World Economic Forum to Hold European Competitiveness Summit in Dublin, Ireland

national | miscellaneous | news report Wednesday February 05, 2003 14:51 by party time

here's the official announcement - i do not recall this being posted before

World Economic Forum to Hold European Competitiveness Summit in Dublin, Ireland

http://www.weforum.org/site/homepublic.nsf/Content/World+Economic+Forum+to+Hold+European+Competitiveness+Summit+in+Dublin,+Ireland

23 January 2003 - Davos, Switzerland

Irish government welcomes decision to invite business, political and media leaders to Dublin for wide-ranging talks on improving European economic performance. The meeting will take place just two months before Ireland takes over the European Union’s six-month rotating presidency.

The World Economic Forum will hold its first European Competitiveness Summit in Dublin, Ireland, in October 2003, the Irish government and the World Economic Forum announced jointly today.

The Summit will look at ways of strengthening European economies and encouraging entrepreneurship. “It is more imperative than ever to examine and resolve how the region can boost its competitiveness,” says Peter Cornelius, the Forum’s Chief Economist. “Europe needs to do more, if it doesn’t want to fall further behind the US in economic terms.”

The World Economic Forum, a Geneva-based Foundation committed to improving the state of the world, has a long history of encouraging countries – and companies – to pursue reforms that could make their economies stronger. Last year, the World Economic Forum published The Lisbon Review, a survey of over 1,000 CEOs ranking Europe’s economy by their competitive level. As part of the Dublin Summit preparations, the World Economic Forum says it will conduct another, even more detailed survey of business attitudes to Europe’s economic climate.

“A European Competitiveness Summit will enable us to highlight the individual components of competitiveness, such as entrepreneurship and social inclusion,” says Ann Mettler, Director for Europe at the World Economic Forum. “We hope that the Summit will serve not only as a timely update on the Lisbon Strategy but will also help identify strategies and policies that will help Europe regain its economic momentum,” she adds.

In Dublin, the government said it was pleased with the decision to host the Summit in Ireland, whose pro-business policies have helped make the country one of Europe’s top economic performers. “The Summit will bring a welcome focus to the competitiveness agenda in advance of our EU Presidency in 2004,” says Mary Harney, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment of Ireland. “This first European Competitiveness Summit will be an important opportunity to capture knowledge from leading political, business and academic experts.”

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The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world. The Forum provides a collaborative framework for the world's leaders to address global issues, engaging particularly its corporate members in global citizenship.

Incorporated as a foundation, and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. The Forum has NGO consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

For more information, please contact:

Communications and Public Affairs
World Economic Forum
Tel.: +41 (0) 22 869 1212
Fax: +41 (0) 22 869 1394
E-mail: [email protected]