Our 2022 European Entrepreneurs Annual General Assembly

European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME’s Annual General Assembly 2022 was part of the 12th edition of the European Congress for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (ECSME22), organized by our member, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Katowice on November 21-22 in Katowice, Poland. The ECSME is one of the largest events in Europe aimed at the SME sector. Following this year’s slogan, “Face the challenge”, it has been a perfect occasion to raise our positions on energy transformation, supply chain security, growing business running costs, unstable economic conditions and many more challenges that we are asked to face lately.

Our president Maurizio Casasco during the opening session of the Congress, emphasised that in times of healing and recovery such as these, it is crucial that companies from all over Europe remain united to face the many challenges that 2022 poses and build the strategies of the future. True European unity is also crucial in the face of the geopolitical landscape. If we do not work to strengthen the process of European unity, our continent runs the risk of being crushed and irrelevant on the world stage. Think of demographic data where Europe is nowhere near the population levels of China or India. To be European protagonists of new geopolitical balances, we must look strategically at a neighbouring continent such as Africa. Africa has great potential, rich in resources and business opportunities, with a population that will reach 2.5 billion people by 2050, i.e. a quarter of the world’s population. European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME already established in 2019 the EU-Africa SME Alliance. We must create bridges that foster the exchange of goods, values, education, training, innovation and know-how that support and promote the cross-fertilization of ideas and the transfer of experience.

Today, looking at the exorbitant energy costs, the outlook for 2023 for our companies is all but positive. But despite difficulties, SMEs prove every day to be a winning model economically and socially, representing the resilient backbone of the European economy. Regarding the EU’s endeavours for a green and digital transition, Mr Casasco underlined that “we need to proceed smoothly, with a gradual pace made of well-defined steps in a political and strategic action [..], embarking on a process of technological renewal to train entrepreneurs and workers”.

During our Annual General Assembly meeting in the afternoon at the Katowice International Conference Centre, our Co-President Markus Jerger even reinforced President Casasco’s words, emphasizing the necessity to be stronger and fast in updating on the recent technologies to be more reactive and tackle the issues of the present times. At this stage, building stronger European cooperation is fundamental to defending the interests of Europe together. If we want to be the change in the EU environment for SMEs, it is fundamental that all the pieces of this mechanism work together in harmony, like in mechanical clockwork.

Together with the other members that participated actively live in the General Assembly, such as Marlena Miasko and Tomasz Zjawiony for CCI Katowice, Imre Maroczi for PÁTOSZ, Svetlana Mikhaylovska for EBA Ukraine, Halldor Halldorson for DEA, or from remote our Treasurer Stephan Blahut for ÖGV, Theodor Grassos for EVBB, Olivier Vibert for Eurojuris and João Costa for COTEC Portugal, all representatives discussed and approved the reports of the Treasurer and our Secretary General Stefan Moritz, and contributed to formulating proposals for next year’s actions. The Assembly ended on Nov. 21st evening with a joyful gala banquet offered by CCI Katowice to all VIP guests of the European Congress for SMEs.

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