GLOBSEC Tatra Summit 2017 – Top Takeaways – Saturday
Keynote Address: The Window of Opportunity (Won’t Last Forever)
The second day of Tatra Summit was kicked off the by the keynote address of Peter Kažimír, the Minister of Finance of the Slovak Republic stating that with the set expectations and thanks to favourable political winds a window of opportunity has opened for us. We need to squeeze the maximum out of the current momentum and harvest low-hanging fruits as well as keep drawing Europe’s future architecture. The future of Europe in a more integrated European Union, with the Eurozone as the core and the engine of that integration. What we need to achieve is a more resilient, better functioning Eurozone with a clear strategic direction. Of course, it´s natural that our views differ, but for the European project to survive and thrive, we need to compromise.
Keynote Address: Closing Europe’s Investment Gap
Although we are in good times in Europe we have to face a number of challenges. Despite the fifth consecutive year of growth, we need to think long-term. At the same time upgrading the energy and transport infrastructure as well as R&D remains critical. What also needs to be addressed is the private capital formation which has been lagging behind, thus, not contributing to the convergence of member states seeking. Despite the fact we are pushing to expand investments in Europe, there is still a long way ahead of us, concluded Vazil Hudák during his speech on closing Europe´s investment gap.
Session 3: Financing Europe’s Future after 2020: CEE Perspectives
As confirmed at the last panel and the highlight of the conference, it is the persistence of reforms that can position the countries of CEE in the global environment well. Since the attractiveness of cheap labour has decreased in recent years, CEE needs to entice companies that play important roles as well as adopt new business-led models of financing our countries and their development. As we are about to enter an era of greater ambitions, yet, fewer resources, we necessitate instruments that have proved to promote competitiveness rather than rely on EU funding. The times of growth will not last forever, thus, we need to be mindful that the storm will come again one day.
