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), 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." A business entity is not necessari ...

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 organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

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 f ...

– EU Commissioner Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness and Daniela Vincenti, Editor-in-Chief at EurActiv. 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 figures with 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 politician, economist and academic who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 2011 to 2013, leading a Technocratic government (Italy), technocratic government in the wake of the European sov ...

, the President of

BusinessEurope The Confederation of European Business, shortened as BusinessEurope, is a Lobbying, lobby group representing enterprises of all sizes in the European Union (EU) and seven non-EU European countries. It is made up of 40 national industry and employe ...

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 serve ...

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.

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 ''2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development'', adopted by all United Nations (UN) members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aim of these global goals is "peace and prosperity for people and the planet" – wh ...

, former Prime Minister Mario Monti on the future of the

European economy The economy of Europe comprises about 748 million people in 50 countries. Throughout this article "Europe" and derivatives of the word are taken to include selected states whose territory is only partly in Europe, such as Turkey, Azerb ...

, 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 indust ...

, digitalisation,

energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...

and

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

Media

Every year the Summit attracts significant media attention, with over 250 journalists from international and European media outlets attending the event.

List of summits

'Knowledge partners'

College of Europe The College of Europe (; ; ) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with three campuses in Bruges, Belgium; Warsaw, Poland; and Tirana, Albania. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 as a result of the 1948 Congress of ...

Hill+Knowlton Strategies A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as mountains. Hills fall unde ...

* EurActiv * Copenhagen Economics

References

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