20th Jubilee Vienna Economic Forum – Vienna Future Dialogue 2023

Welcoming Words on behalf of Dr. Michael Ludwig, Mayor and Governor of Vienna, were held by Mr. Jürgen Czernohorszky, Executive City Councillor of the City of Vienna, focusing on the special importance and symbolic meaning of this 20th Jubilee Vienna Economic Forum taking place in the centre of Vienna, as well as the special role of the City of Vienna in fostering relations and building bridges, especially in times when it is most needed.

H.E. Ms. Karoline Edtstadler, Federal Minister for the EU and Constitution at the Federal Chancellery of the Republic of Austria, stated in her welcoming words how particularly relevant it is to “Continue to build economic bridges during difficult times”, against the backdrop of multiple conflicts and crises that we are currently facing. She mentioned the recovery plan for Ukraine, emphasized the importance of EU integration for the Western Balkans, and highlighted bridging with the private sector as crucial to driving forward the common aims of addressing these challenges.

The former Federal Chancellor of Austria Dr. Wolfgang Schüssel, Founding Father and Honorary Member of Vienna Economic Forum, spoke about the historical context of the 20 years of existence of Vienna Economic Forum. He mentioned the momentum of optimism during the establishing of Vienna Economic Forum in 2004 and when 10 new countries accessed the EU. Dr. Schüssel highlighted the need for free market development to go hand in hand with liberal democracy. He mentioned the special responsibility of Vienna as being once again at the centre of transformations, as well as the special role of Vienna Economic Forum as crucial to these processes. He closed his remark by saying: “We need to be not optimists, not pessimists, but possibilists.”

DI Dr. Günther Rabensteiner, Honorary President of Vienna Economic Forum highlighted the role played by Vienna Economic Forum in economic diplomacy for the past 20 years, and the role of this event as a new starting point for an intensive thought process, which require the strengthening of economic relations as a supporting and connecting role in conflict resolution. DI Dr. Rabensteiner stressed how this sort of event is, and this event is a plead for the future and that the past initiatives of VEF on building infrastructure networks for transport, energy, telecommunications, banking and insurance, the areas of education and health becoming increasingly important in these circumstances.

This session was concluded by the statement of the President of Vienna Economic Forum Amb. Victor Jackovich, who emphasised the importance of this 20^th Jubilee of Vienna Economic Forum, stemming from the vision to create a region “From the Adriatic to the Black Sea”. He stressed that Vienna Economic Forum is a platform for discussing the region’s most important issues, such as supporting those countries that seek to join the European Union and the Euro-Atlantic community of democratic states, as well as a meeting point for business leaders who meet with government representatives to identify future markets, find common projects and achieve common goals.

In a Festive Ceremony at the end of the Opening Session, the SPECIAL AWARD “20^th Jubilee Vienna Economic Forum” was presented to the Former Federal Chancellor of Austria, Dr. Wolfgang Schüssel, in appreciation of his outstanding support and significant contribution to the founding of Vienna Economic Forum in 2004.

Two consecutive sessions were moderated by Ms. Daniela Philipp.

Session II “Ensuring Economic and Financial Stability on the Path to Europe – Challenges and Responsibilities”, was opened by the Main Statement of H.E. Dr. Magnus Brunner, Federal Minister of Finance of the Republic of Austria. He started by wishing Happy 20^th Anniversary to Vienna Economic Forum and mentioned the special role of Austria to the integration of the region. In the light of very challenging times, Dr. Brunner focused on three crucial aspects: firstly, on the need to address the fragmentation of multilateralism, to intensify free trade and become more resilient; secondly on the need to redefine the role of the government and curb the public expectations upon it, and thirdly, the need to focus on green transition and energy security through innovation and by relying also in private capital. Dr. Brunner ended his note by stressing that “We don’t need to agree on all items, but we need to speak to each other and dialogue for common solutions.”

