Enlargement and Beyond

According to the World Economic Forum, the summit organizer, Warsaw is the best place to discuss Europe's future. This year's meeting is titled Europe: Enlargement and Beyond. Nearly 1,000 politicians, businesspeople and representatives of nongovernmental and international organizations will meet. Discussion will focus on the most significant challenges posed by EU enlargement, as well as changes in the global economy and international order. According to Jerzy Koźmiński, former ambassador of Poland to the United States and head of the Polish organizational committee of the Summit, the main aim is to foster a debate on the major aspects and implications of EU enlargement. "We will discuss the complete incorporation of the new states in the EU system," says Koźmiński. "We will talk about ways of making European economies more dynamic, in accordance with the assumptions of the Lisbon Agenda, enabling Europe to effectively compete with the U.S., about the future of the Common Agricultural Policy, the development of the eurozone, the situation of particular economic sectors after enlargement, about new prospects for investment, changes in the labor market and social reforms." The Warsaw summit will also provide opportunities to promote Polish companies and to present investment opportunities. "Nothing can be sold today without advertising," says Andrzej Jonas, editor-in-chief of The Warsaw Voice and a spokesman for the summit. "Unfortunately, knowledge of Poland in other countries is very insubstantial. At the summit in Warsaw, Poland will have a nearly 1,000-member audience. These people are usually hard to reach and they will be right here, on the spot-we will have a chance to reach them directly with information on the possibilities of investing in Poland and in Warsaw. This will be a unique opportunity for us. We must take advantage of it."