Conference: "Making the EU services market an engine for growth"

Unpublished

As part of the process to develop a new strategy for the internal market, the European Commission and the Bertelsmann Stiftung are organising a conference entitled “Making the EU services market an engine for growth”.

The internal market is the core economic driver of the European Union. It is amongst our most effective means to improve the conditions for greater growth and investment in Europe. The services sector plays a central part in our economy, accounting for over 70 percent of EU GDP. Two out of three current jobs, as well as nine out of ten newly created jobs are in services.

However, several service sectors are showing low productivity growth and an inefficient allocation of resources. Service providers wanting to establish or provide their services in another EU country also continue to face important barriers.

At the same time, automation and digitalisation are changing the way services are offered and used. Manufacturing firms are increasingly incorporating a range of associated services and solutions, and the collaborative economy is moving the exchange of services into the digital marketplace.

These developments have driven the Commission to assess the current state of the EU services market and remaining barriers.

As part of the forthcoming Internal Market Strategy - one of the Juncker Commission’s key initiatives during 2015 - the Commission will present ideas on how to improve the internal market for services and ensure that it remains a key sector for innovation, job creation and economic growth.

In the preparation of this Strategy, the Commission, together with the Bertelsmann Stiftung are organising this conference so that stakeholders can share their experiences relating to the functioning of European services markets. The conference will bring together representatives from international and European institutions, think thanks, academia, industry, NGOs, and labour and consumer organisations.

We encourage all stakeholders who wish to contribute to shaping European policy making on services to participate in this conference.

Programme

• Opening addresses: Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowskaand Bertelsmann Stiftung CEO Aart De Geus, will focus on the economic rationale for future services reforms and more generally on the state of integration and the merits of the internal market. • Panel session I - Services as a cornerstone of the future internal market strategy: opportunities and challenges High-level panel discussion on how the EU services market is currently functioning, also covering options and challenges for future services reforms. • Keynote speech - Creative Destruction, Growth and Well-being Professor Philippe Aghion, Harvard University, on the interplay between innovation, growth and well-being and the link to the internal market. • Panel session II: 2a - Economic effects of services reform, and 2b - Global value chains and services integration in manufacturing Two parallel panel discussions: one on the economic evidence of services reforms and one on cross-border sourcing of inputs for production and the increasing interlinkages between services and manufacturing. • Closing addresses: Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainenand Professor Henrik Enderlein, Hertie School of Governance, will sum up the discussions and take a forward-looking perspective on how to make better use of the single market for services; how to address challenges of economic imbalances and governance issues in the single market and the euro zone; and on the role the single market can play in improving the conditions for growth, job creation and investments in Europe.

Venue -The conference will take place at the Silken Berlaymont Hotel, Boulevard Charlemagne 11-19, 1000 Brussels, Belgium.

- Registration will open at 08:30. The conference is scheduled to end at 14:30. - A sandwich lunch will be provided.

You will receive an automatically generated acknowledgement immediately after filling in the online registration form. Please note that the number of places at the conference is limited. Completing the online registration form does not guarantee a place at the conference. Each registration must be confirmed by the organisers. The organisers aim to ensure a balanced participation from all EU countries, sectors and backgrounds. Confirmation of attendance will be issued accordingly. An email confirmation of your attendance will be sent by mid-June.

Practical information Costs: Participation in the conference is free of charge. Participants must pay their own travel and accommodation costs however. These expenses will not be reimbursed by the organisers. You are advised not to make any travel arrangements before obtaining confirmation of attendance.

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