Mr. Kyriacos Kakouris, Vice President, European Investment Bank (EIB), Luxembourg shared from his personal experience in Cyprus the importance of such Forums for countries accessing the EU. In his Impulse Statement he stressed that EIB is a reliable ally for the economic resilience, climate security and energy threats of the Western Balkans region as well as invest in education, transport and the water sector. He stressed the need to accelerate structural reforms in the WB region to benefit from the opportunities from cooperation with the EU, such as such as the new Growth Plan, to diversify energy sources, build infrastructure, invest in renewables and achieve energy efficiency, decarbonization and just transition.

Mr. Mark Bowman, Vice President, Policy & Partnerships, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), UK, stressed that we need more bridges in a multipolar world. With the multifaceted global challenges with transborder implications, no single actor can deal with these alone. He mentioned the role of multilateral banks as made to deal with crisis, amongst which the EBRD, works with the private sector and SMEs to improve corporate governance, digitalisation, close gender gaps and enhance sustainability and green projects. Mr. Bowman stressed the importance of partnerships and better coordination among International financial institutions, mobilisation of private sector and other policy actors to enable future investments.

Discussion started with Mag. Peter Höfinger, Deputy General Manager and Deputy Chairman of the Managing Board, Vienna Insurance Group AG (VIG), Vice-President of Vienna Economic Forum opened the round of discussion on challenges to economic and financial stability by stating that he is always looking for opportunities. While admitting that we all are headed towards an unpredictable volatile world, Mr. Höfinger considers the resilience of the society and citizens as the biggest advantage of Central Eastern Europe, a region used and prepared to live in a volatile world. Furthermore, he added the importance of securing supply chains with the increase of foreign direct investment and the local communities as a lesson learned from the times of covid.

Mr. Bekir Polat, Vice-President, Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye Investment Office, Representative of the Member of the Board of Vienna Economic Forum picked up on the topic of resilience and the importance of international cooperation and the opportunities provided by Vienna Economic Forum in building bridges. Recognizing the importance of stability, he mentioned that Türkyie is taking a different approach, focusing on the reconstruction of the supply chains, as well as local technology entrepreneurship, start-ups as a significant investment driver for the country which is now a billion-dollar business at early stage.

Dr. Georg Bucher, Member of the Management Board Steiermärkische Bank and Sparkassen AG, Member of the Board of Vienna Economic Forum, mentioned how the economic key figures raised during the first years after the accession of the new countries to the EU 20 years ago, and the key role that a resilient and stable financial sector plays for development. His concern with this round of enlargement is the staged accession as an alternative to full membership. Since it will delay progress will be delayed and take the perspectives of progress away from the young generations. This should be a wakeup call for the EU.

Mr. Aleksandar Vlahović, President of Serbian Association of Economists, Member of the Board of Vienna Economic Forum held a thorough presentation about growth figures in 6 Western Balkans Countries (GDP, GDP per capita) and throughout the years, making the point of how far are actually countries of the region from converging on verge with European standards. He made an expose’ on how each of these countries tackle trade deficit and public debt as compared to the Maastricht criteria, how they deal with inflation and especially unemployment, and highlighted the low level of competitivity and how intra-regional trade is important for the region. Finally, he exposed the difficulties that the Western Balkan countries are facing with economic freedom in terms of the quality of democracy and corruption levels.

Dr. Barbara Kolm, President, Friedrich A. v. Hayek Institute, Vienna, Strategic Partner of Vienna Economic Forum took up on the topic of education and brain drain from the entire central eastern Europe in the past 20 years. She elaborated on the good education of the youth of the central eastern region as combined with the values of achievement, competition, and self-responsibility, which make them sought after in the western part of the world, and leaves their origin countries unable to keep them, due to inadequate frames for to provide opportunities and frameworks. If this is tackled, together with foreign direct investment, good results could prove in the region.

