Session 1.4 "New Challenges of Global Competition of industrial sectors. Ensuring economic growth"

Mr. Miroslav MAJOROS, Chief Executive Officer of the Slovak Telecom

"Knowledge Economy is the key to sustainable growth and a new challenge for thecountry and all its industrial sectors. In this respect, the Governments have to take theresponsibility to eliminate barriers to the access to ICT, to develop interactive internetcontent (including e-Government and public information access), to support digitalliteracy and to promote related public awareness campaigns."

Session 3.1 "Impact of the development of the food retail sector on the transition in CEI countries"

Mr. Emmanuel HIDIER, Economist, EBRD/FAO Cooperation, Investment Centre Division, FAO

"This year's Forum had an excellent organisation. We greatly appreciated the partici-pation of a varied audience and animated debates which took place during our presen-tation on the role of wholesale market infrastructures in the agribusiness session. Welook forward to further cooperate with CEI and in particular better exploiting the CEInetworks and new instruments, the Know-How Exchange Programme and the CEIFunding Unit."

IBA 1 "Project Presentations: Information society and innovative technologies"

Mr. Aleksandr TILKHONOV, Head of Division of Investments and External Economic Relations, Free EconomicZone "Vitsebsk", Belarus

"The Summit Economic Forum gives extensive information about the investmentpotential of countries and its representatives. It also gives a great opportunity to get incontact with significant business circles. We hope to be able to participate in suchevents in the future."

Final Report

The first edition of the CEI Summit Economic Forum (SEF) was organised in 1998 in Zagreb, on the occasion ofthe Summit of the Heads of Government. It is the CEI main business event. It takes place in November each yearin the country holding the CEI Presidency.

The SEF gathers government officials, industry leaders, businessmen, entrepreneurs, investors, financialinstitutions, international organisations, investment and trade promotion agencies, representatives of localauthorities, bankers, fund managers, business service providers, etc. – both from within and beyond the CEI region.

The SEF acts as a platform where feasible business ideas can be discussed, investment opportunities examined,trade partnerships established, co-operation agreements made. It also offers an opportunity to personally meetpolicy makers and discuss common institutional bottlenecks and possible ways to overcome them.

The SEF is co-organised by the Secretariat for CEI Projects with the Ministry of Economy of the Member Stateholding the CEI Presidency. The Italian Government is the main funding source. The European Bank forReconstruction and Development (EBRD) also plays a crucial role in the SEF.

This year’s CEI Summit Economic Forum took place in Bratislava on 23-24 November 2005. This year main themeof both the Economic Forum and the Roundtable of the CEI Ministers of Economic sectors was “Reforms - Key toCompetitiveness”. The SEF was held in 4 venues located nearby: the Slovak Philharmonic (Registration/accreditation, Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Roundtable of Ministers of Economy, social events), Radisson SASCarlton Hotel (Stream 1, IBA Seminar), Danube Hotel (Stream 2, IBA Project Room), and Devin Hotel (Stream 3).

More than 800 participants from 35 countries attended 24 sessions and 35 project presentations. Approximately150 informal one-to-one meetings took place in bilateral meeting rooms purposely arranged by the organisers in theInteractive Business Area (IBA).

Looking ahead at the next SEF in Albania, some ideas have been already input to the organisers: the winningformula of streams has to be maintained, issues related to venture capital and access to financing for SMEs haveto be further treated in the programme, the networking facilities and business exhibition have to be strengthened.

The Secretariat for CEI Projects together with the forthcoming Albanian CEI Presidency are open to otherproposals and ready to start to work on the ninth CEI SEF.

The Secretariat for CEI Projects wishes to thank the Slovak Ministry of Economy for the excellentcooperation and support in organising the eight edition of the CEI Summit Economic Forum.

Final Report

The official sessions of the Summit Economic Forum were grouped under three main streams or thematic pillars: 1)

Structural reforms, ways of improving the business environment; 2) Development Strategies for raising competitiveness;

3) Infrastructure for entrepreneurship.

