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Business Leaders Call For A Strong, But Focused European Union
Published May 31, 2012
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A new international survey showing executives believe the European Union should consolidate its financial decision-making, while a shrinking Eurozone and a two-speed Europe are seen as realistic scenarios, is the basis for discussion at a conference of business leaders and policy-makers at the Palais d’Egmont in Brussels on May 31. The second annual “State of the European Union” conference is presented by the European Executive Council (EEC). Some 2000 executives were surveyed for the study prepared by INSEAD, the international business school, Booz & Company, and the EEC. The conference will be streamed live online at www.stateoftheeu.eu. Follow the conference on Twitter (@StateoftheEU and #stateoftheeu).
The State of the European Union 2012 will feature keynote addresses by Mario Monti, Prime Minister of Italy, Ivo Josipovic, President of Croatia and Angel Gurria, Secretary-General of the OECD. Throughout the day, panels will cover five themes: rising to the European economic challenge, reshaping Europe’s social model, re-inventing the European policies on innovation and technology, redirecting Europe’s youth policies, and Europe as seen by emerging countries.
“I founded The State of the European Union two years ago to allow multinationals to express their pro-European opinions. In these challenging times, the leaders of multinationals are better positioned than anyone to bring ideas to improve European competitiveness and “revitalise the European Dream”, said Denis Zervudacki, Founder of The State of the European Union.
Across the board, business executives believe in the power and future of Europe, even though nearly half is worried or concerned about the current situation. Corporate leaders believe that the solution to the current crisis lies in transferring more power to EU authorities, especially when it comes to monetary, budgetary and fiscal issues. The EU should focus on austerity and discipline states that do not manage to balance their budgets, however, austerity measures should always be coupled with a convincing growth strategy. More than 30% of the participating executives advocate a smaller Eurozone: deeper integration within a core group is seen as a pragmatic solution to the current issues.
Dipak Jain, Dean of INSEAD, commented “Maintaining strong relationships between business leaders, political figures and academia is crucial for the future of Europe. INSEAD is proud to be a major sponsor and the knowledge partner of The State of the European Union 2012 edition. This conference is helping create bridges between the public and private perspectives through constructive dialogues.”
The State of the European Union is an annual conference that provides a platform for senior representatives of the business community to share their experiences and visions of Europe and to discuss their outlook with leading decision-makers. It is supported by more than 50 major corporations, whose leaders will detail what they feel needs to be done in order to re-launch growth in Europe.
The business leaders surveyed say that Europe must also be more ambitious. Respondents applaud Europe for its investments in “hardware” (e.g. IT, transport), but they think Europe should be equally ambitious in terms of “humanware” and “software” (education and training). The EU has outstanding human capital, we often lack the self-confidence to fully acknowledge and leverage this strength. Further harmonising of regulations and continuing the development of a single European market would support in making Europe the agile, innovative economy it needs to be.
Per-Ola Karlsson, Senior Vice-President & Managing Director Europe of Booz & Company, co-author of the study, said “It is important to note that, despite the current crisis, business leaders have a deep-rooted belief in the European Union. They also have a clear view on what direction the EU should take: deeper integration in the monetary, fiscal and budgetary fields, greater flexibility of the social systems and wider structural reforms that are required to maintain solvency of the countries. If we, as businesses, governments and individuals work to make these ideas a reality, Europe’s competitiveness will be restored, sustained and improved over the coming decades.”
David Earnshaw, CEO of Burson-Marsteller, co-organiser of The State of the European Union conference explained, “In a period of deeply divided opinions on Europe and with today’s tremendous speed of change, The State of the European Union allows for different perspectives to be heard, developed and to coalesce. The State of The European Union is one of the best opportunities for business leaders and policy-makers to share their expertise, to interact, and to be confronted with diverging opinions and views on the future of the European Project.”
The business leaders present will participate actively in the debates by way of a voting system showing immediate results. They will also be asked directly what their position is towards the growth issue.
This year’s Annual Forum of The State of the European Union will be hosted by INSEAD, Booz & Company., the European Executive Council and Burson-Marsteller.
THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
The State of the European Union provides an annual platform where senior representatives of the business community can share their experiences and vision of Europe and discuss their outlook with leading decision makers. By giving the floor to leading executives from some of the world’s most successful companies, this year’s edition will focus on providing an insider view as to why multinationals consider Europe as an essential of their global strategy.
BURSON-MARSTELLER
Burson-Marsteller (www.burson-marsteller.com, www.burson-marsteller.eu), established in 1953, is a leading global public relations and communications firm. It provides clients with strategic thinking and program execution across a full range of public relations, public affairs, advertising and web-related services. The firm’s seamless worldwide network consists of 71 wholly-owned offices and 58 affiliate offices, together operating in 83 countries across six continents. Burson-Marsteller is a part of Young & Rubicam Brands, a subsidiary of WPP (NASDQ: WPPGY), one of the world’s leading communications services networks.
THE EUROPEAN EXECUTIVE COUNCIL (EEC)
The European Executive Council (EEC) is an organisation that represents CEOs and top executives who lead and manage the European business of their multinational parent. Started in 2000, the EEC meets quarterly to debate and discuss the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Europe. The topics covered range from sharing best practices about organising and developing business in Europe and effective means of dealing with cross-cultural management, to explaining the specificity of the European markets to non-Europeans, etc. The aim of the EEC is to provide its members with both formal and informal networking opportunities among peers to share ideas and hands-on experience.
INSEAD
As one of the world’s leading and largest graduate business schools and with campuses in Europe (France), Asia (Singapore) and Abu Dhabi, INSEAD’s business education and research spans three continents. 141 renowned Faculty members from 35 countries inspire more than 1,000 degree participants annually in INSEAD’s MBA, Executive MBA and PhD programmes. More than 6,000 executives participate in INSEAD’s Executive Education programmes each year. Visit www.insead.edu to learn more about INSEAD.
BOOZ & COMPANY.
Booz & Company is a leading global management consulting firm focused on serving and shaping the senior agenda of the world’s leading institutions. Our founder, Edwin Booz, launched the profession when he established the first management consulting firm in Chicago in 1914. Today, we operate globally with more than 3,000 people in 60 offices around the world.
We believe passionately that essential advantage lies within and that a few differentiating capabilities drive any organization’s identity and success. We work with our clients to discover and build those strengths and capture the market opportunities where they can earn the right to win.
We are a firm of practical strategists known for our functional expertise, industry foresight, and “sleeves rolled up” approach to working with our clients. To learn more about
Booz & Company or to access its thought leadership, visit booz.com. Our award-winning management magazine, strategy+business, is available at strategy-business.com.
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