European Economic Congress 2010: challenges for Poland and Europe

The President of the European Parliament, EU commissioners, representatives of the Polish and foreign governments and representatives of the largest European companies and corporations – altogether over four thousand people, were guests and participants of the biggest economic conference in Central Europe.

More than 600 panellists took part in sessions, discussions and accompanying events over the three days. The congress gained the attention of 300 journalists from the Polish and world media.

The date of this year's congress, initially planned for April, had to be postponed as a result of the unprecedented, tragic Smolensk catastrophe. At that difficult time for the Polish state and society, this was the only possible decision to take by the organizers. The congress partners and guests accepted the decision with understanding.

Despite the change of date, the topics of the congress remained fully relevant, as shown by the course of the congress and the interest it aroused. According to the guests and observers, the scale and prestige of the 2nd Congress fully exceeded the first one, which was generally recognized as being successful.

The scope of subjects of the 2nd European Economic Congress consisted of issues crucial for the common future of Poland and Europe. Firstly – the consequences and experience of the financial crisis, leading to questions about the shape of the new economic order in Europe. Secondly – the climate package and challenges connected with environmental protection and energy security, as well as the rules of the joint European energy policy in that context. And finally – innovation as the basis for the competitiveness of EU economy.

Prestigious opening

On the inauguration day, the participants of the 2nd European Economic Congress were greeted by Wojciech Kuśpik, the President of the PTWP Group and initiator of the congress.

"The European Economic Congress has quickly become the most significant event of the type in Central Europe," said Mr Kuśpik. "This confirms to us in our belief that Poland and the Upper Silesia are good places for a discussion about the future of the Polish and European economy. In the circle of politicians, entrepreneurs and experts we will be searching for solutions for Europe and Poland." When greeting the participants of the congress, the Silesian Voivode, Zygmunt Łukaszczyk emphasized that "for the three days the European economic heart will be beating in Silesia, in Katowice". The participants were also greeted by Bogusław Śmigielski, Marshal of the Śląskie Voivodeship and Piotr Uszok, Mayor of Katowice. "Katowice is a good place to discuss issues important for the economy," said Bronisław Komorowski, Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland. "The congress is an important event which also has the value of freshness. I am convinced that the congress will remain successful in the future. We want Poland to be the best place to invest in Europe." Komorowski emphasized that a buoyant fact has to be that until recently Poland was the only ‘green island’ during the crisis. Marshal Komorowski also stressed the fact that in the first quarter of this year Poland exceeded 3% economic growth. This means the situation is better than expected. "The credit for it goes not only to the current government but also to those who had the courage change and the modernization of Poland some time ago," stressed Bronisław Komorowski. "This is also a bonus for the daring reforms of the 90s. Today Poland stands out in a positive way against other countries. The question remaining is how to use this situation." Modernisation and development are still challenges for Poland, and similarly the privatisation of the economy. Some action concerning public finance reform will also be necessary; we need an increase in the transfer of scientific achievements into business, too. "We are still facing the crisis; some countries have deficits of funds," said Jerzy Buzek, the President of the European Parliament. "This makes reforms even more necessary. Our escape forward will be important. We must have the proper supervision over the financial market, the possibility of risk assessment and access to reliable statistics." Buzek also indicated that it will be necessary to unlock the development potential of all regions of Europe, since there is a huge one. "It is considered that countries which have recently joined the EU will be its driving force," emphasized Buzek. "Because of their desire for success. The Polish presidency, for which we have to prepare, will be very significant. The EU budget over the years to come will also be important."

Jerzy Buzek stressed the significance of the joint EU energy policy and the ensuring of free flow of capital and knowledge – the completion of building the European free market.

"I think that as part of this generation we should do more and in a different way," advised Lech Wałęsa, a Nobel Prize winner, a former President of the Republic of Poland. "What we do is a continuation of ‘racing’. Think of new solutions. Now we shouldn’t concentrate on the best ones, because they can manage. Now we should focus on the programmes targeted at the average and the weaker ones. In order to balance the level in Europe. We often hear that the future should be built based on some specific values. But if we take a look around, we can see that now everyone has different values. The united Europe has to take into consideration the situation of each country and support them."

According to Waldemar Pawlak, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, the message of the Polish presidency in the EU will be about the Eastern partnership. The potential created by the new nine EU countries has to be used in the right way. If Poland is to be a strong representative of this region, it will strengthen its position.

Janusz Lewandowski, European Commissioner for Budget and Financial Programming indicated that the European Union was built for "good weather conditions". And now it has to learn how to handle a crisis.

"The crisis also gives rise to protectionist and egoistic impulses," warned Lewandowski. "Now we have to eliminate the defects uncovered by the crisis. We are dealing with the rescue for Greece. We’ll need some form of preventative measure in the future. It will be received as unwelcome because it will be connected with an insight into the finance of individual countries. Our generation, the generation of "Solidarity", should work to produce a good scenario for Europe."

Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Regional Policy called for another discussion about the situation that Europe found itself in during the crisis. According to him, it is necessary to think how Europe will perform in the future in comparison with other players, such as India, China, or Russia. Instead of concentrating only on the aspect of stability, the ways of following a growth path should also be discussed.

According to Hahn, the Polish economy comes out very well compared with the economies of other European Union countries. This is also a result of the fact that Poland is the biggest beneficiary of structural funds. Nevertheless, there are some areas where we have to intensify our activities – for instance when it comes to infrastructure investment projects.

Europe, energy, environment

As part of the inaugural day, two plenary sessions took place concerning the new European order and the consequences of the crisis, as well as a discussion about the EU energy policy and the consequences of implementing the energy and climate package.

