Energy for Europe Conference


It’s our privilege to invite you to a discussion roundtable organized jointly by Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers, European Enterprise Alliance, SME Connect and Energetyka 24.

As part of the Energy Forum, ZPP actively participates in shaping the direction of development of the Polish energy sector. Together with our partners and members, we undertake strategic legislative initiatives aimed at effective energy transformation.

Recent geopolitical events have a significant impact not only on the energy sector, but on the entire industry, which is the strength of the national economy. We see an urgent need to ensure security for the Polish energy system and to strengthen its independence.

Agenda*

10:00 Registration

11:00 Welcome and Introduction

11:10 Strategic Partner Speech

11:15 First Panel Discussion: Fit for 55 and EU energy security

Russian invasion of Ukraine came as a shock to Europe. The current paradigm of cooperation
with the Russians, based on the creation of economic unions, turned out to be ineffective and
dangerous for the EU itself. It requires correction of, among others: European Green Deal and the
Fit for 55 package – but will Brussels have the enthusiasm to carry it out? If so, which way is the
best?

It is worth emphasizing that in this case Poland has a unique chance to polish the EU climate
policy. It can be done by re-arming it with the attributes of derusification (refraining from Russian
raw materials) and diversification (expansion of supply sources). How to do it effectively and
permanently?

12:15 Lunch

13:45 Second Panel Discussion: Nuclear Power

Nuclear energy was receiving mild or even hostile treatment by many European Union Member
States. However, not all Member States shared such attitudes – the exception is Central Europe. In
turn, the current situation is conducive to a nuclear renaissance in the EU. What are the chances of
that?

14:45 Coffee break

15:00 Third Panel Discussion: Offshore wind energy

Offshore wind energy is a very important element of the European energy transformation. This
technology will develop particularly dynamically in the Baltic Sea area. This creates specific
opportunities, but also challenges – is Poland, one of the largest investors in offshore wind farms –
ready for these circumstances? Will it find partners among other countries in the basin?

16:00 Networking cocktail

*More information will be available in August.

CEE – SMEs between Transition, War and Global Competition

When the transition process started in Central and Eastern European countries, one of the aims of politicians was to re-model the distorted monopolistic structure of national economies and to a broad private sector. During our discussion we will examine the progress in SME development made so far, by analysing the macro-economic trends of SMEs development and their respective role in national economies. We will look at the key barriers SMEs face with respect to the external environment and internal structures, we will sum up the experiences of SMEs development in Central and Eastern European countries in the form of suggestions for possible improvements and not lastly we will observe the impact of the war in Ukraine on CEE, the actual energy crisis and address the SMEs economic recovery after the COVID-19 crises.

Agenda

13:00 -13:20 Welcome

Ivan Stefanec, Member of the European Parliament, IMCO, ITRE, AIDA Committees
Andrzej Halicki, Member of the European Parliament, LIBE, AFET, JURI Committees

13:20 – 13:45 Address

Horst Heitz, SME Connect SME Europe Secretary General and Chair of the Steering Committee of SME Connect
Marcin Nowacki, EESC Member, President of the European Enterprise Alliance
Paul Rubig, SME Connect President, Member of the European Parliament 1996 – 2019
EESC Employers Group Representative (TBC)

*Please confirm your attendance to Ms. Agata Boutanos, Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers, a.boutanos@zpp.net.pl or Ms. Cleopatra Rusu, SME Connect, c.rusu@smeconnect.eu before September 8.

Can the EU Prevent Global Food Crisis?

On March 23, the European Commission adopted the Communication on “Safeguarding food security and reinforcing the resilience of food systems” to respond to the potential food shortages resulting from the ongoing war in Ukraine. The Commission has also proposed financial support to the EU Members States, Ukrainian citizens and farmers, and third countries that might face shortages due to export restrictions and rising prices of agricultural commodities. The EU has also committed to strongly advocating to avoid the export bans, increase the supply chain’s diversification, and improve its functioning. Preventing the Ukrainian government from exporting the crops will create shortages and threaten the least developed countries’ food supplies.

