our Agenda
Friday 09 October
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Gerlach Ballroom
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Grand Hotel Kempinski -
TOWARDS RECOVERY & RESILIENCE: REBUILDING THE EUROPEAN ECONOMY AFTER COVID19
The unprecedented fallouts from the corona-pandemic have been met by an unparalleled global response. Central banks, national governments and international institutions everywhere have mobilized firepower to soften the blows to the economy, stabilize financial markets and mitigate adverse effects on jobs. In Europe, the pandemic has exposed the flaws in the EU’s economic architecture and the inadequacy of its existing policy toolkit to tackle the economic calamity. Discretionary fiscal responses were rolled out by national governments, alongside the ECB’s asset purchase programme, with the latter being the only supranational steppingstone firmly in place until the Macron-Merkel initiative offset a series of meaningful negotiations on a shared European rescue package, featuring a common European debt instrument. The call is open to put forth the cornerstones of national Recovery and Resilience strategies, a prerequisite to access the funds from the Facility. How are countries planning to allocate these funds to enable a deeper structural transformation of their economies, and how do these national strategies square with European strategic priorities? With green and digital twin transitions at the heart of the recovery, how can these plans reconcile thorough economic stabilization and the need to reset on a more sustainable and resource-efficient growth trajectory?
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MOBILISING PRIVATE ENTERPRISE & INVESTMENT: USING DISRUPTION TO REDEFINE THE REGION’S GROWTH PARADIGM
The call is open to react to the national Recovery and Resilience Plans, as put forth earlier from the viewpoints of key economic actors, with an emphasis on private enterprise, investment and their leading role in buttressing the recovery from the ground-up. Are the plans presented fit to not only jumpstart the European economy but also strategically place it on the path to long-term economic prosperity? How can different actors adapt for more resilience and position themselves for success in the post-pandemic world?
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MONETARY-FISCAL DOUBLE ACT: FINANCING THE WAY OUT OF COVID19?
In the recent decade, crises and lingering weak economic conditions have pushed monetary policy to venture out to uncharted waters. Just as many central banks were planning a review of their current strategies – learning from a decade of unconventional policies, evaluating its efficacy, limits, but also side effects – the covid19 shock has thwarted any efforts towards ‘normality’. Likewise, it took the scale and scope of the covid19 pandemic for monetary policy to be joined by fiscal policy and to bring the much-discussed double-barrel policy regime forward. But addressing the complex economic, employment and social consequences of this crisis calls for sensible policy sequencing on both central bankers’ and fiscal authorities’ parts, looking ahead. Central banks’ balance sheets are to swell significantly this year, in tandem with a colossal increase in public debt. In addition, there is a deepening link between fiscal and monetary policy domains. Against such a backdrop, how will we deal with the resulting fiscal deficits and prevent them from undermining markets? What are the perils for central bank independence and how can it be sustained going forward? What are the limits of quantitative easing and public borrowing? Are SGP rules dead forever? What about inflation and the pricing of different asset classes?
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FOCUS GROUP: DISRUPTIVE INNOVATIONS AND COMPANIES’ NEW BUSINESS MODELS
Should regulators incentivise consumers’ shift towards better products? One of the crucial challenges for policymakers is to create a well-structured and a balanced policy aimed at both promoting innovations and also addressing societal needs. This is particularly relevant for some sectors or goods which produce negative externalities. Here regulation can play a key role in incentivizing manufacturers to develop alternative products and promote better choices for consumers. A regulation differentiating the provisions between different products is the recommended approach: positive for better products with the potential to reduce harmful externalities and negative for traditional products causing the externalities. At the same time, poor or bad regulations could hinder innovation: this may result in less investments in R&D and ultimately in the unwillingness to promote better products or more efficient business models. More recently, innovative companies put themselves in the consumer perspective, where access to their new products follows the application of the marketing of the 4As: availability, affordability, acceptability, and awareness. This focus group will investigate what should be the role of regulators in each of the 4A´s areas of possible policy intervention and it will also focus on how renewed and more sustainable business models can be incentivized by the regulators through a dedicated regulation.
