Deloitte at the Brussels Forum 2014

Deloitte is an official sponsor to the Brussels Forum 2014 organized by the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF).

We collaborate with this key policy-influencer group in an effort to contribute positively to policy development that fosters long-term growth.

This year’s theme of the forum – A World in Transition – is meant to focus on political, economic, social, and technological transitions taking place all around us and changing our societies from the core and challenging how governments interact with their citizenry. The theme is meant to analyze which opportunities and challenges these transitions present. The agenda includes also discussion sessions on such topics, as: the future of trade, global energy transitions and economic competitiveness, growth and transition in Europe, emerging economies, nuclear and cyber security. Details on the Brussels Forum Agenda can be found here.

A highlight of participants attending this year’s meeting is available here.

Deloitte 2014 Delegation:

• Hendrik Descheemaeker, Director, Regulatory & Public Policy, Europe, DTTL
• Richard Doherty, Public Sector Leader, EMEA, Deloitte Belgium
• Joe Echevarria, CEO, Deloitte US
• Jeff Potts, Managing Director, Global Regulatory & Public Policy, DTTL
• Alastair Teare, CEO, Deloitte Central Europe
• Rik Vanpeteghem, CEO, Deloitte Belgium
• Chris Verdonck, Cyber Risk Management Leader, Deloitte Belgium

Deloitte on the Brussels Forum program

Getting the Workforce Working

Getting the workforce to work implies adjusting skills to the economy of tomorrow. It also implies recognizing the local challenges that come with increasingly global supply chains. Efforts that are made to support job seekers, economic migrants, successful or failing entrepreneurs, retirees willing to work again, and young graduates are also, and irremediably, political choices. They will determine the society of tomorrow. Indeed, while solutions to fighting mass unemployment require serious structural changes, they bear — by design — considerable long-term risks that not everyone is willing to take. Economic recovery itself requires adjustments and targeted investments that will necessarily have an impact on the jobs of today and tomorrow. For policymakers, a holistic approach is required to identify, champion or compensate the winners and losers of economic and social transitions across the Atlantic.

Introduction: Joe Echevarria, CEO, Deloitte U.S.

Panelists:   

• Caroline Atkinson, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics, U.S. National Security Council
• Jim Clifton, Chairman and CEO, Gallup
• Carlos Moedas, State Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office, Portugal
• Wilfried Porth, Member of the Board of Management, Daimler AG

Moderator: Bruce Stokes, Director, Pew Global Economic Attitudes, Pew Research Center

Trading and Investing in a New Age of Global Economic Relations

The United States and the European Union are the largest sources and destinations of foreign investments in the world. These investments are direct contributors to economic security, providing jobs and growth and stimulating demand, competitiveness, and innovation. Ultimately, they also project influence and power, and the equilibrium between attracting foreign investments and securing domestic interests is always hard to strike. As they expand, emerging economies are also increasingly faced with the same challenges. In times of global economic slowdown, they turn to trade and investment agreements as invaluable tools to gain and secure access to markets. Whether bilateral or regional, political or sectoral, these agreements have great potential in developing ties with foreign partners while at the same time championing national interests. What can Europeans, Americans, and their G20 partners do to further develop investments policies? What can the WTO still do? In an age of increased regionalization of exchanges, what role, challenges and opportunities for the global investor?

Panelists:

• Christian Lohbaeur, Political Scientist, University of Sao Paulo
• Jeff Potts, Managing Director, Global Regulatory & Public Policy, DTTL
• Michael Punke, Deputy United States Trade Representative and U.S. Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the WTO

Moderator: Peter Sparding, Transatlantic Fellow in GMF’s Europe Program