BusinessEurope Headlines No. 2017-17
BusinessEurope’s Council of Presidents meeting in Malta
On 4 and 5 May 2017, BusinessEurope’s Council of Presidents met in Malta at the invitation of Malta’s Chamber of Commerce President Frank Farrugia and Vice-President Anton Borg. The Presidents of the 40 member federations of BusinessEurope discussed three main issues: the business scenario for the future of Europe, the latest developments regarding the upcoming Brexit negotiations and the EU relations with the USA, China and Japan. They also met the President of the Republic of Malta Marie Louise Coleiro Praca. “BusinessEurope counts on the Maltese presidency to help put Europe back on track”, said Emma Marcegaglia, President of BusinessEurope. “To make Europe a better place to live and work, Member States and the EU institutions must pull in the same direction. To improve the investment climate and facilitate job creation, they must strengthen the single market, the common trade policy and the Euro area”.
Contact: Thérèse de Liedekerke
Parliament hearing on Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB)
“Without consolidation, a Common Corporate Tax Base (CCTB) would not bring sufficient benefits to the business environment,” was the key message of James Watson, Economics Director at BusinessEurope, to Members of the European Parliament Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee. At the European Parliament’s public hearing, held on 3 May, and including interventions from CCCTB-rapporteurs Alain Lamassoure MEP and Paul Tang MEP, James also noted that a CCCTB, i.e. with consolidation, has the potential to promote investment and jobs. James stressed however that it needs to be further developed in order to better support competitiveness and growth given the loss in flexibility for the EU Member States, particularly for smaller countries.
Contact: Pieter Baert
Paris COP21 climate deal: More, not less business involvement
"It will not be possible to address post-Paris tasks and expectations with pre-Paris structures", BusinessEurope environment and climate adviser Leon de Graaf said during a workshop held on 9 May at the Bonn climate change conference. The workshop, organised by the permanent subsidiary body for implementation (SBI) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), provided an opportunity to the international community and other non-Party stakeholders to discuss with the SBI secretariat on how to enhance their engagement with the UNFCCC to jointly reach the goals under the Paris Agreement. "It is vital for business to be involved in these discussions because business is providing and implementing solutions to tackle climate change", he added, underscoring the general sentiment of most Parties, the SBI secretariat's chair and the UNFCCC executive secretary that non-Party stakeholder engagement is crucial for reaching the goals under the Paris COP21 Agreement.
BusinessEurope made a submission prior to the SBI workshop in which it outlines several ways to improve effective engagement of the business community and other stakeholders under the UNFCCC process.
Contact: Leon de Graaf
Corporate governance in Europe: what’s next?
There are less and less companies listed in European stock markets. It is important to restore companies’ trust in becoming or remaining listed. The European corporate governance framework needs to take this into account. The well-working ‘comply or explain’ principle – which relies on the application of national corporate governance codes – must be preserved. We hope the transposition of the shareholders rights directive (soon in force) will not endanger this principle. These messages were expressed by BusinessEurope at the 20th European corporate governance conference in Malta on 4 May.
Contact: Pedro Oliveira
European Business Summit on 22-23 May in Brussels
How to bring the European Union forward after the victory of a pro-European French president. What new narrative to boost support for the European Union ? What must Europe do to strive in a New world ? What will be the new geopolitical and trade strategy of the future EU-27? In cyber-security: what needs to be done with the collection and protection of data for businesses and customers? Is the EU Energy Union able to address the key energy challenges? These are just some of the issues participants of the European Business Summit will discuss with keynote speakers - including German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, EU Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen, BusinessEurope President Emma Marcegaglia, EP President Antonio Tajani and BusinessEurope Director General Markus J. Beyrer - in Brussels on 22-23 May.
Register here and join the debate!
Calendar
11 May 2017: How to sustain global digital leadership, Brussels- 22-23 May 2017: European Business Summit, Brussels
- 26-27 May 2017: G7 summit, Taormina, Italy
- 29-30 May 2017: Competitiveness Council, Brussels
- 29 May - 2 June 2017: EU Green Week