Mr. Kalin Peshov, MBA Chairman of the Management Board of Glavbolgarstroy Holding (GBS), Bulgaria, Cooperation Partner of Vienna Economic Forum, spoke about the Economic stability and competitiveness of the SEE region (including increasing energy prices, workforce, qualified personnel), public-private partnerships in SEE, and the financing of large-infrastructure projects and access to finance. He mentioned three main challenges, being the inflation which has been addressed to a certain level of success with public-private initiatives; the energy prices, which if invested in renewable and sustainable technologies with the help of the state could prove efficient, and in the end, access to qualified labor (qualified or non-qualified), which could be mitigated by providing education and the free movement of people.

The discussion was further enriched through a Q&A session.

III Session “Acting Together with Responsibility for the European Future – Infrastructure, Energy, Digital Technology, Innovation” was opened with an Impulse Statement from DI Wolfgang Anzengruber, Former CEO of Verbund AG (2009-2020), Member of the Board of Vienna Economic Forum. After congratulating on the 20th Jubilee, passed to the challenges for Europe: from increasing nationalism and populism to climate crisis, dependency on energy, resources, and AI. He proposed 5 fields of action for the future decades in sustainable energy and infrastructure: Decarbonisation in favour of renewables; Energy-intense industries to be electrified which would bring big gains in terms of emissions; The hydrogen industry of the future as a fuel instead of the traditional fossil fuels; Digitalization, to make sure that all these challenges are met, and Circular energy to reduce dependency on resources and energy. All these, he concluded should be done through increased and the erase of barriers to transport and energy.

Mr. Wilbert Verheijen, Managing Director, Canon CEE GmbH, Cooperation Partner and Member of the Board of Vienna Economic Forum covered in his Impulse Statement the topics of digitalization and digital transformation and the rise of digital entrepreneurship, start-up ecosystems in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Türkiye, emphasizing its profound influence on business, government services, and education. As an answer to current challenges, Mr. Verheijen proposed prioritizing cybersecurity, enact data protection legislation, and recognize differences between countries in developmental work. He recognized the role of Canon as an innovation-oriented company, aiming at empowering workers and building up partnerships to ensure responsible digital transformation.

Dr. Lilyana Pavlova, Minister of Regional Development and Public Works of Bulgaria (2014-2017), Minister of Bulgaria’s Presidency of the Council of the EU (2017-2018), Vice-President of European Investment Bank (EIB) (2019-2023), started by thanking Secretary General Amb. Dr. Kirtcheva for being a driving force for VEF and stressed the need to build through such Forums not just physical but also emotional bridges and bringing people together. Dr. Pavlova continued her discussion emphasizing that the pillars of the European growth and sustainability such as infrastructure, environment, energy, digitalization, and innovation are interlinked. She illustrated the need for conceptualizing intersectionality bringing the example of innovation as a necessary pre-condition for green transition and concluded that political is of utmost importance to make these pillars succeed.

To the question what Greece has to offer on the given challenges, Mr. Yiannis Thomatos, Vice-President, Delphi Economic Forum, Greece, Strategic Partner of Vienna Economic Forum replied that Greece, regardless of its 10 years of financial crisis, is still the only country in the Eurozone, in the NATO and in moving forward the EU integration process. He reminded the audience that the perspective of the European integration of the Western Balkans tarted in Thessaloniki in 2004. By accentuating the role of the Delphi Forum to policy discussion. Mr. Thomatos concluded that Greece has the answer to Euroscepticism and the answer is not more Euroscepticism, but more Europe.

H.E. Mag. Bogdan Bogdanov, Minister of Economy and Industry of the Republic of Bulgaria mentioned the importance of SEE for growth and development, a region to which western Europe should look into for partnerships. He stressed that it is time to leave the emotional political decisions and focus on important decisions for us and Europe. On top of infrastructure, energy, digitalization, and innovation, he added the fifth element in which there is a need to invest to succeed, and that is which people. This is precisely what Bulgaria is doing, in creating an Institute for artificial intelligence and computer science and machine learning and investing in the education of the people.