All in all, countries in the region continue to perform strongly on the back of a better business climate and greater

competitiveness. Their growth is also being driven by a resilient global economy. But big challenges remain for each part

of the region and individual countries, especially in further tackling corruption and bureaucracy, building their legal and

financial sectors, safe-guarding macroeconomic stability and ensuring that the benefits of growth are widely shared. Here

the private sector has got an increasing role to play to ensure efficiency and competitiveness, which are some of the

strongest elements underpinning growth. The CEI, together with its partners, can ensure the benefits associated with

accession are shared across the region through the development of projects in support of further technical cooperation

assistance, and of programmes for the transfer and know-how. Peer reviews could also be used as instruments for know-

how transfer from new member states to the rest of the region.

Stream 1 - Structural reforms, ways of improving the business environment

Sessions under this stream provided insight into the reform processes of all transition economies in the CEI countries,

and concluded that the region as a whole has showed improvements in many areas, including progress in structural

reforms, strong macroeconomic performance and clear improvement of the business environment, also thanks to the pro-

cess of integration into EU standards and the use of “soft powers” (economic, cultural or persuasive power) to incentive

reforms. Large financial inflows from the European Union (as defined in the 2007-2013 financial perspective) present a

great opportunity for the economic development of new Member States, but also a huge challenge as each MS should

prepare a national Strategic Reference Framework to be negotiated with EC. In order to take full advantage of the

European funds, for example, each country requires a robust administrative and coordination capacity and good project

implementation. The Chambers of Commerce in this case are the best tool for approaching SMEs to public administra-

tion. In many regions, the Chambers host Euro Info Center through which they play an active role in SMEs support and

in its involvement in the European projects.

As regards the future challenges, the position of natural monopolies can be successfully combined with high level of

competitiveness to be derived especially from partnerships in the future between public and private companies in net-

work industries. With regard to the transport sector, strong need to recognize the role and responsibilities to be given to

the Corridors Secretariats has been expressed. The coordination of the Corridors’ activities has been given to Corridor V

Secretariat.

A strong focus is raised in comparison of national, European and international regulations on protection of local

brands in agribusiness. In this context, the main role is given to the product’s quality for a better promotion of the local

brands. Brand awareness, product quality, and customers’ loyalty are important marketing measures of brand value.

Vineyard tourism is an important tool for promotion of local food and wine.

Stream 2 - Development Strategies for raising competitiveness

This stream provided with the analysis of sectoral and regional strategies for the whole CEI region. The stream con-

cluded that for the Central European region it is important to translate innovation and research into profitable products,

competitive in the world markets. There is still scope for intervention from IFIs for more sophisticated products, such as

mortgage bonds. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB)

and the European Commission (EC) presented their strategies for the new EU Member States. In relation to the program-

ming of cohesion funds for the period 2007-2013, countries will need to better integrate the priorities under the Lisbon

Agenda into the national and regional development programmes. EU, EIB and the EBRD have announced two new joint

CONCLUSIONS

initiatives: JASPERS and JEREMIE. JASPERS will assist in the preparation of quality transport and environmental pro-

jects using cohesion funds while JEREMIE will focus on SMEs. EIB and EBRD can play a role for the co-financing of such

projects. Of great importance in Europe is the commitment to ensure that greater financial resources are set aside for

research and innovation, as Europe falls well behind countries such as Singapore and the United States in terms of share

of GDP reinvested in R&D.

For South-Eastern Europe, there has been steady sustainable progress, with substantial growth and a record FDI net

inflow for 2005 of 10 billion Euro. It is now important to focus on facilitating cross-border trade and on reducing the infor-

mal sector in order to bridge the gap between this region and Central Europe. These countries should also focus on fur-

ther policy dialogue within the framework of existing fora to ensure stronger regional cooperation in areas such as ener-

gy and transport. Both old and new Member States can play a part in ensuring that some of their external assistance

money is channelled to the South-Eastern European region, where there is still need for grant-type assistance.

