European industrialists meet in London to discuss jobs and growth

FOI President Adrian Bajada, accompanied by the FOI's permanent representative in Brussels and MBB director general Leonard Mizzi, attended the recent Council of Presidents meetings of the Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE), of which the FOI is an active member.

Over 30 countries attended this council in London, mobilising nearly 100 top officials from the industrial and employers federations from the EU-25, the candidate countries and the EFTA states.

The topical themes discussed included the EU's current institutional crisis, the EU social model, the future financial perspectives, climate change, the completion of the EU's internal market and last week's World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting in Hong Kong.

The key conclusion was that the competitiveness of enterprises is a key factor in jobs and growth in the EU. National governments need to work harder and quicker to achieve goals relating to the Lisbon Strategy.

The FOI considers that this strategy is a top priority for Malta in the years to come. The EU's Internal Market needs to be completed, especially on the services front. UNICE supports the Commission in its approach to address problems, especially on the better business regulation front.

The FOI, like UNICE, will during the coming months enhance the communication exercise among its members and the public. UNICE presidents will meet in Paris on April 7 to decide on a strategy on how to communicate the jobs and growth agenda at an EU and national level. The FOI, through its MBB offices, closely followed last week's debates on the Financial Perspectives and the international trade negotiations, it will be communicating the conclusions to its members and brief them in detail in the coming days and weeks.