The European Round Table for Industry (previously known as the European Round Table of Industrialists), abbreviated ERT, is a cross-sectoral forum and
advocacy group
Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...
in the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
consisting of some 60 European industrial businesspeople working on
competitiveness
Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, individ ...
in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
.
History
The European economy in the early 1980s was regarded by some economists as suffering from
eurosclerosis; the European Economic Community (EEC) was perceived in some quarters as suffering from a lack of
innovation
Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or service (economics), services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a n ...
and
competitiveness
Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, individ ...
.
Pehr G. Gyllenhammar, the CEO of
Volvo
The Volvo Group (; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of truck ...
, brought together 7 European business leaders on 6 and 7 April 1983 to create an organisation aiming to communicate that Europe needed to modernise its industrial bases. The initial members were Gyllenhammar,
Karl Beurle (Thyssen),
Carlo De Benedetti (Olivetti),
Curt Nicolin (ASEA),
Harry Gray (United Technologies),
John Harvey-Jones (ICI),
Wolfgang Seelig (
Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...
),
Umberto Agnelli (
Fiat
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...
),
Peter Baxendell (
Shell
Shell may refer to:
Architecture and design
* Shell (structure), a thin structure
** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses
Science Biology
* Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...
),
Olivier Lecerf (Lafarge Coppée), José Bidegain (Cie de St Gobain),
Wisse Dekker (
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...
), Antoine Riboud (BSN),
Bernard Hanon (
Renault
Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
), Louis von Planta (
Ciba-Geigy) and
Helmut Maucher (
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...
).
François-Xavier Ortoli.
Étienne Davignon
Étienne, Count Davignon (; born 4 October 1932) is a Belgium, Belgian former diplomat, top civil servant, businessman, and former vice-president of the European Commission, also known as an active participant in organization of the murder of P ...
of the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
attended the latter part of the meeting. During meetings that followed later that year, the ERT was established.
The Single Market
Promoting the
European single market
The European single market, also known as the European internal market or the European common market, is the single market comprising mainly the member states of the European Union (EU). With certain exceptions, it also comprises Iceland, ...
would become ERT’s objective. In its first publication, a memorandum to the EC Commissioner
Étienne Davignon
Étienne, Count Davignon (; born 4 October 1932) is a Belgium, Belgian former diplomat, top civil servant, businessman, and former vice-president of the European Commission, also known as an active participant in organization of the murder of P ...
in April 1983, the ERT catalogued the challenges' they saw in the European industry. Among these was the need to upgrade infrastructure, roads and communications.
In November 1984, ERT co-founding member Wisse Dekker (Philips) presented "Europe 1990: An Agenda for Action", a plan backed by the ERT on achieving a European Single Market, at the
Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels. The plan was then presented at a public speech in January 1985 to an audience with the newly appointed Commissioners, led by
Jacques Delors
Jacques Lucien Jean Delors (; 20 July 192527 December 2023) was a French politician who served as the eighth president of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995. Delors played a key role in the creation of the single market, the euro and th ...
. Delors’ speech to the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
a few days later set out his ideas for completing the Single Market. In June 1985, the European Commission published its white paper "Completing the Single Market", which led to the
Single European Act
The Single European Act (SEA) was the first major revision of the 1957 Treaty of Rome. The Act set the European Community an objective of establishing a single market by 31 December 1992, and a forerunner of the European Union's Common Fore ...
of 1986.
ERT promoted the construction of the
Oresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden as part of its ''European Link'' project. This project also included several other international European infrastructural projects, such as the
Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link between Denmark and Germany. Later, ERT became active in the promotion of the earliest
Trans-European Networks.
1990s
During the 1990s, the chairment of ERT were: Wisse Dekker (
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
), Jérôme Monod (
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
) and Helmut Maucher (
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
), with Keith Richardson as secretary general. During this time, ERT published reports encouraging the first global
G8 cooperation on building common standards. Later, this work was recognised by several country leaders, including President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
. The ERT was a vocal supporter of
EU enlargement.
2000–2019
The ERT published its paper "Actions for Competitiveness through the Knowledge Economy in Europe" in March 2001, calling for national education systems to focus on in-demand skills and for employers to invest in
lifelong learning
Lifelong learning is the "ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated" pursuit of learning for either personal or professional reasons.
Lifelong learning is important for an individual's competitiveness and employability, but also enhances social in ...
. It stressed easier access to
venture capital
Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...
and
intellectual property protection.
In September 2009, ERT called for the creation of a European coordinating body. This would eventually come into effect in 2011 in the shape of the European Coordinating Body in Maths, Science and Technology Education (ECB), which ran until 2014. The decline of
research and development
Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...
(R&D) investment in Europe was one of five main topics addressed in ERT’s "Vision for a Competitive Europe in 2025", published in February 2010.
In 2019, Secretary General
Frank Heemskerk revised the name and brand of ERT and expanded its
secretariat.