For all those countries remaining outside the EU borders (Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine), it is important to continue the

process of reforms and consolidate existing institutions. At the same time, the EU has to remain committed and offer tan-

gible incentives.

For all countries, other institutions - such as the World Bank (WB) - have supported a combination of policy based on

project lending related to EU accession or to the integration needs of prospective accession countries. The WB has for

example assisted in areas where there are no direct acquis communitaire requirements, such as education, health and

social protection.

Stream 3 - Infrastructure for entrepreneurship

This Stream provided with valuable analyses on agricultural development, human resources, energy and infrastructu-

re. In agribusiness, transition in the farm sector of CEI countries is being driven by changes in the retail and processing

sector. Wholesale markets are also important to suppliers of fresh produce, and further expansion of the wholesale sec-

tor is anticipated. Government can facilitate these changes through extensive services to farmers, implementation of food

safety standards and regulation to promote fair competition on the retail level. Discussion in the municipal and environ-

mental infrastructure session focused on the key factor that contribute to successful investments like airports privatiza-

tion and improve services for the consumers. Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in transport and infrastructure could be

a solution to promoting further projects in the region. At the same time, all countries have to focus on education in order

to ensure competitiveness in the region across all sectors. Governments should prioritise policies to improve both priva-

te and public funding, to support educational attainments with special focus on university and post-university education,

to upgrade skills in lifelong learning and finally to focus on enhancing the quality of education in niche sectors. Here, for

the CEI and its partners there is scope to conduct further analyses to evaluate the consequences of the brain drain from

transition countries and to focus on cross-border issues in education.

IBA - Interactive Business Area

35 projects from 14 countries were presented. They covered topics such as information technology, transport infra-

structure, environment, rural and tourism development, energy efficiency, and municipal infrastructure. Interested partici-

pants had a chance to follow six focused meetings, held in a seminar format ,and gave valuable insight into issues such

as transport infrastructure, insurance regulation, international chamber system, IFIs procurement and local brands in agri-

culture. In addition to this, the match-making facility was available and resulted in around 150 meetings being arranged

or occurring spontaneously between participants. A new initiative – the Flying Desk – was launched this year and attrac-

ted a great deal of interest thanks to the close cooperation between the Italian Ministry of Productive Activities, the Italian

Institute for Foreign Trade, Finest, Informest and Italian-Slovak Chamber of Commerce, which all together organised an

invaluable tool to support small and medium sized enterprises and the internationalisation of companies looking to deve-

lop their business in Slovakia and in South and Eastern Europe.

Final Report

Final Report

The Roundtable of CEI Ministers of Economic Sectors has traditionally taken place at the SEF. Under the chair-manship of the Slovak Republic, the ministers exchanged views on the stages of reform implementation in theirrespective countries. Furthermore, they discussed the importance of the impact of regional co-operation on thegrowth of competitiveness in a broader European space. In this regard, the Ministers shared information about theirstrategic goals, and on programmes relevant to the phase their country is at in their integration or accession pro-cess to the European Union. With a view to enhancing the efficiency of the national economies and their competi-tiveness in a global context, the Ministers emphasised the decisive role played by Foreign Direct Investments,Research and Development, science, innovation and new technologies. Finally, the political will to cooperate clo-sely in reaching the main objectives adopted by the CEI was once again reaffirmed.

HEADS OF DELEGATIONS

ALBANIAMr. Enno BOZDODeputy Minister, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy

AUSTRIAMr. Martin BARTENSTAINMinister, Ministry of Economy and Labour

BELARUSMr. Andrey TURDeputy Minister, Ministry of Economy

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINAMr. Hamdo TINJAKState Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations

BULGARIAMs. Galina TOSHEVADirector of Energy markets and Restructuring Section, Ministry ofRegional Development and Public Works

CROATIAMr. Branko VUKELICMinister, Ministry of Economy, labour and Entrepreneurship

