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CONFERENCE BROCHURE
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11-13 November 2014
Bratislava
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Klariská 14
811 03 Bratislava
Slovak Republic
Phone/Fax: +421 2 544 106 09
info@europeanaffairs.sk
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcoming Words
4
TATRA SUMMIT Investment Forum
9
About TATRA SUMMIT
7
Organisers
10
Partners
24
Agenda
12
TATRA SUMMIT
35
Agenda
38
Organisers
Partners
36
49
WELCOMING WORDS
economic growth’ is the name of the game for the
time to come and I am glad that this agenda already
starts being attributed a politically high-proﬁle status
it certainly deserves.
The crucial question we need to address is how to
promote public and private investments across Europe while, at the same time, following the ﬁscal rules
we have committed to respect in national budgets,
i.e. without undermining the ﬁscal consolidation successes we have achieved. I can see two options.
Peter Kažimír
Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister of Finance of the Slovak Republic
Economic growth has been a subject of policy-making debates for years, if not for decades. Yet this
time it is different. It cannot be stressed more how
serious the current situation is: low growth, deﬂation
risks, and alarming labour market statistics. If one
thinks it is too little for European policy-makers to
deal with, on top of it we are facing serious geopolitical risks on our Eastern borders, with very tangible
economic impacts.
In the most immediate reaction to the ﬁnancial and
economic crisis some years ago, we had to stabilise our economies and calm down ﬁnancial markets. Sovereign debt spreads were rising to unsustainable levels but – I dare to say – our ﬁscal and
monetary actions have managed to convince investors that the EU Member States remain to be a safe
place to invest.
From the national perspective, I can say that public
ﬁnance consolidation is not a pleasant exercise –
not for citizens, not for me. Nevertheless, I still believe that it is necessary. And I am sure this position
can be communicated to ordinary people and they
will accept it, provided that they can see light at the
end of the tunnel.
However, the macroeconomic forecasts are bleak
and the equilibrium we have managed to achieve
seems to be unstable. Any way one looks at the real
economy statistics, they imply that our collective efforts to restart the European economy are far from
over. ‘How to boost investments and job-creating
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The ﬁrst one seems obvious – if our national budgets are limited, we could borrow and invest on the
European level. In fact, this is what the European
Investment Bank has been doing for decades now.
We should explore ways how to boost European
public investments signiﬁcantly – via the EIB or a
new institution. I am very glad that discussions on
European investments are getting lively and that the
Tatra Summit Investment Forum provides one of the
ﬁrst international platforms for deﬁning a European
project pipeline.
Secondly, and no less importantly, our policy actions should aim at mobilising private investments.
This agenda has got a priority at the Slovak Ministry
of Finance. We have established the Slovak Investment Holding in order to make the most efﬁcient use
of the European Structural and Investment Funds,
the major source of public investment in Slovakia.
Using a part of the ESIF as ﬁnancial instruments implies revolving investments in the real economy that
will leverage private capital, too. Again, the TATRA
SUMMIT Investment Forum is an ideal opportunity to
discuss and share best practices in areas such as
ﬁnancial instruments or public-private partnerships
in general.
Dear ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure that the
Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic, together
with Centre for European Affairs, can host you at the
Tatra Summit Investment Forum. I believe that topical debates and the most prominent speakers will
make these days in Bratislava worth your time.
WELCOMING WORDS
Ivan Korčok
Ambassador
Permanent Representative of the Slovak Republic
to the European Union
Founding Member of the Centre
for European Affairs
The third edition of the TATRA SUMMIT is taking
place at the time which is framed by two important
factors in the EU. After the May elections to the European Parliament, we are on the doorstep of a new
political cycle. Decisions about appointments to the
most important EU institutions have been made.
Soon, we will know a detailed programme of the EU
that should reﬂect strategic priorities deﬁned by the
member states. This programme, drafted by the European Commission, should conﬁrm that all institutions understand the message sent by a majority of
EU citizens. This message was accurately worded
by the former and current Presidents of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso and JeanClaude Juncker: the EU should be big in big issues
and small in the small ones. The challenges that we
currently face offer a huge space for implementing
this attitude in practice and moderate certain disillusion of our public from recent years.
We are very glad that important guests who create
European policy accepted our invitation. We hope
that together with our auditorium we will achieve our
common goal: a constructive confrontation of solutions that should strengthen the member states, the
EU as a whole and help increase the trust of its citizens in the European project.
This year, the TATRA SUMMIT wants to be again
a platform for public debate on current issues. Of
course, one of the key issues is economic growth
which a foundation for new jobs and prosperity. We
want to look at several aspects directly related to the
economic growth: from an overall political context,
including the cooperation among the EU institutions,
the progress in building a genuine monetary union
and its economic governance to recent important
decision of the EU regarding its ambitious goals in
climate and energy policy.
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WELCOMING WORDS
Róbert Vass
Executive Vice-President and CEO
Central European Strategy Council
Founding Member of the Centre
for European Affairs
It is my great honour and pleasure to welcome you
to the third edition of the TATRA SUMMIT. The previous two conferences in Bratislava and Brussels
have proved viability of this project. On both occasions, we managed to attract ﬁrst class speakers
and engage them in lively debates that have real
impact on policymakers and their decisions. I am
convinced that this edition of the TATRA SUMMIT
will be the best one so far. It is our ambition to follow
in the footsteps of GLOBSEC and make it the most
important event of its kind in Central Europe and one
of the top conferences in the world.
The timing of TATRA SUMMIT is very important. It is
taking place just a few days after the new European
Commission started its term. We are also at the beginning of a new political cycle in the EU, which will
be very much about restarting the European economy and regaining trust in the EU and its democratic
values and principles, as outlined by the new President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude
Juncker. His call for action is substantiated. Low
turnouts in the elections to the European Parliament
suggest that the European public is detached from
its political elites. We have to reconnect them if Europe wants to retain its position in the global affairs.
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TATRA SUMMIT is a launching pad for Slovakia’s
preparations for presidency in the Council of the EU
in the second half of the 2016. We want to show and
prove that we are not just passive recipients of the
EU funding but we can also meaningfully contribute
to the European debate and present ideas and vision that can advance the European project in the
right direction.
