European Business Summit (EBS) is an events and conference organiser, and the creator of one of the largest networking and debating events in Brussels – the annual European Business Summit.

Description

EBS was founded in 2000 by the FEB (

Federation of Enterprises in Belgium The Federation of Enterprises in Belgium ( nl, Verbond van Belgische Ondernemingen, VBO, french: Fédération des Entreprises de Belgique, FEB) is the only Belgian non-profit organization representing companies in all three regions of Belgium. Its ...

), and later joined in support by BUSINESS EUROPE. From the beginning its purpose was to bring together policy-makers and

business leader Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separat ...

s to discuss contemporary issues affecting the future of Europe, thus helping to improve the decision-making process on the EU-level. EBS also organises the “Back from Davos” event, whose purpose is to follow up on the conclusions and achievements of the annual meetings of the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

in Davos, Switzerland. The 2018 edition took place on January 30 in Brussels. It took a form of a conversation with

Jyrki Katainen Jyrki Tapani Katainen (born 14 October 1971) is a Finnish politician who served as the European Commission's Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness from 2014 until 2019. Katainen was previously Prime Minister of Finland fr ...

– EU Commissioner Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness and Daniela Vincenti, Editor-in-Chief at

EurActiv Euractiv (styled EURACTIV) is a pan-European news website specialised in EU policies, founded in 1999 by the French media publisher Christophe Leclercq. Its headquarters and central editorial staff are located in Brussels,with further offices in ...

. Moreover, EBS supports events such as Think Digital, EU Energy Summit and the European Defence Industry Summit. When organising its events EBS works with companies, associations, governments and regional representatives, NGOs, academia and think tanks from across multiple sectors.

Honorary board

The Honorary Board of the European Business Summit consists of a number of esteemed figures with significant achievements in the areas of politics and business. Members of the Board include a former Italian Prime Minister

Mario Monti Mario Monti, (born 19 March 1943) is an Italian economist and academic who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 2011 to 2013, leading a technocratic government in the wake of the Italian debt crisis. Monti served as a European Commiss ...

, the President of

BusinessEurope The Confederation of European Business, shortened BusinessEurope, is a lobby group representing enterprises of all sizes in the European Union (EU) and seven non-EU European countries. Members of the confederation are 40 national industry and emplo ...

Emma Marcegaglia and the CEO of the Solvay Group

Jean-Pierre Clamadieu Jean-Pierre Clamadieu (born 15 August 1958) is a French businessman. Clamadieu has been the Chairman of Engie since May 2018 and a former chief executive officer of Solvay and member of the board of directors from May 2012 to March 2019. He serv ...

among others.

Partnerships and patronage

EBS, under the provision of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is supported by the FEB (Federation of Enterprises in Belgium) and BusinessEurope. EBS also operates under the high patronage of His Majesty the King of the Belgians.

Annual European Business Summit

The European Business Summit (EBS) is the EBS’ annual flagship event organised in Brussels. Each year the Summit attracts more than 2,000 participants and 200 high-level speakers from over 60 countries. Previous guests and speakers include heads of state and government, European ministers, EU Commissioners, high-ranking individuals, civil society, and academia. Since 2014 the Summit has been organized in the Egmont Palace in Brussels, Belgium. The Summit spans 2 days, beginning with an Opening Plenary, followed by numerous sessions dedicated to specific topics correlating with key negotiations taking place at the EU-level in a particular year. The sessions take different forms, from big roundtable discussions for around 200 participants, featuring EU Commissioners and high-level officials as speakers, to Agora discussions for around 100 participants, to more intimate “Meet the Expert sessions” which give the opportunity for the audience to interact with the speakers. The Summit concludes with a Closing Plenary session featuring a distinguished guest speaker. The event is complemented by networking lunches and evening gatherings during which all guests have the chance to exchange views and search for new opportunities for collaboration.

EBS 2017

The 2017 edition of EBS took place on May 22–23, 2017 and welcomed a wide range of high-level speakers for key moments including Minister Wolfgang Schäuble who spoke about Europe in a new world, CEO Jean-Pierre Clamadieu on

Sustainable Development Goals The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...

, former Prime Minister Mario Monti on the future of the

European economy The economy of Europe comprises about 748 million people in 50 countries. The formation of the European Union (EU) and in 1999 the introduction of a unified currency, the Euro, brought participating European countries closer through the ...

, MEP Guy Verhofstadt on the future of Europe, and 10 EU Commissioners speaking on creating a new narrative for Europe.

EBS 2018

The 2018 edition of the Summit took place on May 23–24 in the Egmont Palace in Brussels. The theme of this edition was “Leading in a changing world: Europe at the forefront of global

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

, social and political change”. The discussions focused on topics such as clean industry, ethics, trade, security and

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

, digitalisation,

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...

and

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

Media

Every year the Summit attracts significant media attention, with over 250 journalists from international and European media outlets attending the event. EBS offers media partners exclusive access to high-level speakers, private interview rooms and assistance in scheduling one-on-one meetings.

List of summits

'Knowledge partners'

College of Europe The College of Europe (french: Collège d'Europe) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with its main campus in Bruges, Belgium and a second campus in Warsaw, Poland. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 by leading ...

Hill+Knowlton Strategies A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not as ...

* Copenhagen Economics

References

External links

* {{Confederation of European Business International conferences in Belgium Annual events in Europe Lobbying in Europe