by the EESC's Employers' Group

The EESC Employers' Group will be hosting two conferences in the country of the current European Council presidency – Finland. The first event will take place at the end of August and will focus on a smart and intelligent Europe.

The conference will be held in Turku on 30 August, under the title "Smart and Intelligent Europe – How to get there". It will focus on the opportunities and challenges presented by digitalisation and AI for businesses, on the enablers of success in this field and on the consequent expectations for EU policies. It aims to examine, among other things, how Europe can be a frontrunner in innovation, what skills and competences are needed and how funding can be enabled.

Members of the Employers' Group will exchange views on these issues with high-level speakers such as the mayor of Turku, Minna Arve, MEP Miapetra Kumpula-Natri and the chair of "One Sea", Sauli Eloranta. The seminar will be part of the Turku Europe Forum, where citizens and decision makers will discuss the future of Europe and of Finland.

"An open Europe – How does it benefit us all?" will be the theme of the second Finnish conference, to be held in Helsinki on 9 October. It aims to develop the role of an open economy and society in building a strong and business-friendly EU. The timing of the conference, coinciding with the start of the new term of the European Commission and the European Parliament, makes it possible to convey a strong business message to policy-makers at both EU and national level.

Both events are jointly organised by the Employers' Group and the Confederation of Finnish Industries (lj/ek)