ABOUT TATRA SUMMIT
TATRA SUMMIT Story
New EU Cycle
The TATRA SUMMIT initiative was launched by the
Centre for European Affairs (CEA), a member of the
Central European Strategy Council, and its partners
with an ambitious goal – to shape the future of Europe. While scrutinising the most burning economic
and political issues of today, it incorporates a variety
of perspectives and builds trust among the representatives of the EU institutions, member states´ ministries
of ﬁnance and foreign affairs, business leaders, think
tanks and international media.
In November 2014, TATRA SUMMIT is returning to
Bratislava to address crucial issues of growth and
job creation as well as the goals of the new European
Commission. For the ﬁrst time, TATRA SUMMIT will be
complemented by the TATRA SUMMIT Investment Forum, which will focus on public and private funding of
growth. It will also be a platform where the newly founded Slovak Investment Holding will be unveiled. At the
forum, the task force created by EU ﬁnance ministers
will meet the private sector for the ﬁrst time to discuss
key investment projects of European signiﬁcance.
By bringing together an immensely diverse pool of participants and creating an open forum, TATRA SUMMIT
conferences aim to make a lasting contribution to deﬁning the future of the economic and political governance of the European Union.
TATRA SUMMIT Tradition
The Centre for European Affairs (CEA) launched the
tradition of the TATRA SUMMIT series in February 2013
when, as one of the ﬁrst European forums, it discussed
the Eurozone roadmap presented by President of the
European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, and evaluated the progress in the EU integration process. The
conference titled Shaping a Genuine Economic and
Monetary Union attracted more than 300 participants.
Political elites such as Jörg Asmussen of the European
Central Bank; Thomas Wieser, President of the Euro
Working Group; Peter Spiegel, the Financial Times’
Brussels Bureau Chief; Ambassador Frans Van Daele,
former Head of the Cabinet of the President of the European Council; and others gathered in Bratislava to
discuss these pressing issues.
The second round of TATRA SUMMIT series, titled Economic and Monetary Union Governance: Impact on the
European Union and Beyond, took place in Brussels
in January 2014. It coincided with negotiations on the
Banking Union, and thus provided a unique platform
for discussing its crucial prerequisites.
The Brussels chapter of TATRA SUMMIT brought together more than 200 opinion leaders and top political
representatives, including Finance Ministers of Slovakia, Poland and Sweden - Peter Kažimír, Mateusz
Szczurek and Anders Borg; Deputy Governor of the
Bank of England, Sir John Cunliffe, Vice-President of
the European Central Bank, Vitor Constancio and others.
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ABOUT TATRA SUMMIT
TATRA SUMMIT TEAM
Róbert Vass, CEO and Executive Vice-President,
Central European Strategy Council and Founding
Member of the Centre for European Affairs
Andrea Ferjenčíková, TATRA SUMMIT Director,
Managing Director, Centre for European Affairs
Katarína Marušáková, TATRA SUMMIT Panellist
Coordinator, Centre for European Affairs
Martina Hollá, TATRA SUMMIT Audience and Registration Coordinator, Central European Strategy
Council
Dorota Chebeňová, TATRA SUMMIT Side Events
Coordinator, Central European Strategy Council
Kristína Mizeráková • Bettina Molnárová • Tomáš
Mrva • Roman Pikora • Sylvia Poliaková • Lea
Sekanová • Alexandra Stará • Ľubica Šebeňová •
Silvia Takacsová • Aneta Timoranská • Alexandra
Tóthová • Zuzana Vančová • David Vaníček • Mikuláš Virág • Juraj Zelinka
TATRA SUMMIT ADVISORS
& AGENDA WORKING GROUP
Vazil Hudák - State Secretary, Ministry of Finance,
Slovak Republic
Amb. Ivan Korčok – Permanent Representative of
the Slovak Republic to the European Union, Brussels, Founding Member of the Centre for European
Affairs
Jana Chocholová, TATRA SUMMIT Logistics Coordinator; Head of Event Development Department,
Central European Strategy Council
Peter Javorčík - State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign
and European Affairs, Slovak Republic
Lucia Milanová, TATRA SUMMIT Corporate Partnership Coordinator, Central European Strategy Council
Amb. Rastislav Káčer – Honorary President, Central European Strategy Council; Ambassador of the
Slovak Republic in Budapest
Jaroslav Naď, Deputy CEO, Central European
Strategy Council
Ivan Rudolf, Head of Media and External Communication Department, Central European Strategy
Council
Veronika Soporská, TATRA SUMMIT HR Coordinator, Central European Strategy Council
Jana Štefániková, Chief Finance Ofﬁcer, Central
European Strategy Council
Martin Šuplata, TATRA SUMMIT Technical Support
Coordinator, Central European Strategy Council
Further Team Members
Diana Andráščiková • Martina Balejová • Andrea
Barcajová • Róbert Barca • Dominika Becková •
Lucia Bogdányová • Magdaléna Brzá • Lucia Colníková • Alžbeta Djurbová • Dominika Filinová •
Dagmar Fukasová • Juraj Hajko • Lucia Hupková
• Andrej Chovan • Miroslav Križan • Mária Lajmonová • Slavomír Lalík • Andrea Lechvárová • Mária
Kohútová • Jakub Kostolný • Denisa Kovalčíková
• Michal Krajmer • Veronika Kubeková • Simona
Lučkaničová • Mária Mašková • Michal Mazák •
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Róbert Vass - CEO and Executive Vice-President,
Central European Strategy Council and Founding
Member of the Centre for European Affairs
Andrea Ferjenčíková - TATRA SUMMIT Director,
Managing Director, Centre for European Affairs
Zuzana Nehajová - Director, Department of Financial Strategy for Economic Growth, Ministry of Finance, Slovak Republic
Jarmila Guertlerová - Business Manager, Slovak
Guarantee and Development Bank Asset Management, Bratislava
Milan Solár - Director of GLOBSEC Forum, Managing Director, Slovak Atlantic Commission
Guntram Wolff - Director, Bruegel, Brussels
Robert Auxt - Member of Board, Slovak Guarantee and Development Bank Asset Management,
Bratislava
Milan Nič – Managing Director, Central European
Policy Institute (CEPI), Bratislava
TATRA SUMMIT INVESTMENT FORUM
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ORGANISERS
Centre for European Affairs
Central European
Strategy Council
The Centre for European Affairs (CEA) was founded
in 2011 as a sister organisation of the Slovak Atlantic
Commission. Now it is a member of the Central European Strategy Council. CEA focuses on economic, ﬁnancial and political aspects of the EU integration and strategic EU policies. Its goal is to present
and support credible Slovak and Central European
platforms for European policy-shaping, particularly
in respect to the upcoming Slovak EU Presidency
in 2016.
