Renew Europe Business days

MEP Martina Dlabajova and MEP Morten Lokkegaard and the Renew Europe group are inviting European businesses for high-level panels, thematic roundtables, SME masterclass and informal exchanges offering a forum to share concerns, expertise, solutions and recommendations on what can EU do better to support SMEs and businesses.

• 7 June afternoon - devoted to SMEs with a Networking reception in the evening
• 8 June morning - devoted to all businesses

Hotel accommodation will be provided by Renew Europe for 7^th June

Renew Europe political family is distinguished by the attention it gives to the competitiveness, growth, green and digital transitions of our European industry and especially to our SMEs. We believe that EU companies carry many solutions of the challenges we are currently facing, and therefore it is of utmost importance to hear their concerns, expertise and suggestions when it comes to European regulatory framework within which they are operating in order to make European industry more competitive.

Event Agenda

DAY 1 - PROGRAM

Small & medium size businesses in the changing environment

Wednesday 14:00 - 19:00 (PHS 5B01)

14:00-14:15 Opening speech by Renew Europe MEP Martina Dlabajová, Chair of Renew SME Taskforce

14:15-14:30 Keynote speech of European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton

14:30 – 15:15 High-level panel discussion on administrative burden for SMEs

• Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market
• Vladimír Dlouhý, President of Eurochambres
• Veronique Willems, Secretary General of SMEUnited
• Philippe De Backer, Senior Partner Newton Biocapital, former MEP and Minister in the Belgian Federal Government

Moderator – Martina Dlabajová, Renew Europe MEP, Chair of Renew SME Taskforce

15:15 - 15:45 Coffee Break

15:45-16:30 - ROUNDTABLE: Access to finances for SMEs

• Olivia Grégoire, Minister for Small and Medium Enterprises, Trade, Crafts and Tourism, France
• Petar Hristov, Managing Director, I – hydrogen Ltd, Bulgaria
• Leo van Bree, CEO, Biogas Fond, Germany
• James Watson, Chief Economist, Director of Economics of BusinessEurope

Moderator - Catharina Rinzema, Renew Europe MEP

16:35 – 17:20 - ROUNDTABLE: SME transfer of ownership encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit

• Arantxa Tapia Otaegi, Minister for Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment of the Basque Country, Spain
• Rania Labaki, Associate Professor at EDHEC Business School, Director of the EDHEC Family Business Centre & Family Business Fellow at Cornell University
• Matthieu Leclercq, former chairman of Décathlon representing European Family Businesses organization, France
• Nader Laalinia, CEO of Finstansteknik, Sweden

Moderator – Abir Al-Sahlani, Renew Europe VP

17:20 - 17:50 Coffee Break

17:50-19:00 SPECIALISED MASTERCLASS FOR SMEs

Interactive presentation of case-studies from various territories in Europe which have successfully developed an SMEs-friendly environment. Concrete examples of the best regulatory, financing, legal and organisational practices in cooperation with subnational representatives from the Renew Europe group of the Committee of the Regions.

• François Decoster, President Renew Europe CoR & Mayor of Saint-Omer (France)
• Sanna Savolainen, Senior Advisor International Affairs, Business Oulu (Finland)
• Valentine Delwart, Deputy Mayor Economy & Commerce, Commune of Uccle (Belgium)
• Owen Laverty, Head of Enterprise at Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council (Ireland)

Moderator - Iskra Mihaylova, Renew Europe VP

19:00 Closing remarks by Renew Europe MEP Martina Dlabajová

19:30 -21:30 Networking reception

DAY 2 – PROGRAM

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN SINGLE MARKET
OBSTACLES OR OPPORTUNITIES?

Thursday 9:00 - 13:00 (PHS 3C50)

09:00-09:10 - Opening speech by Renew Europe VP Morten Løkkegaard

09:10-09.50 Interactive interview with European Commission Executive Vice-President Margrete Vestager, followed by Q&A

09.50-10.15 Interactive Interview with Vittorio Colao, former CEO of Vodafone and former Minister of Technological Innovation and Digital Transition, Italy

10:15-10.45 Coffee Break

10:45-11.45 : ROUNDTABLE: “How to make the EU greener while keeping businesses dynamism?”

• Martin Hojsik, Member of the European Parliament, ENVI Committee
• Tuomas Hooli, CEO, Winda Energy, Finland
• Markus Beyrer, Director General of Business Europe
• Doris Birkhofer, President of Siemens France
• Uroš Vajgl, State Secretary responsible for environment, Slovenia

Roundtable moderated by Elena Sánchez Nicolás, EU Observer

11:45-12:35 ROUNDTABLE - “Digital economy- from the Far-West to overregulation?”

• Robert Gentz, CEO, Zalando
• Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, Director General, Digital Europe
• Eva Poptcheva, Member of the European Parliament, ECON Committee
• Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister in charge of Digital transition and telecommunication, France

Roundtable moderated by Antonios Nestoras, Deputy Executive Director of the European Liberal Forum

12:35 Concluding remarks by Renew Europe MEP Morten Løkkegaard