EESC positief over Europese integratie (en)
European Economic and Social Committee
Employers' Group
PRESS RELEASE EESC-Employers' Group and PKPP Lewiatan
No 34/2008
10 April 2008
Yes to an enlarged Europe which is open to the world - the business view
On Thursday 10 April 2008, the Employers' Group of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held an extraordinary meeting in Cracow, Poland. Taking the form of a conference organised under the patronage of Cracow municipality and in cooperation with the Polish Confederation of Private Employers(PKKP Lewiatan),the event was attended by business representatives from all of the EU's Member States. Globalisation may be a threat for the EU,but it could also provide new opportunities- such were the conclusions drawn by the conference delegates. This was the first time that the EESC Employers' Group had met in Poland.
"Whilst the theme of our conference may appear to be rather general, it is of immediate importance for Polish businesses" - said Henryka Bochniarz, president of PKPP Lewiatan, at the opening of the conference. "Our firms have adapted to the conditions of the Single Market much better than expected. Estimates suggest that cross-border trade with our EU partners exceeded a total of EUR 132 billion in 2006, with the balance of trade in Poland's favour. Polish firms increased the value of their sales to other EU markets by nearly 80% during the first three years of Poland's EU membership alone, with imports increasing at a similar rate. That is why, in this age of globalisation, it is important for the EU to keep step with competition from the rapidly developing new "tigers" of the world economy: China, India and Brazil."
"Globalisation can represent an opportunity for European integration. But if we are to capitalise on this opportunity, we need to see a marked increase in the innovativeness of our economy. We must develop a genuine single market, establish broad networks in the fields of education and scientific research and introduce new common policies in areas such as energy, the environment and research" - said Henri Malosse, President of the EESC's Employers' Group.
Waldemar Pawlak, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Economy, was a special guest at the conference. In his speech, Mr Pawlak discussed the effects of EU enlargement, as experienced by both the world of business and EU society in general. In his opinion, Europe could and should meet the challenges of global competition whilst the factors for gaining a competitive advantage on the global market needed to be "well organised work, knowledge and modern technologies".
The panel discussion on the effects of EU enlargement saw contributions from Jacek Krawczyk, Vice-President of the EESC's Employers' Group; Micha? Boni, Director of the Polish Prime Minister's team of strategic advisors, Pierre Mirel, Director of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Enlargement; Henryk Orfinger, Board chairman of the Dr Irena Eris cosmetics laboratory; Enrico Pavoni, Board chairman of Fiat Auto Poland. Michal Boni noted that Poland had to take greater account of European values in its modernisation programme.
The second panel discussion focused on the question of whether globalisation represented an opportunity or a threat for the European Union and European businesses. The participants in the discussion, who included Henri Malosse; Professor Jerzy Hausner from the Cracow University of Economics, Filip Hamro-Drotz from Finland, President of the EESC's Section for External Relations; Professor Hiromasa Kubo from the European Union Institute in Kansai, Japan; Wojciech Morawski, President of Atlantic S.A.; Rafal Stepnowski, Board chairman of Jeppesen Poland; Bruno Vever from France,Secretary-general of Europe & Enterprises, all agreed that globalisation could represent an opportunity for European integration and pointed to the various ways in which Europe could keep step with global competition.
In his concluding remarks, Henri Malosse stressed that the EESC, and the Employers' Group, supported the next phase of European integration. Europe's progressive enlargement meant that cohesion was all the more necessary. And the faster the pace of globalisation, the greater the need for more common European policies, such as in the fields of energy, education and security, something which required a bigger EU budget.
The European Economic and Social Committee is a consultative body established under the Treaties of Rome of 1957. It brings together representatives of the various economic and social groups that make up civil society. Its main task is to advise the three main EU institutions (the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission). The EESC has 344 members divided into 3 groups: Employers, Employees and Various Interests.
For further information, please contact:
Agnieszka Nyka from the EESC's press service , Mobile.: 00 32 475 753 202
Zbigniew Gajewski from PKPP Lewiatan, Mobile.: 0-606 808 550