The Central European Strategy Council is an independent non-governmental organisation built on the
foundations of a 20-year history of the Slovak Atlantic Commission. It is a regional multiplier of its core
mission, which is to strengthen the voice of Slovakia and Central Europe in European and global
affairs and deﬁne and support the strategic role of
Central Europe in international politics. The organisation connects key Central European personalities
and experts in foreign and security policy.
CEA also organises the National Convention on the
European Union in cooperation with the Slovak Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. Its other major
projects are TATRA SUMMIT and QUARTETORIUM.
The Central European Strategy Council associates
three organisations – the Slovak Atlantic Commission (SAC), the Central European Policy Institute
(CEPI) and the Centre for European Affairs (CEA).
The three well-established organisations created a
new umbrella entity in 2013.
Slovak Atlantic Commission
The Slovak Atlantic Commission (SAC) was founded
in 1993, shortly after Slovakia became an independent state, by a group of diplomats. SAC supports
transatlantic cooperation and actively shapes the
security and international policy debate in Central
Europe and beyond by fostering dynamic involvement of the Slovak Republic and Central Europe in
international affairs.
The most signiﬁcant events organised by SAC are
the GLOBSEC Bratislava Global Security Forum and
the Chateau Béla Central European Strategic Forum.
10
Central European
Policy Institute
The Central European Policy Institute (CEPI) was
launched by SAC in February 2013 with the mission
to help decision-makers in Central Europe to craft
joint responses to current challenges and improve
the quality of their contributions to the EU and NATO
debates. The work of CEPI is built on ﬁve pillars: Security and Defence Policy, Central Europe, SouthEast Europe and Eastern Partnership of the EU
Programmes are already operational. The Energy
Programme will be launched soon. Its main projects
include Defence Austerity in the Visegrad Region
(DAV4 II), Central Europe in the European Union
(CEEU) or Serbia-Kosovo Dialogue.
ORGANISERS
Ministry of Finance
of the Slovak Republic
Slovak Investment Holding
The Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic is
a central body of state administration responsible
for the areas of ﬁnance, taxes and fees, customs,
ﬁnancial control, internal audit and government
audit. The Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic is also a central body of state administration
responsible for the informatisation of society, coordination of state aid in the area of pricing and price
control, except for the pricing and price control of
the goods regulated by separate laws.
Slovak Investment Holding (SIH) was established
as an inward investing sovereign wealth fund with
the main objective of supporting economic growth
in Slovakia by strategically allocating investments to
target sectors. SIH is funded by a combination of ﬁnancing from European Structural Investment Funds
(ESIF) and private investors. The participation of the
national budget, particularly against the backdrop
of slower economic growth and ongoing public ﬁnance consolidation is limited.
SZRB Asset Management (SZRB AM) is mandated
to manage SIH. It is responsible for the investments
and management of funds either through ﬁnancial
intermediaries or directly through SIH. Both SIH and
SZRB AM were established and are owned by the
Slovak Guarantee and Development Bank (SZRB).
The creation of SZRB AM and SIH is expected to
result in a number of concrete beneﬁts including
transfer of project ﬁnancing and sector-speciﬁc
know-how from the private sector to public sector
departments, more sustainable use of funds and
wider capital market development in Slovakia.
SIH will invest through a fund of funds structure.
Market opportunities have been identiﬁed and a
strategy has been proposed for the use of funds to
support large infrastructure, energy and high-tech
innovative projects. The revolving nature of the fund
of funds is expected to have a signiﬁcant impact
on the volume of funds especially due to leverage
gained from private investor involvement.
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CLOSED SESSION
EU TASK FORCE ON INVESTMENT PROJECT PIPELINE
Vazil Hudák, State Secretary, Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic, Bratislava
Vazil Hudák has served as State Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and also as Representative of the Slovak Republic on the Board of Governors in the European Stability
Mechanism since 2012. Prior to his assignment he was Industry Head for Public Sector
of Eastern Europe in J.P. Morgan Chase. Vazil Hudák started his professional career at
the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia in 1990. Next year he began
his 15-year tenure in Citigroup as Vice-President for cooperation with public institutions
of Central and Eastern European countries. He studied at the Moscow State Institute of
International Relations in Moscow and Harvard Business School in Boston.
Vincenzo La Via, Director General of Department of Treasury, Ministry of Economy and
Finance, Italy, Rome (EU IT PRES)
Vincenzo La Via was appointed Director General of the Department of the Treasury at
the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance in 2012. He was previously Managing Director and Chief Financial Ofﬁcer at the World Bank Group and Chief Financial Ofﬁcer
at Banca Intesa. Mr. La Via holds a degree from Università La Sapienza in Rome and a
PhD in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Maarten Verwey, Deputy Director General, Directorate - General for Economic and Financial Affairs of the European Commission and Co-Chair Special Task Force, Brussels
Maarten Verwey has been Deputy Director-General for Economic and Financial Affairs
in the European Commission since September 2011, responsible for ﬁnance and international relations. Mr. Verwey started his career at the Dutch Ministry of Finance in 1994.
In 1999, he moved to Manila where he worked for the Asian Development Bank. On his
return to the Dutch Ministry of Finance in 2002, he became head of the export credit
insurance division and two years later he assumed the position of deputy director of the
economic and ﬁnancial strategy department. He was nominated Director of Foreign Financial Relations in September 2007. Mr. Verwey was chairman of the euro task force on
coordinated action (2010-2011) and played a key role in establishing the pooled bilateral loan facility for Greece, subsequently the European Financial Stability Facility and the
European Stability Mechanism. Since June 2012 he has been the EU mission chief for
Cyprus ﬁnancial assistance program. He has recently been appointed as Co-chairman
of the Ecoﬁn Task Force on Investment.
Christopher Hurst, Director General, Projects Directorate, European Investment Bank,
Luxembourg
Christopher Hurst joined EIB in 1989 as an economist. After working on operations both
inside and outside the EU, he was appointed Head of the Chief Economist’s Ofﬁce in
1996. From 2002 onwards, he has held a number of management positions within the
Project Directorate, including responsibility for the Transport, Energy, and Water sectors. Prior to EIB, Mr. Hurst held research and teaching positions at Oxford and London
Universities and worked in management consultancy in the US. He has a doctorate from
Harvard University and a degree in engineering from Imperial College, London.