The new economic order in Europe will not be born of decrees and actions of the EU’s structures. This will be the task for various environments, among which entrepreneurs will play a special role. These are the conclusions reached by the participants of the debate about the future of the EU economy – politicians and representatives of the biggest European business organizations. Warnings were given against the use of drugs that are worse than the disease – when healing the operation of the bank system and improving mechanisms of control over many zones of economy, both the EU and the governments should find the middle ground between the ways to achieve these goals while enabling the free development of the economy.

The energy policy of the European Union has more and more influence on the Polish energy sector. If Polish power plants fail to adapt to the new realities soon enough, they will have serious problems - these in turn were the main conclusions from the session entitled "Power Policy. Energy and Climate Package".

"Managers of power plants are trying to convince us that the implementation of modern energy engineering technologies is difficult and expensive. Does this mean that Kraszewski has to go to Brussels and defend the solutions convenient to Polish companies like the Poles defended Częstochowa?" said Andrzej Kraszewski, Minister of Environment. The minster tried to convince the audience that the Union will continue the policy of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and the Polish energy sector has now to take this into serious consideration in its plans.

The power industry and the fight against climate changes are among the most significant thematic paths continued over the following days of the congress. The debates included discussions on energy security in Europe and Poland, the role of innovation and new ‘green’ energy engineering technologies and the development of the energy market.

"Without expending billions of zloty Poland will not be secure in terms of energy," stressed the panellists. "The most significant thing was forgotten – the redevelopment of electrical power capacities."

The representatives of the government and the industry debated on the government’s strategy for the fuel and power sector. A separate discussion block was devoted to prospects and barriers facing power engineering based on renewable energy sources. The discussed issues included the EU's achievements and requirements in this field, as well as the Polish experience, priorities and ways of financing projects.

The panellists primarily emphasized that to achieve a 15% share of renewable energy in the final gross energy consumption in 2020, as required by the EU, support from the state is necessary. But the power industry in the context of the natural environment is not only a question of generating energy but also its effective management in industry and in cities. This trend was a subject of a separate panel with the participation of practitioners.

Stabilisation, innovation, growth

The situation in the financial markets and the priorities of the Polish economy in the period of coming out of the crisis are the ideas around which the "Finance/Economy" plenary session took place with the participation of representatives of the government’s economic departments, the largest banks, state-owned companies and independent experts. The stabilisation of the financial markets in the face of the Greek crisis, the continuation of activities to reform public finance and the consistent privatisation were recognized as the most significant directions of strengthening the growth tendencies in the economy. The context of the European problems connected with finance also impacted the debate on the future of the eurozone.

One of the topics addressed at the congress that is important for the future of Poland and Europe concerned EU funds in the new financial perspective for 2013-2020. It was emphasized many times that the European cohesion policy – treated not as a mechanism of support for the weaker but as a set of effective tools for implementation of pro-development goals of the whole Union – remains a priority for Poland.

During the panel debates connected with the role of innovation in the development of the European economy and devoted to the cooperation between science and industry, most attention was dedicated to the methods of removing the barriers which hinder the transfer of scientific solutions into industry. Some proposals for specific legal solutions were presented and examples of good practices cited, while ineffective projects and action models were subjects of objective criticism.

A special session was dedicated to the Knowledge and Innovation Communities – a crucial programme for Polish and European innovation, for the cooperation between science and industry. It is worth remembering that the project concerning the development of clean coal technologies carried out by one of the Community "nodes" was initiated during the 1st European Economic Congress.

A great complex of sessions and debates was devoted to issues concerning local governments. The representatives of local governments of various levels from Europe and Poland debated on such topics as the future and creative power of metropolises, the determinants influencing implementation of projects within the public and private partnership and the problems with financing investment projects.

A significant and multi-topic trend of the congress was formed by the debates concerning infrastructure and transport – the economic area which enables the exchange of goods and resources and constitutes at the same time the backbone of the European free market. Discussions were held over the problems of transport integration in Europe, the role of logistics centres and airports, as well as the development of road infrastructure and the market of railway transportation.

The congress was also a forum for the exchange of views between the most important people for particular industrial sectors. The debate about the future of the chemical sector addressed the consequences of the crisis, the challenges faced by the chemical sector in the context of the situation on the raw material market, and the requirements connected with countering climate changes. The crisis did not avoid the steel industry, but here its results were less harmful Polish companies in comparison with the European steel manufacturers.

"The prospects for this industry are not so bad," was a typical statement from steel manufacturers and distributors during the session entitled "Metallurgy".

The debate of the mining industry was dominated by the issues of investment, privatisation and development of clean coal technologies, while the panel devoted to the automotive industry concentrated around the consequences of the crisis for the future of the industry and its co-operators.

This year’s congress also included a session dedicated to the food industry – the condition and competitiveness of the Polish and European food industries – and a conference concerning the healthcare system in Poland. European Economic Congress 2010 was an opportunity for the existence of many events important for the economy and public life – such as the initiative by Jan Kulczyk known as CEED (Central & Eastern Europe Development) aimed at promoting the 10 youngest and most dynamic EU economies as the more and more significant player in the international arena.

Other events included the ceremony of awarding the Crystal Brussels Sprout, i.e. the award of the Polish National Contact Point for Research Programmes of the European Union (KPK) or awarding the winners of the competition organized by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP). During the Congress the inauguration took place of the creation of the Investors and Entrepreneurs Collaboration Network "Business Hunters", the task of which task will be to attract investors effectively. Such events as the Economic Forum of the Young (an initiative of the Forum of the Young at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Katowice) and the Polish-Czech Economic Meeting took place during the conference, as well as several press conferences and briefings of Polish and European politicians.

Prepared based on press materials by: off