CZECH REPUBLICMr. Jiri BISDeputy Minister, Ministry of Industry and Trade

HUNGARYMr. Tibor SZANYIState SecretaryMinistry of Economy and Transport

ITALYMr. Amedeo TETIGeneral Director for Commercial Policies, Ministry of ProductiveActivities

MACEDONIAMr. Fatmir BESIMIMinister, Ministry of Economy

MOLDOVAMr. Igir DODONDeputy Minister, Ministry of Economy and Commerce

POLANDMr. Piotr Grzegorz WOZNIAKMinister, Ministry of Economy

ROMANIAMr. Iuliu WINKLERMinister, Ministry of Economy and Commerce

SERBIA AND MONTENEGROMs. Jela BACOVICAssistant Minister, Ministry for International Economic Cooperation

SLOVAKIAMr. Jirko MALCHAREKDeputy Prime Minister and Minister, Ministry of Economy

SLOVENIAMs. Andrijana Starina KOSEMState Secretary, Ministry of Economy

UKRAINEMr. Arseniy YATSENIUKMinister, Ministry of Economy

INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

CENTRAL EUROPEAN INITIATIVEMr. Leonardo BARONCELLI, CEI-Executive Secretariat, AlternateDirector General

COUNCIL OF EUROPEMr. Ivan FARKAS, Member of the Parliamentary Assembly

COUNCIL OF EUROPE DEVELOPMENT BANKMr. Apolonio Ruiz LINGERO, Vice Governor

EUROPEAN BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENTMr. Fabrizio SACCOMANNI, Vice President

STABILITY PACTMr. Laurent GUYE, Director of Working Table II

UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOE EUROPEMr. Vasilyev VASILYEV, Director

THE ROUNDTABLE OF THE CEI MINISTERS OF ECONOMIC SECTORS

Final Report

SEF International Media Partner: International Herald Tribune

The International Herald Tribune is the premier international newspaper for opinion leaders and decision-makersaround the globe. It combines the extensive resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Timesand is printed at 30 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 180 countries. Based in Paris since 1887, theIHT is part of The New York Times Company.

This year the cooperation included: - Two CEI SEF advertisements, 1/6 broadsheet-page in the IHT, published on Thursday 29 September and

Tuesday 18 October 2005; - Website space on IHT.com Europe section with CEI banner insertion.

The IHT manned a stand in one of the SEF venue and had distribution points across all venues of the SEF.

Internet Securities Inc. - ISI Emerging Markets

Internet Securities was founded in 1994 and acquired by Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC in 1999. It deli-vers hard-to-get information on more than 70 emerging markets through its award-winning online EmergingMarkets Information Service.Other international media also covered the two-day event, inter alia: Bloomberg, BBCWorld Service, Mergermarket, Wiener Zeitung, Boerse Online, local broadcast and print media, as well as a smallnumber of freelance journalists.

This year the cooperation included: - CEI banner in their daily news alerts and in website across October and November 2005. - Intellinews / ISI Securities banner in CEI SEF home page.

ISI also manned a mini-stand at the Carlton Hotel.

SEF Media Partner in Slovakia: Hospodarske Noviny

A large number of articles were published before and during the CEI Summit Economic Forum. They coveredthe majority of topics dealt with during the SEF sessions, the strategic orientation of the CEI and the speeches ofthe Heads of Governments, Ministers and other guests attending the political events.

Other international media also covered the two-day event, inter alia: Bloomberg, BBC World Service,Mergermarket, Wiener Zeitung, Boerse Online, local broadcast and print media, as well as a small number of free-lance journalists.

The full version of the articles, whose extracts and summaries are available on www.ceinet.org/SEF

MEDIA PARTNERS AND COVERAGE

Final Report

The main SEF sponsor was Enel – one of the largest utility companies in the world and the second-largest Italiandistributor and vendor of natural gas, with more than 2 million customers and a 12% market share.