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CLOSED SESSION
SLOVAK INVESTMENT HOLDING PRESENTATION
Peter Dittrich, Chairman, SZRB Asset Management, on behalf of Slovak Investment
Holding, Bratislava
Peter Dittrich’s current task is to build a state-owned asset management ﬁrm that will
ultimately manage a sovereign wealth fund structure. The primary aim of the fund will be
to back key government sponsored investments mainly in large infrastructure and hightech start-ups. Previously, he worked in top management positions in several banks and
leasing companies in Slovakia and later on as an advisor to several industrial and real-estate companies. Since 2013 he worked as advisor to the Chairman of SZRB, in this
capacity he participated in preparation and founding of the Slovak Investment Holding
(SIH) and SZRB Asset Management. He also served as supervisory board member of
Prager Handelsbank in Frankfurt, Germany and board member of the Slovak Leasing
Association. He holds a PhD. degree in Global Economics.
Robert Auxt, SZRB Asset Management, on behalf of Slovak Investment Holding,
Bratislava
Robert Auxt’s current task is to build a state-owned asset management ﬁrm that will
ultimately manage a sovereign wealth fund structure. The primary aim of the fund will
be to back key government sponsored investments mainly in large infrastructure and
high-tech start-ups. At the moment he is also advising the Deputy Minister of Finance on
a broad range of topics relating to ﬁnancial reforms, regulation, macroeconomics and
communication. Mr. Auxt also sits in an investment committee of a venture capital fund
and represents the CEE constituency in the Board of Directors of the European Investment Bank. Previously, he worked as an investment banker in London and an advisor
and director at the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic advising the government
mainly on issues related to the Eurozone and large investment projects.
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TATRA SUMMIT INVESTMENT FORUM WELCOME ADDRESS
Peter Kažimír, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the Slovak Republic
Peter Kažimír is Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Slovakia. Before assuming his current posts in 2012, he was Vice-Chairman of the SMER-SD political party,
a member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic and Vice-Chairman of the
Finance and Budget Committee. Mr. Kažimír holds a Master´s degree in Foreign Trade
Economics from the University of Economics in Bratislava.
Róbert Vass, Executive Vice-President and CEO, Central European Strategy Council,
Founding Member of the Centre for European Affairs
Róbert Vass started his professional career as a president of non-governmental organisation Euro-Atlantic Center. In 2006, he was elected the Chairman of the Slovak Atlantic
Commission and in 2008 it’s Secretary General. He founded the tradition of GLOBSEC
Bratislava Global Security Forum and since then he has been the patron of this initiative.
14
SESSION I – RESTART AFTER THE CRISIS: FUNDING GROWTH
Economic recovery in Europe remains fragile, so it is crucial to discuss the rules for “unblocking Europe” to
achieve smart growth and competitive Europe. The Eurozone is slowly regaining momentum in the core but
stressed economies with high debt, high unemployment and credit constraints are limiting a full speed recovery.
Wide-ranging actions are needed to tackle low inﬂation and to encourage broader investment. Despite progress
on structural reforms, concerns surrounding the long-term productivity and competitiveness of the Eurozone
remain. What actions are necessary to put the EU economies on a path to economic growth? How important is
the private sector for facilitating economic growth in the long term?
László Baranyay, Vice-President, European Investment Bank, Luxembourg
László Baranyay graduated from Budapest University for Economic Studies in 1979.
From 2001 to 2002, he was CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of MFB and
before that he was CEO of MFB, Chief Financial Ofﬁcer and a member of the Board of
Directors. From 2002 to 2010, he was a member of the Supervisory Board of the Hungarian National Bank and Advisor to the Chairman of OTP Garancia Insurance Company
(from 2007 Groupama Insurance). Currently he serves as Vice-President of the European Investment Bank.
Peter Kažimír, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the Slovak Republic
Peter Kažimír is Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Slovakia. Before assuming his current posts in 2012, he was Vice-Chairman of the SMER-SD political party,
a member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic and Vice-Chairman of the
Finance and Budget Committee. Mr. Kažimír holds a Master´s degree in Foreign Trade
Economics from the University of Economics in Bratislava.
Ioana Petrescu, Minister of Finance of Romania
Ioana Petrescu received a Ph.D. and an M.A. in Economics from Harvard University
and a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics from Wellesley College. Prior to joining the
University of Maryland, she worked as an N.R.I. Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC. Her ﬁelds are public ﬁnance, development economics and
economics of national security. Her research interests range from taxation in transitional
and developing countries, to underground economy, entrepreneurship, and economic
sanctions. She served as the economic adviser to the Romanian Prime Minister in Bucharest and since March 2014 she serves as the country’s Finance Minister.
Herbert Stepic, Senior Advisor to Board, Raiffeisen Bank International, Vienna
Herbert Stepic acted as CEO of Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), one of the
leading banking groups in Central and Eastern Europe until May 2013. He is the mastermind of the development of Raiffeisen Bank International’s network of subsidiary banks,
leasing companies and a range of other specialized ﬁnancial service providers in 17
markets. In 1987, Mr. Stepic became Member of the Managing Board of the Genossenschaftliche Zentralbank and was appointed Deputy Chairman in 1995. He currently is
Senior Advisor to the Board of RBI and serves as a Member of the Supervisory Board in
several international companies. Mr. Stepic was elected “European Banker of the Year
2006” and “European Manager of the Year 2007”.
15
SESSION I – RESTART AFTER THE CRISIS: FUNDING GROWTH
Chair:
Rebecca Christie, News Correspondent, Bloomberg, Brussels
Rebecca Christie has been covering the European ﬁnancial crisis for Bloomberg News
in Brussels since May 2011. Previously she covered the U.S. ﬁnancial crisis from Washington, joining Bloomberg in 2008. Earlier, she has covered the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve, trade and defence contracting for Dow Jones Newswires and the Wall
Street Journal from Washington, and she has written for the Financial Times, the Atlanta
Journal and Constitution and other newspapers. A US citizen from North Carolina, she
has degrees from Duke University and the University of Texas at Austin.
