Conference on Enterpreneurship and Employment
Bucharest, 26-27 May 2004

The Conference on Entrepreneurship and Employment, held on 26 and 27 May 2004 in Bucharest, addressed concerns expressed at the Working Table II meeting in December 2003 regarding the need to improve the business climate of South Eastern Europe, ensure sustainable employment, and enhance social cohesion. The Conference, which was organised by the Stability Pact in co-operation with the OECD under the joint auspices of the Irish EU Presidency and the Romanian SEECP Chairmanship-in-Office, brought together officials from the SEE and EU countries, international organisations and representatives of think-tanks. The objective was to encourage and disseminate information on successful experience in supporting economic   development and employment creation. As such, participants were able to examine and exchange experience from established EU member states, new   member states still in the transition process as well as experiences from South Eastern Europe.

The Conference emphasised that a good business climate will only be sustainable if it is underpinned by appropriate social policies that can cope with the changing environment and that are able to provide the necessary support framework for individuals, companies and governments. Specific recommendations emphasised the need to gear education and training more to employability and entrepreneurship, improve dialogue between policy makers and the business community, and ensure a more comprehensive, horizontal approach to address the problems created by massive de-industrialisation. The conference also encouraged developing assistance packages that combine access to credit with technical support in a bid to stimulate and sustain private sector development.

To ensure the implementation of these conclusions, the conference called for several follow-up events to take place, namely:

• A workshop on successful case experiences in regional development, under the leadership of the Investment Compact.
• A workshop on successful experiences in South Eastern Europe   in training to enhance employability and entrepreneurship, under the leadership of the European Training Foundation.
• A workshop on the design of financial and technical assistance packages in support of small and medium enterprises, under the leadership of the EBRD.

Documents