Deluxe Room 009
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Grand Hotel Kempinski -
FOCUS GROUP: THE 2021 RENOVATION WAVE: LESSONS FROM AND FOR THE BUILDINGS SECTOR IN CENTRAL EUROPE
Upon separate invitation only
According to EU statistics, buildings are responsible for approximately 40 % of energy consumption and 36 % of CO2 emissions in the EU. The EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) requires that all new buildings from 2021 (public buildings from 2019) be nearly zero-energy buildings (NZEB). On new buildings, is Central Europe ready for 2021 and onwards on living up to the high standards, confronted with the pandemic and its subsequent economic crisis, as well as the ever-increasing demand for new buildings? What is the role of the EU and national recovery plans for new buildings? Additionally, on existing buildings, about 35 % of the EU’s buildings are currently over 50 years old and almost 75 % of the building stock is energy inefficient, but only 0.4-1.2% of the building stock is renovated each year. Also in light of the EU and national recovery plans, how can access finance for renovation be improved, as it could demonstrate a great potential boost for SME’s but also could lower the energy costs of households (Slovakia has the EU highest energy costs per household of 14.5% of the total income)? What is the influence of the characteristic of having more non-residential building floor area in Central Europe (33.9%) in comparison to the EU average (24.2%), with Slovakia having approximately 75 % of its public buildings and 50 % of its residential buildings in need of a renovation?
Junior Apartment 015
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Grand Hotel Kempinski -
FOCUS GROUP: LAUNCHING CEE ECONOMY 2.0: VISION, STRATEGIES, SOLUTIONS
A positive side-effect of the coronavirus pandemic is that it has accelerated the traction to overhaul the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region’s growth paradigm. In the years before the pandemic, the subdued post-crisis growth and the subsequent cyclical slowdown have made it increasingly obvious that the region’s economy is overdue for a serious fix. The severe disruption brought about by the pandemic with knock-on effects on trade, jobs, and the fitness of the local economy, followed by the subsequent EU commitment to come to the rescue – provided countries present sensible national strategies to handle these funds – together provide for a historical moment to launch CEE economy 2.0. What should CEE economy 2.0 look like, considering the state of the economy today, as well as lessons learned from the pandemic? How do concepts of EU strategic autonomy, the bid to host strategic production reshored from China, and revamping international supply chain plays out with this vision? With historical funding on the table from Brussels, how does the region break free of assembly lines and grey mass, in favour of patented technologies and algorithms? Most importantly, how do all actors make sure, we not only ‘talk the talk’ but also ‘walk the walk’ towards CEE economy 2.0?
Deluxe Room 017
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Grand Hotel Kempinski -
FOCUS GROUP: GLOBSEC CAPITAL MARKETS INITIATIVE: SEIZING THE POST-PANDEMIC MOMENTUM
Two major catalysts intensify the need for EU’s financial readjustment. First, with Brexit, Europe has lost its single largest operational financial and capital markets centre, with no single continental replacement crystallizing. Second, the pandemic rebuilding will require immense funding, as will the twin green and digital transitions. To that end, a common major European debt instrument has been institutionalized for the first time, which marks the beginning of Europe’s common sovereign bond market and is a major game-changer for European finance and potentially the international significance of the euro. These developments jointly create a unique momentum to move the capital markets dossier forward and catalyse highly integrated, functional, deep financial and capital market ecosystem. The potential benefits of seamless European capital markets are plentiful, ranging from crisis shock-absorbing function, entrepreneurship enabler function in good times, and Europe’s increased ability to compete globally. Will the larger euro-denominated bond market help with some of the CMU impediments, including related to liquidity and issuance costs for smaller EU countries? What stock market defragmentation steps can be taken at regional CEE level to feed off, and feed into the EU momentum, and support the local economy?
Deluxe Room 011
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Grand Hotel Kempinski -
GLOBSEC TATRA SUMMIT TRADITIONAL SLOVAK DINNER
Upon separate invitation only
Koliba Patria
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Štrbské Pleso -
AWARD DINNER FEATURING THE GLOBSEC EUROPEAN & GLOBSEC BUSINESS AWARDS
Upon separate invitation only
Grand Restaurant
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Grand Hotel Kempinski
Saturday 10 October
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FOCUS GROUP: ENERGY TRANSITION TASK FORCE
Upon separate invitation only
It is essential that the new EU budget and recovery fund European Green Deal helps to unlock CEE clean technology R&D and manufacturing that contribute to more globally competitive EU supply and value chains. This will be an opportunity to highlight green, smart and resilient CEE energy projects underway and discuss measures that can unlock and accelerate project pipelines. What are the common impediments from financial to administrative and market conditions and how can they be improved?