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SESSION II – PUBLIC AND PRIVATE FINANCING OF GROWTH
IN THE EU: VIEWS FROM BOTH SIDES
Challenges remain on the way to greater credit update to the private sector in the EU. It is necessary to boost
bank liquidity to ﬁnance growth. Further structural reforms are needed to incentivise the private sector. Identifying suitable and bankable projects remains a key issue. The combination of private and public ﬁnancing of
strategic projects could go a long way towards more efﬁcient use of allocated EU funds. How to promote greater
public and private sector ﬁnancing cooperation? Which investment areas could most beneﬁt from a combination
of private and public investor ﬁnancing in PPP projects?
Andrej Babiš, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the Czech Republic
After graduating from the University of Economics in Bratislava, he joined the foreign
trade organisation Petrimex Bratislava in 1978. In the autumn of 1985, he was sent to
Morocco as its representative. In 1991, he returned to Bratislava, where he worked as
Director of the Petrimex trading group. In January 1993, together with four colleagues,
Mr. Babiš founded Agrofert in Prague. Today the company has over 250 subsidiaries,
operating primarily in the agriculture, food-processing and chemical sectors. Until January 2014, Andrej Babiš was Chairman and Managing Director of Agrofert. He stepped
down after being appointed the 1st Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance
in late January 2014. Since August 2012, Andrej Babiš has been Chairman of the ANO
political party.
Jean-Marc Peterschmitt, Managing Director, Central and South Eastern Europe, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London
Jean-Marc Peterschmitt, is a seasoned banker with extensive sector and country experience who joined EBRD in London HQ in 1992. He was made Associate Banker in the
Municipal team in 1994, promoted to Principal Banker when he joined the then Balkans
country team in 1996. As Senior Banker, he took up the role of Head of Ofﬁce, Bulgaria,
in 1998, later rising to Director. Jean-Marc Peterschmitt returned to HQ in 2001 as Director, Western Balkans, before joining the Financial Institutions business group in 2004,
initially as Director for Bank Relationships and then as Director, EU and Ukraine, where
he has worked since 2009. Prior to joining EBRD he was at the Ministry of Agriculture
and Rural Development in France. Jean-Marc Peterschmitt studied Agricultural Engineering in Paris and has an MBA from INSEAD.
Dominik Thumfart, Managing Director, Head of Infrastructure and Energy, Capital Markets Treasury Solutions, Deutsche Bank, London
Dominik Thumfart is Head of Infrastructure and Energy Origination on the Capital Markets and Treasury Services platform of Deutsche Bank’s Corporate and Investment
Bank. Deutsche Bank is a leading structurer and arranger of senior and mezzanine debt
transactions with access to its own project ﬁnance loan book. The project ﬁnance team
also selectively provides ﬁnancial advisory and equity arranging services in the context
of infrastructure and energy transactions around the world. Prior to joining Deutsche
Bank in November 2008, Mr. Thumfart was Managing Director of Citigroup and the
EMEA Business Head of its Asset Finance Group, based in London. He holds a Master
and Ph.D. in Business Administration from Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien and a Master of
European Management (CEMS) from Escuela Superior de Adminstración de Empresas
(ESADE) in Barcelona.
17
SESSION II – PUBLIC AND PRIVATE FINANCING OF GROWTH
IN THE EU: VIEWS FROM BOTH SIDES
Daina Belicka, Partner, Advisory Services, EU Account Advisory Leader, EY, Brussels
Daina Belicka boasts over 20 years of professional experience in international audit
companies, ten of which she has spent supervising projects ﬁnanced by the EU Structural Funds, particularly in the ﬁelds of evaluation, EU funds management and control.
She has also developed a considerable experience as a quality manager and process
supervisor/evaluator in large public sector projects characterised by high degrees of
complexity, at both national and international level. Ms. Belicka has working experience
with EU funds related projects in different Member States. She has obtained ACCA qualiﬁcation (Certiﬁed Accountant, UK), Certiﬁed Internal Auditor qualiﬁcation (CIA, US),
Certiﬁed Information Systems Auditor qualiﬁcation (CISA, US), Certiﬁed Project Manager (Prince 2) and has MBA (RBS in cooperation with University of Buffalo, US).
Chair:
Simon Nixon, Chief European Commentator, The Wall Street Journal, London
Simon Nixon is Chief European Commentator of the Wall Street Journal. He joined the
WSJ in 2008 and was previously European editor of Heard on the Street. Before that, he
was executive editor of the breakingviews ﬁnancial commentary service, City editor of
The Week and a founder editor of Moneyweek. Before becoming a journalist, he worked
for ﬁve years in investment banking. He is a graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge
University, where he gained a ﬁrst class degree in History.
18
SESSION III – MODELS OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS IN THE EU
The European Commission supports wider use of ﬁnancial instruments in the place of grants when ﬁnancing
projects using EU funds. Financial instruments come in three main forms – loans, guarantees and equity. Their
repayable nature can incentivise the private sector to invest EU funds in the most efﬁcient manner, minimising
costs and/or maximising revenues. The revolving format of the funds encourages sustainability and accountability. Advantages to greater use of ﬁnancial instruments include attraction of additional private capital and private
sector know-how, investment into suboptimal investments and potentially elimination of market gaps in the long
term. Which models of ﬁnancial instruments could replace grants in ﬁnancing projects in different investment
areas? What are the short and long term risks associated with greater use of ﬁnancial instruments? How to mitigate these risks? How can the public sector assist in ensuring a positive capital market feedback loop when
promoting investments, which implement ﬁnancial instruments?
Robert Auxt, SZRB Asset Management, on behalf of Slovak Investment Holding,
Bratislava
Robert Auxt’s current task is to build a state-owned asset management ﬁrm that will
ultimately manage a sovereign wealth fund structure. The primary aim of the fund will
be to back key government sponsored investments mainly in large infrastructure and
high-tech start-ups. At the moment he is also advising the Deputy Minister of Finance on
a broad range of topics relating to ﬁnancial reforms, regulation, macroeconomics and
communication. Mr. Auxt also sits in an investment committee of a venture capital fund
and represents the CEE constituency in the Board of Directors of the European Investment Bank. Previously, he worked as an investment banker in London and an advisor
and director at the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic advising the government
mainly on issues related to the Eurozone and large investment projects.
Peter Jeffreys, Senior PPP Specialist, European Investment Bank, Luxembourg
Peter Jeffreys joined the European Investment Bank in 2003. Since August 2012, he has
been responsible for delivering Structured Finance Transactions and Joint Initiatives in
Central Europe. Prior to his current role, he was responsible for the EIB’s involvement
in a series of structured lending and project ﬁnance transactions in Western Europe
(2003–2009) and was the EIBs representative to Moscow (2009 – 2012). With over 19
years of structured lending experience, Peter has extensive experience of structuring
complex transactions using innovative ﬁnancial instruments. He has also performed
advisory roles for both the public and private sector. Prior to joining EIB, Mr. Jeffreys
worked in the project ﬁnance department of Deutsche Bank in London). He holds a
Master’s degree from Keble College, Oxford.