Amb. Prof. Dr. Vesna Borozan, Head of Power Systems Department, University “Sts. Cyril and Methodius”, Skopje, North Macedonia, Honorary Member of Vienna Economic Forum introduced her views on the responsibility for the European Energy Future and actions taken trough the Horizon Europe project TRANSIT at her University. Throughout the presentation, Amb. Prof. Dr. Borozan tackled intersectional topics such as sustainability, circularity and externalities, human capital, innovative educational resources; workforce training, upskilling, and reskilling; employment competencies as well as society engagement, behaviours, and gender disparities as intertwined and crucial to tackle for current and future generations’ development.

Prof. Dr. Danica Purg, President IEDC-Bled School of Management, Slovenia, Strategic Partner of Vienna Economic Forum, picking up from her colleague’s presentation, Mr. Bogdanov the concept of the hidden phenomena, sharing the experience of Bled School of Management on hidden champions, companies that are the most innovative in the world, in their market niche, sometimes not known even from their own countries, such as for example, the candle production in Bosnia, the masks for the Venice carnival produced in Shkodra, Albania, Slovenia’s innovation lab to healthcare in Boston. She concluded with the importance of excellent, innovative and imaginative education, to prepare responsible, resilient people for future industries.

Dr. Līga Kurevska, State Secretary, Ministry of Climate and Energy of the Republic of Latvia displayed in her presentation focused on the green transition process, renewable energy, energy security and energy efficiency. She laid Latvia’s aims which are: energy independence, the effective use of resources, and market economy. She stressed on the importance of interconnectedness and how it helps for energy security in times of ban of Russian gas by the Baltic states. Besides the energy independence as the main aim, she pointed at the need for the transition towards renewable energy and energy efficiency, not as only sustainable, but also just.

Mr. Lulzim Rafuna, President of the Managing Board, Western Balkans 6 Chamber Investment Forum, President of Kosovo Chamber of Commerce, started by displaying facts and figures on the economic development of the Western Balkans as a whole, accentuating the fact that the EU is its main trade partner, fostering together a climate of cooperation and partnership that benefits both regions. He mentioned particularly the special role of the Western Balkans 6 Chamber Investment Forum in Infrastructure Development in WB6, Green Energy Transition in WB6 and Digital Technology and Innovation in WB6.

The 4^th and last Session, namely the Alpha Session, was moderated by Mr. Christian Ultsch, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Head of Foreign Policy Department, Austrian Newspaper Die Presse.

The Impulse Statement was delivered by H.E. Mr. Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for Economy. He considered the VEF Forum as an observatory and bridge for the turbulent times we are undergoing, as well as timely, since it comes 5 days after the publishing of the new Enlargement Package for the Western Balkans. As he mentioned, geography is destiny, but these sort of crisis have the potential to bring us closely together. He mentioned the momentum for the Western Balkans to grasp possibilities to develop through the new EU growth plan, which will help boost economic growth in the region, reduce the socio – economic gap, deepen regional integration, accelerate fundamental reforms, and increase pre-accession funds, as well as provide access to the single market and the digital single market. H.E Mr. Gentiloni reconfirmed the EU’s commitment to the integration of the region and to the process of enlargement and asked the Western Balkans to play its part in accelerating regional market integration and substantial reforms.

H.E. Acad. Nikolai Denkov, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Patron of Vienna Economic Forum put forward his vision for economic success and the big potential of shifting the mentalities of the region and converting problems into opportunities. Looking back to the time when EU borders and identity were fuzzy, he accentuated that when the security crisis erupted lately, it allowed Bulgaria to better self-define and choose between its European identity and the wish to remain undefined. In today’s world, this is not possible, he added. Elaborating on the need for a shift in cooperation mindset, he mentioned the untapped potential of the region and the neighbours, which turned suddenly in opportunity and projects which were there for decades, turned important to digital, railway, infrastructure paths from the south throughout the Danube and to the north, as natural pathways of development of the region which still need unlocking.