Criticism
''
The Brussels Business'' is a 2013 documentary film by Friedrich Moser and Matthieu Lietaert with the topic on the lack of transparency and the influence of
lobbyists on the European Union's decision-making processes. ERT figures largely in the film as an organisation that has had the closest links with the EU; those on European traffic networks borrowed heavily from ERT reports.
In a report by the former secretary general of the ERT, Keith Richardson, entitled ''Big Business and the European Agenda'', the Action for Solidarity, Equality, Environment and Diversity Europe's (ASEED Europe's) report called ''
Misshaping Europe'' is quoted.
Chairs
* 1983–1988:
Pehr G. Gyllenhammar (
Volvo
The Volvo Group (; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of truck ...
)
* 1988–1992:
Wisse Dekker (
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...
)
* 1992–1996:
Jérôme Monod (
Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux)
* 1996–1999:
Helmut Maucher (
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...
)
* 1999–2001:
Morris Tabaksblat (
Reed Elsevier
RELX plc (pronounced "Rel-ex") is a British multinational information and analytics company headquartered in London, England. Its businesses provide scientific, technical and medical information and analytics; legal information and analytics; ...
)
* 2001–2005:
Gerhard Cromme (
ThyssenKrupp
ThyssenKrupp AG (, ; stylized as thyssenkrupp) is a German industrial engineering and steel production multinational conglomerate. It resulted from the 1999 merger of Thyssen AG and Krupp and has its operational headquarters in Duisburg and E ...
)
* 2005–2009:
Jorma Ollila (
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...
)
* 2009–2014:
Leif Johansson (
Ericsson
(), commonly known as Ericsson (), is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Ericsson has been a major contributor to the development of the telecommunications industry and is one ...
)
* 2014–2018:
Benoît Potier (
Air Liquide
Air Liquide S.A. ( , ; literally " liquid air") is a French multinational company which supplies industrial gases and services to various industries including medical, chemical and electronic manufacturers. Founded in 1902, after Linde it is ...
)
* 2018–2022:
Carl-Henric Svanberg
Carl-Henric Svanberg (born 29 May 1952) is a Swedish businessman and chairman of Volvo. He was chairman of BP for eight years, from 2010 to 2018.
In December 2023, Svanberg was appointed commission chair to the AI Commission to the Swedish Gove ...
(
AB Volvo)
Members of the ERT
/ref>
* 2022–present: Jean-François van Boxmeer ( Vodafone Group)
List of members in 2023
* Hilde Merete Aasheim (Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norway, Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. It is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. It has operations in some 50 countries around th ...
)
* Jean-Paul Agon ( L'Oréal)
* Zoltán Áldott ( MOL)
* José María Álvarez-Pallete (Telefónica
, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational telecommunications company with registered office and headquarters located in two different places, both in Madrid, Spain. It is one of the largest telephone operators and mobile network providers in the ...
)
* Nils S. Andersen ( AkzoNobel)
* Cláudia Azevedo (Sonae
Sonae is a multinational business group headquartered in Maia, Portugal. It operates in 90 countries, working in various sectors, among which retail (food, electronics, and fashion), real estate, media and telecommunications, technology investme ...
)
* Rodolfo De Benedetti ( CIR)
* Leonhard Birnbaum ( E.ON)
* Dolf van den Brink (Heineken
Heineken Lager Beer (), or simply Heineken (), is a Dutch pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star.
History
On 15 February 1864, ...
)
* Martin Brudermüller (BASF
BASF SE (), an initialism of its original name , is a European Multinational corporation, multinational company and the List of largest chemical producers, largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters are located in Ludwigshafen, Ge ...
)
* Pierre-André de Chalendar ( Saint-Gobain)
* Jean-Pierre Clamadieu (ENGIE
Engie SA (stylised in all caps as ENGIE) is a French multinational electric utility company, headquartered in La Défense, Courbevoie. Its activities cover electricity generation and distribution, natural gas, nuclear power, renewable energy ...
)
* Vincent Clerc ( A.P. Møller-Mærsk)
* Claudio Descalzi (Eni
Eni is an Italian oil and gas corporation.
Eni or ENI may refer to:
Businesses and organisations
* Escuela Nacional de Inteligencia, the Argentine intelligence academy
* Groupe des écoles nationales d’ingénieurs (Groupe ENI), a French engi ...
)
* Stefan Doboczky (Heubach Group)
* ( KONE)
* Börje Ekholm (Ericsson
(), commonly known as Ericsson (), is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Ericsson has been a major contributor to the development of the telecommunications industry and is one ...
)
* Aiman Ezzat (Capgemini
Capgemini SE is a French Multinational corporation, multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company, headquartered in Paris, France.
History
Capgemini was founded by Serge Kampf in 1967 as an enterprise management and d ...
)
* Guillame Faury (Airbus
Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...
)
* Ignacio S. Galán (Iberdrola
Iberdrola, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational electric utility company based in Bilbao, Spain. It has around 40,000 employees and serves around 30 million customers.
Subsidiary, Subsidiaries include ScottishPower (United Kingdom), Ava ...