Chair:
Martin Šanta, Head of Communication Department, Ministry of Finance of the Slovak
Republic
Martin Šanta studied at the Faculty of Political Sciences and International Affairs of the
University of Matej Bel. Prior to becoming Head of Communication Department at the
Ministry of Finance and Advisor to the Finance Minister Peter Kažimír, Mr. Šanta worked
in the Delegation of the European Commission, Thomson Reuters and at the Slovak
Ministry of Finance.
19
SESSION IV – CENTRAL EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE
ON THE INVESTMENT STRATEGY
Investment strategy in Central Europe has undergone numerous developments in the past two decades. Challenges remain in tax policy, access to ﬁnancing, administrative burdens and enforcement of law. The development and promotion of investment strategy that supports competitiveness in Central Europe is necessary. What
is the best way of contributing to a growth-promoting investment strategy in Central Europe? How to increase EU
funds absorption while increasing efﬁcient and effective use of the funds? What obstacles can be most easily
eliminated to aid public-private cooperation in Central Europe?
Martin Pros, Deputy Minister for International Affairs, Ministry of Finance of the Czech
Republic
Martin Pros graduated from the Faculty of Law of Charles University in Prague and
gained his PhD. in ﬁnancial law at the Faculty of Law of Charles University in Prague. He
worked as a lawyer in different companies. Between 2004 and 2010, he worked on the
position of Head of Investment Banking Unit in Komerční Banka. From 2010 to 2014, he
served as Head of Legal Supervision for Corporate Investment Banking in Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa. Mr. Pros is also a member of Czech Banking Association
and Netting Working Group of the EBF. In April 2014, he was appointed Deputy Finance
Minister for International Affairs, including EU Affairs and Financial Markets.
Gábor Orbán, State Secretary, Ministry for National Economy of Hungary
Since March 2013, Gábor Orbán has served as Minister of State for Taxation and Fiscal
Regulation at the Ministry for National Economics. From 2009 to 2013, he was Head of
Fixed Income, AEGON CEE Asset Management, and in 2007-2009 Economist and Portfolio manager at AEGON CEE Asset Management. Between 2003 and 2007, he worked
as Senior Economist at Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB), Central Bank of Hungary. He held
a position of researcher and CEE macroeconomic analyst in International Centre for
Economic Growth, European Centre in 2002-2003. He was educated at Budapest University of Economic Sciences and Public Administration. He holds degrees in Finance
(major) and Economic Policy (minor).
Vazil Hudák, State Secretary, Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic
Vazil Hudák has served as State Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and also as Representative of the Slovak Republic on the Board of Governors in the European Stability
Mechanism since 2012. Prior to his assignment he was Industry Head for Public Sector
of Eastern Europe in J.P. Morgan Chase. Vazil Hudák started his professional career at
the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia in 1990. Next year he began
his 15-year tenure in Citigroup as Vice-President for cooperation with public institutions
of Central and Eastern European countries. He studied at the Moscow State Institute of
International Relations in Moscow and Harvard Business School in Boston.
Artur Radziwiłł, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Finance of Poland
Artur Radziwiłł also acts as Government Plenipotentiary for Euro Adoption in Poland.
Expert in the ﬁeld of macroeconomics, public ﬁnance and strategic management. He
studied economics at the Universities of Warsaw, Columbia, Sussex and London, where
he obtained the degree of PhD in Economics. In 2003-2004, as a consultant in the World
Bank, he advised countries of Central Asia and Caucasus in ﬁscal policy. From 2004
to 2007, as Vice President and member of the CASE (Center for Social and Economic
Research) management board, he contributed to establishing the position of CASE as
the leading research institute in Central Europe. From 2009 onwards he was employed
by the OECD, where he coordinated the economic aspects of the accession of Russia
to the OECD. He was also in charge of the ongoing analysis of the condition of the euro
area and new EU member states.
20
SESSION IV – CENTRAL EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE
ON THE INVESTMENT STRATEGY
Comments:
Hubert Cottogni, Head of Regional Business Development,
European Investment Fund, Luxembourg
Hubert Cottogni is Head of Regional Business Development at European Investment
Fund. Previously, he served as Deputy Director of Regional Business Development at
the ﬁrm. He is responsible for developing and implementing FoF and JEREMIE strategy
throughout Europe. Prior to this position, he was Director at Telekom, where Mr. Cottogni
spent over six years in the Strategy and Business Development and Mergers and Acquisitions departments. He also spent more than 12 years working as Senior Banker in
institutions such as EIB or CreditAnstalt. Mr. Cottogni holds an M.B.A. from the University of Innsbruck as well as an executive degree from INSEAD.
Chair:
Martin Filko, Director, Institute for Financial Policy,
Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic
Martin Filko is Chief Economist at the Slovak Ministry of Finance and Director of the
Institute for Financial policy. He is responsible for Financial Policy and the Ministry of
Finance’s research and analytical department. He has worked for three Slovak governments as an adviser to the Prime Minister and to ministers of ﬁnance, health and education. He also had a one-year stint as the Director for Strategy at Union, a Slovak member
of the Dutch insurance group Achmea. He taught at Comenius University in Bratislava
in 2009-2012 and did research at Erasmus University Rotterdam in 2005-2009. Mr. Filko
holds an MA degree in psychology from Comenius University, Master’s equivalent in International Economic Relations from the University of Economics in Bratislava, and MSc
in Health Economics from Erasmus University in Rotterdam.
21
SESSION V – CENTRAL EUROPEAN INVESTMENT STRATEGIES:
PRIVATE SECTOR OUTLOOK
Economic uncertainty has lowered the availability of long-term ﬁnance for European infrastructure projects and
the drop in public and private investments of EU causes concern. The need to speak on the innovative investment strategies of funding a growth is therefore urgent and crucial. Greater capital market development and
easier access to ﬁnance are necessary for long-term private sector growth in Central Europe. The development
and promotion of investment strategy that supports competitiveness in Central Europe is necessary. What is the
best way of contributing to a growth-promoting investment strategy in Central Europe from the private sector
perspective? What obstacles can be most easily eliminated to aid public-private cooperation in Central Europe?