H.E. Mr. Albin Kurti, Prime Minister of Kosovo, Patron of Vienna Economic Forum, shared his view to the key of economic success in Kosovo, and while considering economic growth crucial, he focused on three main challenges at the local, regional, and global level: security threats, social inequality and climate change. He mentioned positive growth figures of the economy of Kosova for the past years, together with the reduction of the trade deficit, the decrease of inflation, the investment in renewables, as well as the anti-corruption measures and the rise in democracy indexes that enable the citizens to trust the system, pay taxes and spend more. H.E Prime Minister Kurti expressed his commitment to value-based economic development and the integration of the Western Balkan region towards the EU, with the EU.

H.E. Mr. Dimitar Kovachevski, Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Patron of Vienna Economic Forum brought his experience in improving regional economy and boost economic development in North Macedonia. He stressed the power of integration from his experience and stressed the geopolitical momentum for Europe to accelerate integration to close the gap between its outside and inside borders, and for the Western Balkans to accelerate the deepening of the single regional market and the agreements thereof, mentioning the benefits it could bring for infrastructure, development and foreign direct investments. He showcased his plans for turning North Macedonia into an infrastructural crossroad and an example of renewable energy for the region, with the cooperation of the partners and the neighbours.

H.E. Mr. Nik Gjeloshaj, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policy, Minister of Economic Development of Montenegro focused in his speech on the perspectives on how we mutually reinforce our cooperation in a challenging and uncertain context, how all these challenges are interconnected, and they require a strategic approach and multilateral cooperation. He laid down the new economic perspective and priorities of the Government of Montenegro, such as the economic growth strategy, a digital, smart and green economy, the strong development of the ICT sector, infrastructure, transport, trade and the development of the agricultural sector. He laid his trust on the government to implement the necessary reforms for the EU integration and accentuated the importance of regional cooperation such as the Berlin Process or the CEFTA Agreement, and commitment to the EU Growth Plan as prerequisites for growth and success.A most anticipated External View was offered to the panellists and participants by Dr. Ivan Krastev, Chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies, Sofia, Permanent fellow at the Institute of Human Sciences (IWM), Vienna. He reflected upon the time factor and the dramatic changes in the geopolitical landscape, at a higher speed then ever and radical changes in thinking about enlargement, energy, and other processes. He mentioned the turning of the Western Balkans from a waiting room into an emergency room and the complexities of enlargement as a process of re-invention of the EU. He mentioned that in times of peace, reward is given to the ones who can see the risk, and in times of crisis, to the ones who are able to see the opportunities. He continued further with the concept of pluri-crisis, how the solution to one crisis can contribute to another crisis, and the need to uphold the public debate to better contribute to decision-making and policies.

The discussion continued with a Q&A session.

In her Concluding Remarks, Amb. Dr. Elena Kirtcheva, Founder and Member of the Board, Secretary General of Vienna Economic Forum, expressed warm appreciation to various contributors. She thanked the City of Vienna for generously hosting the event, acknowledged distinguished participants for their insightful contributions to the discussions, and expressed gratitude to all participants for their fruitful engagement. She also conveyed thanks to all Members and Strategic Partners of Vienna Economic Forum for their longstanding cooperation and trust in the economic potential and successful development of the entire VEF-Region. A Special thanks were extended to the Supporting Members and Partners of Vienna Economic Forum.The Secretary General expressed her appreciation to the skilled moderators, translators, and everyone who contributed to the seamless organization of the entire conference day. She particularly emphasized a special and heartfelt thank you to the Vienna Economic Forum Team, whose tireless efforts made the outstanding success of 20^th Jubilee Vienna Economic Forum possible.The 20^th Jubilee Vienna Economic Forum was concluded by a SPECIAL AWARD CEREMONY OF THE 20th JUBILEE VIENNA ECONOMIC FORUM to the participants of the Alpha Session and Patrons of Vienna Economic Forum.