European scale of the Congress of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Only 20 days are left until the start of the 14th edition of the European Congress of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. Registration of participants is still ongoing. Europe's largest meeting of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs will already take place on October 29 and 30 at the International Congress Center in Katowice.

 
The motto of this year's Congress is “Shape the future now”. The future not only of Poland, not only of the small and medium-sized enterprise sector, but also of the European Union. Our country has been proudly enjoying membership in the body of 28 democratic European countries for 20 years now. 

20 years of Poland in the EU

On the threshold of Poland's third decade in the European Community, at this year's European Congress of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, quite a lot of discussion will be devoted precisely to European affairs.
The Polish Representation of the European Commission is organizing a special thematic track. It will feature debates with key decision-makers shaping EU policy and the Polish state. Among the invited guests is Mario Nava, Director General of the Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion: 
- I am very happy to visit Katowice soon: I am honored to represent the European Commission at the 14th European Congress of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. We will be discussing,
how to promote inclusiveness, enhance employee well-being and strengthen social dialogue and the cross-cutting role it plays
in enhancing EU competitiveness and building economic and social resilience. I am also eager to see how the EU's cohesion policy has helped Silesia turn its industrial past into a promising future. Furthermore, I would like to express my gratitude to the local authorities and organizers for their help in preparing this visit - says Mario Nava.

The future of the European labor market

 The labor market two decades after the EU's very large enlargement will be devoted to the discussion “New opportunities in the labor market 20 years after Poland's accession to the EU” (Tuesday, October 29, 11:30 am, p. 1, room 21-23).

- We want to consider how to deal with the shortage of workers and competence gaps, how to find our way in a less flexible labor market, but also how to ensure a balance between productivity and employee rights,- reveals Tomasz Zjawiony, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Katowice, the organizer of the ECSME.

Social dialogue is the foundation

Whether there is any alternative to social dialogue will be pondered by participants in the second discussion within the framework of the so-called European track, organized by the European Commission Representation in Poland. The discussion by invited guests will take place on the first congress day, at 1:30 p.m., p. 1, room 21-23.
According to the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Katowice, it is an indispensable condition for responding effectively to economic and social changes and adapting to them.
- The government and the European Commission must support social dialogue, as entrepreneurs and workers are obliged to act to cope with the challenges of environmental and digital transformation. These are the main challenges of bipartite, but also tripartite, social dialogue in Poland with the government - explains Tomasz Zjawiony.

Europe's major challenges

 The transformation of the European labor market, is not only a matter of labor shortages, but the challenges facing employers, such as digital recruitment.
Europe is facing serious problems today. On the one hand, the threat of economic crisis, on the other, the rise of individual business sectors after a global pandemic of several years, and on the third, the real threat of a spillover of the war that has been going on for more than two years across the EU's eastern border.
- In this context, the diversification of raw material supplies and the increasing role of defense in the formation of new economic processes are becoming one of the most important issues for the European economy - stresses President Tomasz Zjawiony.

Participant registration has already started

 Registration for the European Congress of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises is still ongoing. It can be made at: www.ekmsp.eu.
There you can also find the detailed program of the Congress: two days of discussions, almost 40 panel discussions and accompanying events.
The organizer of the thematic path: 20 years of Poland in the EU - Labor market on the path of change is the European Commission Representation in Poland. 
Co-organizers of the path: Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Katowice, All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions.
Partners of the path: European Parliament, European Commission, European Committee of the Regions, Union of Polish Metropolises.