How best to motivate the Central European private sector to be more interested in ﬁnancial instruments?
Daniel Křetínský, Chairman, Management Board, Energetický a Průmyslový Holding, Prague
Daniel Křetinský graduated from the Faculty of Law at the Masaryk University in Brno. In 1999
he joined J&T as a lawyer and in 2003 became a partner at J&T responsible for corporate investments and energy sector in the Czech Republic. During his professional life he has been a
member of Supervisory Board, Chairman or Director of various energetic companies, among
others Slovenské Energetické Strojárne, Slovenský plynárenský priemysel or EP ENERGY. He
is a shareholder in Energetický a Průmyslový Holding (EPH), EP Industries and CZECH NEWS
CENTER.
Ivan Štefunko, Managing Partner, Neulogy Ventures, Bratislava
Ivan Štefunko is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor with particular focus on the media
and internet space. He has founded several companies with global or regional impact, including Euractiv.sk, Pelicantravel.com, MONOGRAM Technologies and wineshop.sk. Prior to
founding Neulogy Ventures, he was active as an angel investor and investment advisor and
was involved in new ventures such as Piano Media, GA Drilling and Diagnose.me. He also
co-founded Neulogy, a Bratislava-based consultancy boutique specialising in R&D management and technology commercialisation.
Oszkár Világi, Chairman of Board and CEO, Slovnaft, Bratislava
Oszkár Világi graduated from the Commenius University Faculty of Law, Bratislava and received his Doctorate in Law (JUDr.) in 1991. In 1990-1992, he was a Member of the Czechoslovakian Parliament. Mr. Világi also worked as legal advisor to foreign investors in major Slovak industrial restructuring projects (U.S. Steel; France Telecom; OTP Bank; MOL Group) He
was a Member of Supervisory Board of Slovnaft, in 2005, before being appointed the appointed the CEO of Slovnaft, he became a Member of its Board of Directors.
Gordon Bajnai, Group Chief Operating Ofﬁcer, Meridiam, Paris,
Former Prime Minister of Hungary
Gordon Bajnai is an economist and businessman. From April 2009 to May 2010, he served
as Prime Minister of the Republic of Hungary. Earlier, he held positions as head of the National Development Agency, as Minister for Local Government and Minister for National Development and Economic Affairs. Between 2000 and 2005, he was CEO of Wallis Investment,
Consulting and Asset Management where he was responsible for management and transformation of the company and for improvement of its efﬁciency. Between 1995 and 2000, he was
managing director and deputy CEO of CA IB Securities. In addition, over the past decade and
a half, Mr. Bajnai has served with Budapest Airport as President, Zwack Unicum as a member
of the Supervisory Board, Danubius Radio and Graboplast Rába as a member of the Board
of Directors and Equinox Private Equity Fund as a member of the Investment Board. He graduated from the Budapest University of Economic Sciences in international relations in 1991.
During his university studies, he was active in the student movement.
22
SESSION V – CENTRAL EUROPEAN INVESTMENT STRATEGIES:
PRIVATE SECTOR OUTLOOK
Chair:
Rebecca Christie, News Correspondent, Bloomberg, Brussels
Rebecca Christie has been covering the European ﬁnancial crisis for Bloomberg News
in Brussels since May 2011. Previously she covered the U.S. ﬁnancial crisis from Washington, joining Bloomberg in 2008. Earlier, she has covered the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve, trade and defence contracting for Dow Jones Newswires and the Wall
Street Journal from Washington, and she has written for the Financial Times, the Atlanta
Journal and Constitution and other newspapers. A US citizen from North Carolina, she
has degrees from Duke University and the University of Texas at Austin.
23
EXCLUSIVE PARTNER
TATRA BANKA
its clients. Its more than 760 000 clients are served
by more than 3 400 employees in 128 branches. The
bank has also been actively expanding the options
to keep in touch with clients. It offers the ﬁrst virtual branch on Facebook, 24/7 communication via the
online Tatra ChatTB, unique corporate centers, specialized branches of the Living Center and the Investment Center, luxury branch for private banking
clients.
TWENTY-FOUR YEARS
OF INNOVATION IN BANKING
Dominance in private banking
Tatra banka was established on November 1, 1990
as the ﬁrst private bank in Slovakia. Since the beginning, it has introduced above-standard solutions.
Banking service innovator
The priority for Tatra banka was to ensure easier access to everyday banking services for clients. That is
why the bank has introduced innovations unrivalled in
the Slovak market. These include the ﬁrst electronic
banking services and the ﬁrst 24-hour contact center
DIALOG Live for clients using tool Voice Biometrics
as one of the ﬁrst banks in the world.
Internet BankingTB is one of the best online banking
services in Slovakia. It has received many international awards not only for its safety but also for its ease
of use and execution of transactions in real time. Tatra banka was the ﬁrst to include in internet banking
clear graphs, customizable tables and a sophisticated Spending ReportTB with interactive features.
The Internet BankingTB service is available via mobile phone and maximum user comfort is ensured by
means of the Tatra banka application for those using
Apple iOS, Android or Windows Phone operating system on their phones. The application also contains
features such as money order scanner or the option
to draw a pre-approved Any Purpose Loan within
minutes or to withdraw money from ATM without necessity to have a payment card.
In addition to this Tatra banka application, clients
may also use Mobile Payments application for contactless payments using a mobile phone, Tatra banka VIAMO for fast sending of small payments and
ArtConsultingTB to view the works of art in the comfort
of home.
Closer to clients
Tatra banka is constantly adapting to the lifestyles of
24
In private banking, where Tatra banka dominates the
market, close attention is paid to extra services. Tatra
banka was the ﬁrst bank in Slovakia to launch trading
in gold without an intermediary and to increase the
availability of a private banker, while constantly expanding the range of investment vehicles for private
banking clients.
Leader in payment cards
In the early years it was the ﬁrst credit card that made
Tatra banka the leader in payment cards. The bank
has maintained its position thanks to the fact that its
payment cards have always met three conditions exclusive design, technological progress, convenient
use.
The introduction of contactless payment cards in
2010 meant a breakthrough in the way clients use
their cards. The growing interest in this fast payment
method has also been reﬂected in the use of mobile
phones for contactless mobile payments, including
payments over €20, which Tatra banka was the ﬁrst
to introduce to the Slovak market in 2012. Today, Tatra banka is the leader in the number of contactless
transactions and the number of credit card transactions as well as the number of payment terminals.
