Key guests, core subjects, scale of the event

Katowice, 8 April 2016 – Over two thousand registered participants within 7 days of registration opening. Among them leading representatives from the worlds of business, politics, science and the media. Three days of debates, sessions, accompanying events, international economic forums and, for the first time, European Start-up Days, a meeting combining start-ups and corporations, continuation of the EEC project – Leaders of Tomorrow. The Eighth Edition of the European Economic Congress (EEC) organised by the PTWP Group in Katowice will start in as little as 40 days.

EurActiv.pl is the media partner of the Congress.

“We define and identify the core issues to be discussed with business people. We discuss solutions with decision makers. It’s our ambition to set new trends in thinking about Europe’s future, to include subjects that are important for the economy, to confront development problems with their global background”, says Wojciech Kuśpik, initiator of the European Economic Congress and Chairman of the PTWP Group. “The scale of interests in the 8th European Economic Congress in Katowice is reflected in numbers. On the very first day of registration, there were as many as 867 people who wanted to enrol. Within 7 days the number of registered participants reached two thousand. We expect the Congress to draw over 7,000 guests”, he adds.

Each year the European Economic Congress in Katowice is a meeting point for EU commissioners, representatives of the Polish and European parliament, ministers and deputy ministers from Poland, Europe and all over the world, as well as CEOs of the largest companies and numerous business people from Europe, Africa and Asia, representatives of financial institutions and local government authorities.

Attendance this coming May at the Eight Edition in the largest economic debate on Central Europe has already been confirmed, for example, by Maroš Šefčovič, EU Commissioner for the Energy Union and Günther H. Oettinger, EU Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, representatives of Governments of countries – members of the Visegrad Group and other European countries, like Rokas Masiulis, Lithuania’s Minister of Energy, Istvan Mikola, Secretary of State for Security Policy and International Cooperation in Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Tomáš Novotný, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade for EU funds, support for R&D works, investments and innovations of the Czech Republic.

Poland’s government will be represented, among others, by Andrzej Adamczyk, Minister of Infrastructure and Construction, Jarosław Gowin, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Science and Higher Education, Katarzyna Kacperczyk, Undersecretary of State for Economic Diplomacy, the Americas, Asia and Europe in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wojciech Kaczmarczyk, Plenipotentiary of the Government for Civic Society and Equal Treatment, Łukasz Piebiak, Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Justice, Paweł Sałek, Secretary of State, Government Plenipotentiary for Climate Policy in the Ministry of Environment, Tomasz Żuchowski, Plenipotentiary of the Government in the Ministry of Infrastructure and Construction and representatives of the Ministry of Development, among others, Secretary of State Jerzy Kwieciński and Undersecretaries Jadwiga Emilewicz, Radosław Domagalski-Łabędzki, and Witold Słowik.

Business experience and knowledge will be shared at the European Economic Congress in Katowice, among others, by Mariusz Bober, President of Azoty Group, Gérard Bourland, Director General of Veolia Group in Poland, João Brás Jorge, President of Bank Millennium, Andreas Gietl, Managing Director of BASF in Poland, Bohdana Horáčková, Country Manager, General Director of CEZ Polska, Adam Krzanowski, President, co-owner of Nowy Styl Group, Maciej Andrzej Libiszewski, President of PKP Cargo, Remigiusz Nowakowski, President of TAURON Polska Energia, Mirosław Panek, acting President of Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, Krzysztof Pawiński, President of Maspex Group, Sanjay Samaddar, President of ArcelorMittal Poland, Heinz Schernikau, CEO of HMS Bergbau AG, Beata Stelmach, CEO at GE for Poland and the Baltic States, Tomasz Stępień, President of Operator Gazociągów Przesyłowych GAZ-SYSTEM, Piotr Woźniak, President of PGNiG, and Karol Zarajczyk, President of URSUS.

The agenda of the European Economic Congress 2016 covers about 100 debates in about a dozen thematic blocks.

The opening session will be an attempt at defining the most important current issues and challenges for today’s world and an analysis of the geopolitical situation and its impact on the economy. It will be devoted to such issues as: the common political, military, mineral and energy security of Europe, migrations and humanitarian crises, the Schengen zone crisis, terrorist threats, changes in the global energy market, the situation in the East of Europe, the EU internal market and the global competitive power of its economy and alternative directions to European economic activities.

The core issues to be discussed between 18 and 20 May by the participants in the debate in Katowice will include global expansion of the European economy, new directions in economic activities, protective regulations and their practical effectiveness in the world of commodity trading, the Trans-Pacific Agreement and pending TTIP negotiations, the New Silk Road, European investments in Africa and in other remote markets. The accompanying events will also include Economic Cooperation Forum Africa-Central Europe, economic meetings: Poland-Arab Peninsula Countries and Poland-Japan.

The agenda of the European Economic Congress in Katowice has each year comprehensively covered issues related to the power industry. The first day of the Eighth Edition of the largest business conference in Central Europe provides for a debate covering energy and climate until 2030, the climate and energy package in its today's political and legal situation, achievements of COP21 in Paris, gas package, energy and gas supply security in Europe. There will also be discussions on industry, countries’ sources of national income, re-industrialisation and the condition of the core industry sectors in Europe. A separate debate will be devoted to international cooperation on sustainable development.

