"EU heeft duurzame groei nodig"

‘ The European economy needs sustainable growth based on knowledge, innovation and competent utilization of resources such as human capital and the common market,’ said Waldemar Pawlak, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, at the conference entitled ‘ Sources of Sustainable Growth after the Crisis’ . The meeting took place in Warsaw on 15th November 2011.

Deputy Prime Minister Pawlak emphasised the fact that one of the major problems of the EU concerning innovation is the lack of the single patent. ‘Work on this issue has been going on for over 30 years. The goal of the Polish Presidency is to reach political agreement in this scope during the session of the Competitiveness Council on 5th December 2011,’ added Pawlak.

The Minister of Economy noted that protecting an invention costs about EUR 38,000 in the EU while in the USA it is an expense of about EUR 2000. ‘High costs are a serious barrier to innovation development of European companies from the sector of small and medium-sized enterprises. A single patent system could help to reduce the cost by 80 per cent,’ emphasised Pawlak.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the EU should develop stronger relations with countries from outside the Union in order to achieve sustainable growth. ‘By the end of this year, we are going to conclude a trade agreement between the EU and Ukraine,’ said Pawlak. ‘We are also hoping to finalise negotiations concerning Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO),’ he added.

Mr Pawlak said that the ‘anti-crisis package’ which helped the Polish economy to avoid an economic slowdown was based on the results of work done by the Trilateral Commission and opinions received from employers’ organisations and trade unions. ‘Therefore, it is beneficial to consult new legislative solutions with those groups that will be influenced by them,’ stated the Deputy Prime Minister.

Staffan Nilsson, President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), said that Poland has a stable economy and is one of the few that can boast positive forecasts for the year 2012. ‘However, the crisis in the euro area does not stop at the borders of the monetary union. It affects all Member States. It is important for every EU state to resolve it,’ emphasised Nilsson.

According to the President of EESC, the restoration of economic growth is currently the biggest challenge for the euro area. This will allow trust and optimism among Europeans to be rebuilt. In his opinion, future growth must be sustainable. Such growth cannot be achieved without social dialogue or without considering the demands of as many social groups as possible.

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The conference on ‘Sources of Sustainable Growth after the Crisis’ was organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the Polish Presidency.

The EESC was established in 1957 and is a consultative body of the European Union. 27 EU Member States with their 344 representatives, including 21 from Poland, are members of the body. The EESC presents opinions on EU legislative proposals and expresses its views on priority issues. The Committee’s primary task is to act as a bridge between the EU institutions and organised civil society.