[Index]
Avoiding “two
parallel Europes”
Executive Forum
on “Competing in a Changing Europe”
Geneva, 11-12 May 2004
Geneva, 14 May 2004 - In the
light of the recent enlargement of the
European Union to 25 Member States, the
United Nations Economic Commission for
Europe (UNECE), in cooperation with the
United Nations Development Programme,
held a two-day Executive Forum on “Competing
in a Changing Europe”. The Forum
examined strategies for trade and business
in the region, and for integrating regional
markets through trade facilitation and
information and communication technologies
(ICT) and for promoting agricultural quality
standards in international food supply
chains.
Participants, from the
public and private sector, and from civil
society, came from industrialized, transition
and developing countries in the UNECE
region and beyond. They highlighted factors
driving competitiveness, especially in
the new Member States and the EU’s
“new neighbours”. These included
regulatory convergence, good public and
corporate governance, and promotion of
entrepreneurship. There was also general
agreement on the importance of ICT and
support for a growing knowledge based
economy throughout the region as foreseen
by the EU’s “Lisbon Agenda”.
The Executive Secretary
of the UNECE, Ms. Brigita Schmögnerová,
stated that one of the UNECE’s priorities
is to help its least advantaged member
States adapt to the challenges of the
new trading environment, to avoid the
creation of “two parallel Europes”
that would grow and develop at different
speeds, and possibly in different directions.
Mr. Alan Bryden, Secretary-General
of the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) and Chairman of
Session 1 of the Forum, said that international
standards help socio-economic progress
in the world by serving as a bridge between
the private and public sectors. Participants
echoed the importance of regulatory cooperation
and industry-led standards in developing
trade in the region.
In the area of agricultural
products, quality standards create a common
language to help producers, standards-setting
bodies, inspectors, distributors and retailers
work together to achieve food safety,
traceability and consumer satisfaction
in the international food supply chain.
Ambassador Carlo Trojan,
Head of the Permanent Delegation of the
European Commission to the International
Organizations at Geneva, and Permanent
Representative to the World Trade Organization,
highlighted that Central and Eastern European
countries have been re-orienting their
economies and investment links towards
the EU for the past 15 years. In that
sense, “this enlargement is not
a ‘big bang’ or complete leap
into the unknown.”
Countries with a “date
for a date” with the EU and non
acceding countries wishing to strengthen
their trade relations with the Union are
also adjusting their regulatory frameworks
to take into account the acquis communautaire.
Other important factors of competitiveness
for these countries were low unit labour
cost, locational and logistical advantages,
and – for some of them – preferential
access to the EU market.
The elimination of barriers
to trade is expected to bring important
economic gains to the EU: 10 billion Euros
for the original 15 EU members and 23
billion for the new members, according
to one estimate. These benefits will not
accrue automatically or be shared uniformly
without regional financial cooperation
and strong partnerships between governments,
businesses, regional and international
organizations and civil society. The role
of sub-regional organizations, such as
the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization,
the European Free Trade Agreement, GUUAM*
and the Central European Initiative, was
also important. At the national level,
non-acceding countries in the region,
such as Ukraine, will need to accelerate
economic reforms and, in particular, the
restructuring of production, and develop
a new model of partnership with the enlarged
EU.
Participants expressed
their appreciation of UNECE’s technical-cooperation
and capacity-building programmes in areas
such as regulatory convergence and the
development of trade facilitation and
agricultural quality standards, and called
for increased activities in these areas.
UNECE will continue to support economic
integration throughout the region, through
the development and implementation of
its norms, standards and recommendations
for best practice in trade and enterprise.
For further information, please contact:
Lorenza Jachia
Forum Coordinator
United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe
Palais des Nations
CH - 1211 Geneva 10
Phone: + 41 (0)22 917 5593
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.unece.org/trade/forums/forum04/index.htm
________
* Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan,
Moldova (Rep. of).
Ref: ECE/TRADE/04/P05