The subjects to be discussed at the 8th European Economic Congress will also refer to such areas as digitalisation of economies and the opportunities, challenges and hazards of the digital revolution. Is economic activity being transferred to the digital world and how important is it for specific sectors of the economy? How will robotics, automation and the Internet affect efficiency, competitiveness and more effective distribution? How can we get ready for the digital economy in the offing? Attempts at responses will be provided, among others, by: James Whittaker, Distinguished Technical Evangelist Microsoft, Brunon Bartkiewicz, President of ING Bank Śląski, and Don Grantham, President for the CEE Region at Microsoft.

The 8th European Economic Congress in Katowice will continue its opening-up to innovation, young people and new business that started in previous years. Discussions have been planned on the new generation in the economy and in the labour market, start-ups, features of the new generation and inter-generational cooperation in companies.

On 19-20 May a conference will be held under the title of the European Start-up Days, Space for Open Dialogue: Start-Ups – Investors – Business Support Organisations – the first such large event combining start-ups and corporations, authors of global brands, business visionaries and discoverers. Proven practices will be presented, among others, by: Stefan Batory, President of iTaxi.pl, Booksy, Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, General Manager at Uber, Europe Middle East & Africa (EMEA), Marek Dziubiński, President & CTO of Medicalgorithmics, Artur Kupczunas, Deputy CEO of Saule Technologies, Mariusz Turski, CEO, AIP Seed Capital, Monika Żochowska, CEO at Phenicoptere, and Dariusz Żuk, CEO of Business Link Poland.

The organisers of the European Economic Congress in Katowice will also continue the EEC – Leaders of Tomorrow project, whose objective is to create and promote active civic attitudes and increased involvement by young people in public life. The project offers open lectures and the opportunity to act as speakers or attendees during discussions and cooperate in organising events for students.

Awards will be handed out during the 8th European Economic Congress in Katowice in the Fifth Edition of the Top Municipal Investments survey and in the second competition “I live here – smart ideas for a smart city”, whose aim is to promote the most interesting projects carried out in Poland with the support of civic budgets. The agenda of the event also covers a convention of marshals of 16 provinces with a debate on developmental challenges and priorities of regional policies and a meeting of a treasurer commission of the Union of Polish Metropolises.

The discussions held during the Congress will be also attended by politicians, including Jerzy Buzek, member of the European Parliament, Speaker of the European Parliament in 2009-2012, Poland’s Prime Minister in 1997-2001, Chairman of the EEC Programme Council, Zoltán Cséfalvay, Ambassador of Hungary to the OECD, former Minister of State in Hungary’s Ministry for National Economy, Andrzej Dera, Secretary of State in the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Maciejewski, Member of Poland’s Parliament, Chairman of the Senate Local Government and Regional Policies Commission, Jerzy Polaczek, Member of Poland’s Parliament, Minister of Transport and Construction in 2005-2006, Minister of Transport in 2006-2007. Additionally, representatives of local governments will participate: Marcin Krupa, Mayor of Katowice, Andrzej Nowakowski, Mayor of Płock, Wojciech Saługa, Marshal of the Silesian Province.

The European Economic Congress in Katowice will also be attended by large companies from Poland and Central Europe, such as, for example: BASF, Budimex, CEZ Polska, Lotos, Kapsch, Penta Investments, PKP SA, Siemens and Skanska; plus leading Polish companies actively expanding into foreign markets: Famur, Maspex, Nowy Styl, OT Logistics, Track Tec, URSUS and Work Service.

The discussions, meetings, presentations and exchanges of opinion will be held in the building of the International Conference Center in Katowice and the adjacent “Spodek” Exhibition and Sports Arena.

The European Economic Congress – a three-day cycle of events attended by several thousand guests from Europe, Asia and Africa is characteristic for its representative group of panellists, as well as the broad and varied subjects, the current nature of the discussed issues in view of the situation in Europe, Poland and globally.

Enrolment in the 8th European Economic Congress can be made via the web site of www.eecpoland.eu. Basic participation in the event is free of charge.

Press accreditation: https://konto.ptwp.pl/eec/pl/media.html

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The European Economic Congress (EEC) in Katowice is a three-day cycle of debates, meetings and accompanying events attended by over 7,000 guests from Poland, Europe and all over the world. Almost 100 sessions have each year been attended by several hundred panellists, EU Commissioners, prime ministers and representatives of European governments, CEOs of the largest companies, scientists and practitioners, decision makers and people who have a practical impact on economic and social life. In a fertile environment for opinion, in the form of an open public debate, discussions are held on issues that are the most important for Europe’s development.

The European Economic Congress has been widely recognised as a forum for the most representative discussion on Europe’s future. The arguments of keynote addresses are often quoted and broadly commented on.

Since its first edition in 2009, the European Economic Congress has been organised by the PTWP Group.

More information on the European Economic Congress – www.eecpoland.eu

More information on the organiser – PTWP Group – www.ptwp.pl

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Additional information for media:

Ms Marta Stach, EEC Press Spokesperson EEC/Imago PR

M. + 48 609 808 119, E. m.stach@imagopr.pl