Junior Apartment 015
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Grand Hotel Kempinski -
FOCUS GROUP: EU SHAPING THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
The EU makes up approximately 22% of the global economy and 16% of all global trade. It is increasingly using its economic weight to improve labour and environmental regulations of its trading partners. At the same time, EU industries are facing a dual challenge: first, they are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with companies in developing markets that are threatening their position atop some of the world’s global value chains; second, they are confronted with intransigent trading partners that are putting up protectionist barriers and blocking needed reform in multilateral trading institutions. In this context, how can the EU remain competitive while upholding its values? How will the European Commission’s new Chief Trade Enforcement Officer manage to enforce new regulations without compromising the competitiveness of EU industries? What enforcement mechanisms should the EU adopt to hold its trading partners accountable? How can the EU help push its trading partners towards greater environmental stewardship and take their Paris Climate pledges seriously? How should the EU approach trade with partners who have serious human rights and labour abuses? Finally, how can the EU take a leading role in revitalizing the WTO?
Deluxe Room 009
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Grand Hotel Kempinski -
GARNERING INNOVATION FOR GREENER & SMARTER RECOVERY: CEE FOLLOWING THE SUIT?
One of the more encouraging outcomes yielded by the pandemic is that climate and digital transitions have been widely recognized and embraced as essential elements of the solution at the EU level. A key ingredient to unlocking this twin transition is private sector innovation. Europe’s innovative businesses and tech startups could drive the post-pandemic economic recovery and advance Europe’s ambition to reduce its dependence on technology solutions originating outside of the EU. Navigating the post-pandemic terrain presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities. Trade barriers, impaired supply chains, restricted travel and geopolitical tensions embolden the European Commission and national governments to reshore green industries and develop more sustainable supply chains in-house. As part of its broader recovery strategy, how can the Central-Eastern European (CEE) region help Europe become a global leader in the green and digital transitions? Is smart & digital a just answer to the covid19 experience and climate change? Which sectors show the greatest potential in the new post-covid19 landscape? How can governments create an enabling environment for regional innovation and what are key coping tools (investment, regulatory, tax)?
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IN PURSUIT OF COMPETITIVENESS & RESILIENCE: CEE AUTO INDUSTRY MAKEOVER
Carmakers and their suppliers were already facing significant pressure to meet stricter EU climate and environmental regulations. The technology enabling connected, shared, driverless, and electric vehicle is expected to completely transform personal mobility and with it the value-added in car production. The coronavirus pandemic has hit the industry with an unexpected cyclical downturn that is accelerating some longer-term structural trends like speedier manufacturing cycles, shorter planning horizons, reconfigured supply chains, and further digitalization of processes. How can European auto-makers ‘recover better’ and position themselves to be more competitive and resilient in the mobility system of tomorrow? What type of public-private partnerships are needed to catalyze alternative fuel infrastructure development and provide consumer confidence in new technologies? With CEE economies more vulnerable to the cyclical and structural decline of conventional personal vehicle sales, how can policymakers ensure the industry adapts and seizes upon new technologies? How might the European Green Deal help improve East-West parity in clean mobility technology adoption and innovation and form new supply chains?
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The pandemic changed the world in unimaginable ways, accelerating pre-existing challenges, intensifying shifts in power, heightening tensions and showcasing the limits of globalization. The European Union is finding itself at the centre of a global arena that is unstable, at the base of a multilateral order that is in crisis, and tightly woven within the global economy on life support. Caught in the crossfire of US-China rivalry, the EU’s silver lining seems to be the pursuit of ‘European strategic autonomy’, which seeks to promote a more resourceful, independent EU at a time of growing geopolitical competition, follow its strategic interests and rethink its dependencies. How does the EU resolve the lack of common vision demonstrated at home and abroad, and reconcile varying levels of ambition of its Members present within an ever-larger and diverse EU? Could the recent breakthroughs in EU architecture – including the EU shared debt facility as a part of the pandemic response – help preserve the EU’s internal unity and strengthen its sovereignty in the global arena? How can the EU turn the challenging post-pandemic terrain into an opportunity to get its house in order, and re-emerge as a major global player?
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