioning of the Barcelona Free Zone through an intensive agenda of high‑level meetings in the field of global trade.

• Blanca Sorigué, general director of the CZFB, took part in a panel dedicated to free zones, where she highlighted Barcelona’s model as an international benchmark in governance, transparency, and Industry 4.0.

París / Barcelona, March 19, 2026.- The executive president of the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB), Pere Navarro, and the general director of the CZFB, Blanca Sorigué, attended the second edition of the Forum on the Fight Against Illicit Trade, organized by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and held at its headquarters in Paris from March 17 to 19. At this important forum, the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona advocated for the evolution of free zones as ecosystems of innovation, economic growth, and secure and transparent international trade.

High-level agenda with global trade representatives

During the Forum, Pere Navarro and Blanca Sorigué carried out an intensive schedule of meetings with top‑tier companies, organizations, and institutions in the field of international trade. Throughout these meetings, they held strategically significant discussions with representatives from the Trade and Agriculture Directorates of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and its Network of Free Zone Experts, as well as with the Observatory of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).The agenda also included meetings with representatives of the Association of Free Trade Zones of the Americas (AZFA), the TIC Council — an international benchmark in the testing, inspection, and certification sector — and with several globally renowned free zones such as Coyol (Costa Rica) and Santander (Colombia), among others.”

Barcelona, the first Free Zone in the world to obtain OECD Certification

Pere Navarro and Blanca Sorigué also held a meeting with the Business Alliance for Secure Commerce, further strengthening the CZFB’s commitment to secure, transparent, and competitive international trade. This commitment is reflected in the fact that last year Barcelona became the first free zone in the world to receive the OECD’s security and transparency certification

 Moreover, Blanca Sorigué spoke at the panel ‘Free Zones: Engines of Growth or Facilitators of Illicit Trade?’, a high‑level discussion space that examined the dual role of free zones in the global economy and the importance of strengthening governance standards, regulatory compliance, and public‑private cooperation. During her intervention, the general director of the CZFB stressed that ‘free zones must evolve and cease to be merely logistics platforms in order to become true ecosystems capable of driving innovation, sustainability, and industrial transformation.’ She highlighted the DFactory Barcelona project as an example — ‘the largest Industry 4.0 ecosystem in Southern Europe’ — which brings together multinationals, medium and small companies, technology centres, and specialised laboratories in areas such as robotics, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, advanced manufacturing, sensor technology, augmented and virtual reality, among others.”

Blanca Sorigué also highlighted that the Barcelona Free Zone was the first in the world to obtain the OECD Security and Transparency Certificate — a recognition that, as she noted, ‘not only represents institutional endorsement, but also a responsibility to lead by example and demonstrate that it is possible to combine economic competitiveness with the highest standards of integrity and governance.’

Within the framework of the debate, the general director of the CZFB shared Barcelona’s experience throughout the OECD certification process, describing it as a key tool for strengthening the international credibility of free zones and reinforcing cooperation between operators and competent authorities. ‘The certification provides clear, verifiable, and shared standards that help consolidate trust in the role of free zones within global trade,’ she stated

Finally, Sorigué emphasized the importance of collaboration between free zones and public authorities, noting that in Barcelona’s case this cooperation ‘is fully integrated into the European regulatory framework and is based on transparency, operational traceability, and close coordination with customs and law‑enforcement agencies.’ Through its participation in this OECD forum, the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona has strengthened its position as an international benchmark in promoting an innovative, responsible free zone model aligned with the challenges of the 21st‑century global economy.