Brussels, 28 September 2004

Application form [62 KB]

Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs is organising a major conference on EMU and economic governance on 28^th September 2004 to mark the publication of its study, EMU after Five Years , as well as the Commission Communication on economic governance which was adopted on 3^rd September.

The morning session will be devoted to assessing the performance of EMU over the past five years. This will centre around the recently published ECFIN study which concludes that while EMU has been successful from the point of view of creating a zone of macroeconomic stability, the main challenge now is to tackle the remaining causes of slow growth in the Union. Confirmed participants in the morning session will include Klaus Regling, John Llewellyn (Chief Economist of Lehmann Bros.), Christopher Allsopp (New College, Oxford), Vitor Gaspar (Director General of the ECB) and Charles Wyplosz (Graduate Institute for International Studies, Geneva).

The afternoon session will focus on the key topic of how to strengthen economic governance in EMU, in view of the adopted Commission Communication on this subject. A number of high-level participants have been invited to participate in this debate. At the present time, confirmed participants include President Prodi, Commissioner Almunia, Otmar Issing (Executive Board Member of the ECB) and Pervenche Berès (Chairwoman of the EMAC Committee of the European Parliament).

Places at this event are limited. To apply to participate please complete the attached application form [62 KB] and return to Dominique CORNESSE or Patricia TUITE, preferably by email. The conference will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Brussels.

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MORNING: Chair	EMU after 5 years John LLEWELLYN, Chief Economist, Lehman Brothers
10:00 – 10:30	EMU after 5 years: an assessment Klaus REGLING, Director General, DG ECFIN
10:30– 12:30	Roundtable discussion Christopher ALLSOPP, New College Oxford Jean-Phillipe COTIS, Chief Economist, OECD Vitor GASPAR, Director General, ECB Alberto GIOVANNINI, CEO Unifortune Asset Management Luigi SPAVENTA, Università degli Studi di Roma ‘La Sapienza’ Charles WYPLOSZ, Graduate Institute for International Studies Geneva
12:30 – 14:00	Lunch
AFTERNOON: Chair:	Strengthening economic governance André SAPIR, Group of Policy Advisors
14:00 – 14:30	How to strengthen economic governance – suggestions by the European Commission Joaquin ALMUNIA, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs
14:30 – 16: 30	Roundtable discussion Pervenche BERÈS, MEP, Chair of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament Lars HEIKENSTEN, Governor of the Swedish Central Bank (Riksbank) Otmar ISSING, Executive Board Member of the ECB Didier REYNDERS, Minister of Finance, Belgium* Kees VAN DIJKHUIZEN, Treasurer-General, Ministry of Finance, The Netherlands
16:30 – 17:00	Closing address Romano PRODI, President of the European Commission * to be confirmed