Brussels, 16/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - On 1 July, the president of BusinessEurope, Ernest-Antoine Seillière, will be passing on the torch to Jürgen R.Thumann, currently vice-president of the European employers' organisation. During his last press conference as president of BusinessEurope, Mr Seillière called on the European Council to “aim at bold solutions to achieve the EU's economic, environmental and social goals”. He went on to say: “The European economy will be heading towards a prolonged period of weak economic activity if their policy responses are not good enough”. President Ernest-Antoine Seillière has now been awarded the title of “Commandeur de l'Ordre de Léopold” by his Majesty Albert II, King of Belgium, for his contribution to European construction.
Jürgen Thumann, who then took the floor, called on politicians and the business world to “cooperate very closely to put the European economy back on the track to growth, which is our priority”. “One thing is for sure: economic recovery programmes will not get Europe out of the crisis. Only European business, with its millions of employees, can get us out of the crisis. Provided that policy-makers set the right framework!”, the future president said. This, he went on, means it is necessary to: - free companies from unnecessary regulatory demands; - accelerate the implementation of structural reform; - make the job market more flexible; - help to restore credit flows; - and resist all forms of protectionism, both within the EU and by global partners.
Business Director General Philippe de Buck presents the main messages from BusinessEurope ahead of the European Council at the end of this week, as written in a letter addressed to President Jan Fischer: (1) companies are key to solving the crisis as they are the ones with the potential to create jobs and growth. To do that, Europe and its member states require a sound financial system, a well functioning internal market, sustainable macroeconomic policies and a strong commitment to structural reforms; (2) European business needs undistorted competition and a level playing field at both European and global level. Europe must fight protection and ensure that the Doha Round is relaunched without further delay; and (3) European countries and European institutions need more forceful and coordinated actions to prevent a further escalation of the credit crisis. Access to finance is still a major problem for small and medium-sized European enterprises. (G.B./transl.jl)