Among co-sponsors were: Gruppo Intesa – a leading Italian banking Group providing services and products toapproximately 12 million customers through a network of over 3,000 branches located in Italy and 800 branchesabroad and VUB Bank – a Slovakia-located member of the banking group Gruppo Intesa, ranked this year amongthe “Best Emerging Market Banks in Central and Eastern Europe” by Global Finance magazine.

Openworldconsultancy Ltd – a Lisbon-based global consultancy for economic and financial analysis, speciali-sing in turn-around management, transaction services, project finance, due diligence, feasibility studies, appraisals,and structured finance.

Finally, Unicredit Banca d’Impresa – the first nationwide Italian bank with a specialist service for medium-sizedand large companies, and Generali – a global insurance and financial markets group, were among the SEF suppor-ters.

SPONSORS

PARTNERS IN SLOVAKIA

total value of projects presented in the Project Room 250.000.000 EUR

participants attending the SEF, of which more than 50% representing the business community 800

countries represented 35

bilateral business meetings 150

speakers and roundtable panellists 120

journalists reporting from the event 50

project presentations from 14 countries 35

SEF IN FIGURES

QUESTIONNAIRES ON SEF PARTICIPANTS SATISFACTION

The analysis of the SEF participants' satisfaction questionnaires has proved to be an excellent tool to assessthe SEF both as a concept as well as in terms of its organisation. The grouping of all event sessions into thematicareas, or "SEF Streams", appears to be a winning formula appreciated by participants, who in this way can easilyidentify and attend those sessions that most meet their interest. In addition to this, participants expressed theirappreciation for the high level of speakers and presentations. There were also very positive comments on the bene-fits provided by the Interactive Business Area (IBA), both in terms of opportunities to present/find project ideas andas a tool to establish contacts through the Networking System and ad hoc bilateral meetings. Participants alsoexpressed their satisfaction by assigning a good evaluation score to the overall logistics, documentation, informa-tion and assistance provided by the organisers, which proves that all efforts made by the organisers were appre-ciated and that having held the event in four venues has not affected the quality of the SEF.

DAY 1 average

Stream 1 110

Stream 2 90

Stream 3 40

IBA Seminar 20

IBA Project Presentations 20

DAY 2

Stream 1 120

Stream 2 80

Stream 3 60

IBA Seminar 30

IBA Project Presentations 15

Session Attendance

Final Report

Final Report

Trieste Office at the CEI Headquarters Via Genova 9 // 34121 Trieste - Italy tel. +39 040 7786 777 // fax +39 040 7786 766 e-mail: cei.ebrd@cei-es.orghomepage: www.ceinet.org

Executive OfficerMs. Lara Tassan Zanine-mail: tassanzanin@cei-es.org

Executive OfficerMs. Slavena Radovanovice-mail: radovanovic@cei-es.org

Junior Executive OfficerMs. Elisabetta Doviere-mail: dovier@cei-es.org

Junior Executive OfficerMr. Adrian Kelere-mail: keler@cei-es.org

SEF InternsMs. Mira Lenzer, Ms. Olga Maslova

London Office at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)One Exchange Square // London EC2A 2JN - UK tel. +44 20 7338 7471 // fax +44 20 7338 6538 e-mail : PaoluccG@ebrd.comhomepage : www.ebrd.com

CEI Political AnalystMs. Marta Simonettie-mail: SimonetM@ebrd.com

CEI AnalystMs. Ludmila Savovae-mail: SavovaL@ebrd.com

CEI Programme AssistantMs. Cinzia Picae-mail: PicaC@ebrd.com

SEF InternMr. Marian Turza

SEF TEAM

Secretariat for CEI Projects

Programme ManagerMr. Guido Paolucci

e-mail: PaoluccG@ebrd.com

Mr. Jirko Malcharek, Minister, Slovak Ministry of Economy and Ms. Maria Kadlecikova,

Sub-regional Representative, FAO

Stream session

Evening Reception

Info Point

Project Room

Flying Desk "Sistema Italia"

Exhibition: wine tasting

Bilateral Meeting

Closing Ceremony