)
* Óscar García Maceiras (Inditex
Industria de Diseño Textil, S.A. (Inditex; , ; ) is a Spanish multinational clothing company headquartered in Arteixo, Galicia, Spain. The largest fast fashion group in the world, it operates over 7,200 stores in 93 markets worldwide. The compa ...
)
* Belén Garijo (Merck Group
The Merck Group, branded and commonly known as Merck, is a German Multinational corporation, multinational science and technology company headquartered in Darmstadt, with about 60,000 employees and a presence in 66 countries. The group include ...
)
* Christel Heydemann ( Orange)
* Timotheus Höttges (Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. It was formed in 199 ...
)
* Roy Jakobs (Royal Philips)
* Jan Jenisch (Holcim
Holcim is a Swiss-based global building materials and Construction aggregate, aggregates flagship division of the Holcim Group. The original company was merged on 10 July 2015 with Lafarge (company), Lafarge to form LafargeHolcim as the new c ...
)
* Ilham Kadri ( Solvay)
* Ola Källenius
Sten Ola Källenius (born 11 June 1969) is a Swedish-German business executive. He serves as the Chairman of the Board of Management and CEO of the Mercedes-Benz Group. Källenius was the first non-German to hold both positions prior to obtaining ...
( Mercedes-Benz Group AG)
* Christian Klein ( SAP)
* Thomas Leysen ( Umicore)
* Helge Lund ( BP)
* Pekka Lundmark (Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...
)
* Martin Lundstedt ( AB Volvo)
* Nancy McKinstry (Wolters Kluwer
Wolters Kluwer N.V. is a Dutch information services company. The company serves legal, business, tax, accounting, finance, audit, risk, compliance, and healthcare markets.
Wolters Kluwer in its current form was founded in 1987 with a merger bet ...
)
* Florent Menegaux (Michelin
Michelin ( , ), in full ("General Company of the Michelin Enterprises P.L.S."), is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes '' région'' of France. It is the second largest t ...
)
* Mathias Miedreich ( Umicore)
* Aditya Mittal (ArcelorMittal
ArcelorMittal S.A. is a Luxembourg-based multinational steel manufacturing corporation, headquartered in Luxembourg City. It is ranked second on the list of steel producers behind Baowu, and had an annual crude steel production of 58 millio ...
)
* Dimitri Papalexopoulos ( TITAN Cement)
* Rafael del Pino ( Ferrovial)
* Benoît Potier (Air Liquide
Air Liquide S.A. ( , ; literally " liquid air") is a French multinational company which supplies industrial gases and services to various industries including medical, chemical and electronic manufacturers. Founded in 1902, after Linde it is ...
)
* Patrick Pouyanné (TotalEnergies
TotalEnergies SE is a French multinational integrated energy and petroleum company founded in 1924 and is one of the seven supermajor oil companies. Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas explorati ...
)
* Gianfelice Rocca ( Techint Group of Companies)
* Björn Rosengren ( ABB)
* Güler Sabancı ( Sabancı Holding)
* Wael Sawan (Shell
Shell may refer to:
Architecture and design
* Shell (structure), a thin structure
** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses
Science Biology
* Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...
)
* Mark Scheider (Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...
)
* Severin Schwan (Roche
F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, commonly known as Roche (), is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational corporation, multinational holding healthcare company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, ...
)
* Kurt Sievers (NXP Semiconductors
NXP Semiconductors N.V. is a Dutch semiconductor manufacturing and design company with headquarters in Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is the third largest European semiconductor company by market capitalization as of 2024. The company employs approx ...
)
* Tony Smurfit ( Smurfit Kappa Group)
* Jim H. Snabe (Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...
)
* Jakob Stausholm ( Rio Tinto)
* Carl-Henric Svanberg
Carl-Henric Svanberg (born 29 May 1952) is a Swedish businessman and chairman of Volvo. He was chairman of BP for eight years, from 2010 to 2018.
In December 2023, Svanberg was appointed commission chair to the AI Commission to the Swedish Gove ...
( AB Volvo)
* Jonathan Symonds (GlaxoSmithKline
GSK plc (an acronym from its former name GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with headquarters in London. It was established in 2000 by a Mergers an ...
)
* Jean-François van Boxmeer ( Vodafone Group)
* Jacob Wallenberg ( Investor AB)
* Peter Wennink ( ASML Holding)
* Oliver Zipse (BMW Group
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The ...
)
(Source
ERT.eu
References
* Cowles, M., G., ''Setting the agenda for a new Europe: the ERT and EC 1992'', In: Journal of Common Market Studies, 33, 1995,
* Cowles, M., G., ''The rise of the European multinational'', In: International Economic Insights, 1993
* ERT, ''Will European governments in Barcelona keep their Lisbon promises?'', Message from the European Round Table of Industrialists to the Barcelona European Council, March 2002. Brussel, Feb. 2002
*
* Preston, M., E., ''The European commission and special interest groups'', In: Claeys, P.-H., Gobin, C., Smets, I., Lobbyisme, pluralisme et intégration Européenne. Brussel, Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes, 1998,
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
Business organizations based in Europe
Corporate executive associations