About the Event

Europe is falling behind in global productivity. After decades of convergence, the gap with the United States has widened again. Since the COVID 19 crisis, productivity in the euro area has barely grown, while the US has continued to advance. At the same time, high energy and labour costs undermine industrial competitiveness, and Europe’s dependence on imported critical raw materials and key technologies creates geopolitical vulnerability.

The ‘Future-proofing the EU Economy’ publication argues that we require progress along three interconnected pillars. First, Europe must complete the Single Market for goods, services, capital and digital activities to give firms the scale they need to grow.

Second, it must restore cost competitiveness while pushing out its innovation frontier, particularly by lowering structural cost pressures and improving access to risk capital.

Third, Europe must strengthen economic sovereignty in an open way: reducing critical dependencies without turning inwards.

The piece also sets out how to pursue open strategic autonomy without sliding into protectionism. The aim is to close the productivity gap, halt deindustrialisation, and secure Europe’s social model in a more contested global economy.

ELF with the support of the NEOS Lab wishes to engage in a discussion with the author of the publication and decision-makers during the ALDE Party Congress in Vienna.

Programme

15:30 Welcoming remarks
Jeannette Baljeu, European Liberal Forum Board Member, and MEP, Renew Europe Group
Helga Pattart-Drexler, Director, NEOS Lab, Vienna

15:40 Presentation from the Author
Prof. Monika Köppl-Turyna, Director, EcoAustria, Institute for Economic Research, Vienna

15:55 What do the policymakers think?
Speaker: Johannes Bachleitner, NEOS politician, Federal Managing Director of UNOS at the
Austrian Chamber of Commerce, Vienna
Speaker: Prof. Monika Köppl-Turyna, Director, EcoAustria, Institute for Economic Research, Vienna
Speaker: MEP Morten Løkkegaard, Member of the European Parliament, Member of the
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, Vice-President of the Renew Europe Group,
Denmark, Brussels
Speaker: Luigi Marattin, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of Bologna,
and Member of Parliament in Italy and leader of Partito Liberaldemocratico
Speaker: Sepp Schellhorn, State Secretary for deregulation, debureaucratisation and international
culture, and business services at the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs
(BMEIA) of Austria, Deputy Finance Officer at NEOS Board, Vienna
Moderated by Maartje Schulz, Policy and Research Manager, European Liberal Forum, Brussels

16:25 Closing remarks
Marco Mariani, Second Vice-President of the European Liberal Forum (ELF)

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