European Business Summit 15th year: Controversy and Constructive Ideas

Arnaud Thysen is General Manager of European Business Summit and Federations of Enterprises in Belgium (FEB).

Written by Arnaud Thysen, General Manager of European Business Summit

It began at the turn of a new millennium, a magnet for top policy-makers and the business world, debating how Europe and the world should adapt to rapidly changing times.  Through dot.com booms and busts, the rise of the BRICs, armed conflicts and terrorism – and the worst postwar financial crisis – the summit and its participants have continued to brainstorm on solutions.

Fifteen years after its creation, EBS has now become a widely respected platform of debate in Brussels, where prominent policy-makers and business leaders debate the future of Europe.

“Top EU officials and CEOs engage with academics, representatives of think tanks, civil society and social partners with the goal of shaping a better Europe: more competitive, more inclusive and more sustainable,” said Arnaud Thysen, General Manager.

With 1,800 participants and 250 media, live broadcasting and streaming, this year’s Summit promises to hit international headlines.

This year’s event comes at a crunch time for the new European Parliament and Commission, as their policies are being put to the test. When the so-called Juncker Plan to leverage more than 300 billion euros in investment is considered a make-or-break endeavour by the Commission to jumpstart the EU economy. And at a time when Europe must adapt to a digital future or lose its competitiveness. These will be central issues of debate at EBS2015.

From energy and climate, to trade and investment, to digital and agriculture, to SMEs, start-ups and competitiveness, the European Business Summit 2015 will be thought provoking and provocative. The speakers and moderators will not shy away from controversy, if it’s a way to bring forth constructive solutions.

And this ever-wider range of views has a higher purpose: an inclusive effort, to hear as many voices as possible who are involved in growing and evolving Europe’s economy while nurturing its society and environment. It’s all inter-connected. And so is the summit.