With twelve members of the Commission in attendance, the EU will not be short of representatives at the 47th World Economic Forum (WEF) of Davos, which kicks off in the Swiss ski resort this Tuesday 17 January and will close on 20 January. Several members of the interim team of the American President-elect, Donald Trump, will be making the trip and the Chinese President will attend for the first time.
The High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, and the First Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, will lead the delegation which will include Commissioners Andrus Ansip (Digital Market), Maroš Šefčovič (Energy Union), Valdis Dombrovskis (Euro and Social Dialogue), Günther Oettinger (Budget), Johannes Hahn (Regional Policy and European Integration), Cecilia Malmström (Trade), Violeta Bulc (Transport), Pierre Moscovici (Economic and Monetary Affairs, Taxation and Customs Union), Tibor Navracsics (Education, Culture, Youth and Sport) and Carlos Moedas (Research, Science and Innovation).
At this WEF under the theme 'Responsive and Responsible Leadership', the Commission will contribute to the debate with an international panel of political decision-makers and representatives of the world of business, explaining and promoting its political priorities and actions to meet challenges in areas such as migration, security, the economy, climate change and energy.
At the forum and on its side-lines, the members of the Commission are also expected to have considerable contact with the Chinese delegation, led in Davos by President Zi Jinping, in light of recent important trade dossiers (industrial overcapacity, market economy status).
The leaders of the EU and of its member states - represented in particular by the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, the German Ministers for Finance, Wolfgang Schäuble, and Defence, Ursula von der Leyen, the French Minister for the Economy and Finance, Michel Sapin - and the Chinese leaders will also make contact with the entourage of the American President-elect, Donald Trump, who takes up office on 20 January. The outgoing American Vice-President, Joe Biden, and Secretary of State John Kerry, will also be in Davos for their last official days in office.
International politics and settling disputes such as the war in Syria are also expected to be the subject of many debates in Davos, but the low level of political representation of Russia and Turkey, both of which are major players in this dossier, does not indicate much diplomatic progress. The humanitarian plank of the conflicts is expected to be discussed, in particular with the new UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres.
The world economy will, however, most certainly be on the agenda and the heads of the three largest international institutions in this area - Christine Lagarde of France for the IMF, Brazil's Roberto Azevêdo for the WTO and Jim Yong Kim of USA for the World Bank will be present.
On the theme chosen for this WEF, four major challenges have been identified: breathing new life into the global economy, reducing social inequality, preparing the global economy for increasing digitalisation and highlighting the advantages of globalisation. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)