We invite you to join policymakers, sector representatives, and experts that will address the following questions:

  • How can the EU support export of commodities from Ukraine? What is the role of the Member States?
  • Are the EU transport regulations fit for purpose or somewhat hamper the trade?
  • What is the impact of EU regulations in the agricultural sector on production?
  • How to ensure the sector’s stability and sustainability in the long term?

Speakers:

Maciej Golubiewski, Head of Cabinet of the EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Janusz Wojciechowski

Matthias Bauer, Director and Senior Economist at ECIPE

Irina Dushnik, Grain & Oilseed Committee Executive Director, European Business Association 

Jacob Hansen, Director General, Fertilizers Europe

Oksana Kuziakiv, Chief Executive, Head of the Сenter for Contemporary Society studies, Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting (TBC)

Representative from Copa-Cogeca (TBC)

Moderated by Oscar Guinea, Senior Economist at ECIPE.

This event is co-hosted with the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE).

Vision Zero – road to a safer children transportation

The report on the EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030 Vision Zero adopted last October by the European Parliament, in its §27 calls on “establishing standards for information requirements on the safety parameters of child restraint systems”.

The CRS-child restraint systems topic and the problem of standardized information about the safety tests of the CRS should be addressed in the initiatives Commission adoption. The problem of safety in the children restraint systems is of double nature. It is an important global road safety issue but also, a serious concern from the European Union consumers regulation perspective. Lack of publicly available results of the devices safety tests impact the conscious choice of the consumers. Then, whereas vehicles and car parts make the safety tests available to the public, the children’s transportation devices remain in the unregulated area where neither producers nor the homologation authorities allow accessing the safety parameters the devices obtain.

A vast scientific research shows the risky results of some of the CRS devices that are in use. We believe that this topic should become a priority for the DG MOVE regarding the implementation of the Vision Zero Road Safety Framework for 2021-2030, and the DG JUST. Addressing this problem is also a part of the New Consumer Agenda work that calls on rights of informative choice and enforcing safety regulations of products used in the EU. The debate aims at explaining this problem in detail and present with the opportunity to understand the state of works on the document in the European Institutions.

We hope for elaborating on the directions for the CRS standardization as intercrossing transport safety and consumers EU community priority.

AGENDA*

12:00-12:15    Welcome word by Kosma Złotowski, Member of the European Parliament, ECR Group

12:15-13:30    Debate & Questions   

Katarzyna Kurek, Consumers Forum Foundation

DG JUST Representative (tbc)

DG MOVE Representative (tbc)

Marcin Flieger, Global Road Safety Partnership – GRSP (tbc)

Bartłomiej Witucki, Sajfan Witucki Law Office

Jens Karsten, bxl-law Law Office

Fanny Rateau, ECOS Brussels

Łukasz Zboralski, BRD24.pl

Moderation: Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers Board Member

*This is a physical event, and the EP accreditation is required. If you don’t have one, please get in touch with kosma.zlotowski@europarl.europa.eu before May 23.

EU Emissions Trading System – reforms towards the future

The European Emissions Trade Scheme was intended to be an economic stimulus to reduce the emissions of the economy. However, the experience of recent years, as well as econometric analyses, indicate that it has become a perfect environment for speculations, that resulted in a price bubble on the market. Should financial institutions be excluded from the system? If so, is this the only change that should be made? Should the ETS be expanded in the line with Fit for 55 package? These and other questions we would like to attempt answering during the debate.

AGENDA

11:00- 11:15 Welcome word

Jerzy Buzek, Member of the European Parliament
Marcin Nowacki, EESC Member, President of the European Enterprise Alliance

11:15- 12:00 Debate & Questions

Jos Delbeke, Professor, European Investment Bank Chair on Climate Change Policy and International Carbon Markets
Andreas Gluck, Member of the European Parliament (TBC)
Horst Heitz, SME Connect SME Europe Secretary General and Chair of the Steering Committee of SME Connect
Cement Producers Association

Moderation: Jakub Binkowski, Board Member Union of Entrepreneurs’ and Employers

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