Tatra banka Foundation
The Tatra banka Foundation is celebrating 10 years
since its founding. Over this period, the foundation
has supported 1,426 valuable education, art and design projects. The principal philosophy of the Tatra
banka Foundation is to increase educational standards and provide opportunities for the best to excel.
The foundation is available for all those who want to
grow, learn, create and have an ambition to achieve
something in life - simply for all those wishing to progress in their ﬁeld. As part of the Personalities in Person initiative, the foundation arranged meetings with
six Nobel and four Pulitzer Prize winners.
GENERAL PARTNER
SAAB
Saab serves the global market with world-leading products, services and solutions from military
defence to civil security. With operations on every
continent, Saab continuously develops, adapts
and improves new technology to meet customers’
changing needs.
When Saab was founded in 1937 its primary
aim was to meet the need for a domestic military aircraft industry in Sweden. Since then Saab
has developed to become one of Scandinavia’s premier defence companies. During the last years the
markets in which Saab operates have undergone
signiﬁcant changes, with decreased defence budgets in the western world and an increased awareness about changed global threats. As a result Saab
has expanded within the civil security ﬁeld as well
as in Air Trafﬁc Management. The CEE region is an
important region and in Czech Republic Saab has
around 140 employees. The country is considered
as a base, enabling expansion of the business into
neighbouring Central and Eastern European countries. One of the largest programs is of course the
Gripen ﬁghter, in operational service within the
Czech Air Force and the Hungarian Air Force. Both
countries have decided on prolongation of the current leasing for another 10 years.
Saab’s most important markets today are Europe,
South East Asia, Brazil and the US. Saab has around
13,000 employees. Annual sales amount to around
SEK 24 billion, of which research and development
account for about 25 per cent of sales.
25
INSTITUTIONAL PARTNER
SZRB Asset Management
Slovak Investment Holding (SIH) was established
as an inward investing sovereign wealth fund with
the main objective of supporting economic growth
in Slovakia by strategically allocating investments to
target sectors. SIH is funded by a combination of ﬁnancing from European Structural Investment Funds
(ESIF) and private investors. The participation of the
national budget, particularly against the backdrop
of slower economic growth and ongoing public ﬁnance consolidation is limited.
SZRB Asset Management (SZRB AM) is mandated
to manage SIH. It is responsible for the investments
and management of funds either through ﬁnancial
intermediaries or directly through SIH. Both SIH and
SZRB AM were established and are owned by the
Slovak Guarantee and Development Bank (SZRB).
The creation of SZRB AM and SIH is expected to
result in a number of concrete beneﬁts including
transfer of project ﬁnancing and sector-speciﬁc
know-how from the private sector to public sector
departments, more sustainable use of funds and
wider capital market development in Slovakia.
SIH will invest through a fund of funds structure.
Market opportunities have been identiﬁed and a
strategy has been proposed for the use of funds to
support large infrastructure, energy and high-tech
innovative projects. The revolving nature of the fund
of funds is expected to have a signiﬁcant impact
on the volume of funds especially due to leverage
gained from private investor involvement.
26
SZRB (Slovak Guarantee
and Development Bank)
Slovenská záručná a rozvojová banka supports
businesses in Slovakia in line with state economic
policy. Its owner and sole shareholder is the Ministry
of Finance of the Slovak Republic. The Bank focuses
primarily on the development of small and medium
enterprises, agricultural entities, as well as the funding of cities, towns and municipalities and housing
reconstruction, particularly in the form of:
Providing loans – primarily to small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as to towns and villages and legal entities established pursuant to special
legislation (for example, associations of apartment
owners);
Providing bank guarantees for loans – particularly to
entrepreneurs who lacked adequate collateral for a
loan or who were considered high risk by the commercial banks which were, however, interested in
ﬁnancing them under certain conditions. The basic
principle for providing guarantees for loans is the
distribution of the risk between SZRB, client, and a
partner entity.
MAIN PARTNERS
EY
ENERGETICKÝ
A PRŮMYSLOVÝ HOLDING
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction
and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and conﬁdence
in the capital markets and in economies the world
over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to
deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In
so doing, we play a critical role in building a better
working world for our people, for our clients and for
our communities.
ENERGETICKÝ A PRŮMYSLOVÝ HOLDING (EPH)
is a leading Central European energy group operating mainly in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and Poland. It is a vertically integrated energy utility covering the complete value chain in the
energy sector. It includes 40 companies operating
in coal extraction, electricity and heat production
from conventional and renewable sources, including electricity and heat distribution, electricity and
gas trade and their supply to ﬁnal customers and,
last but not least, in the gas industry.
Our 190,000 people are the foundation of our success. We assemble the right multi-disciplinary team
for your business, drawing on our global network of
professionals. Working with you in a collaborative
style, we gain a clear understanding of your organization and strive to identify issues before they
become problems. You get the people you need,
wherever in the world you need them, backed up by
leading practices, methodologies and tools.
The companies in the group employ more than
8,000 people.
EPH is the gas industry leader in Slovakia and the
key shipper of natural gas from Russia to the European Union. EPH is one of the most important producers of cogenerated heat in the Czech Republic
and the largest supplier of thermal energy to customers in the Czech Republic. It is also the second
largest Czech producer of electricity.
EPH’s generating plants have currently a total installed electrical capacity of almost 1,750 MW and
their annual output approximately totals 8.5 TWh.
Thermal energy supply to customers in the categories of households, businesses and various organisations is almost 20 PJ every year. In the Czech
Republic, the CHP plants within the group supply
thermal energy for Prague (capital of the Czech Republic), regional capitals Hradec Králové, Pardubice and Plzeň and the towns of Most, Litvínov and
Chrudim.
In Germany, EPH (i.e. its wholly-owned subsidiary
MIBRAG) holds the position as the third largest coal
extraction company.
EPH’s EBITDA for 2012 amounted to CZK 32.7 billion. The group’s revenues for 2012 totalled CZK
115 billion and EPH’s total assets amounted to CZK
258 billion (pro forma consolidation including EPH’s
49% stake in SPP).
27
PARTNERS
ERSTE BANK
- SLOVENSKÁ SPORITEĽŇA
Erste Group was founded in 1819 as the Austria’s ﬁ rst
savings bank. In 1997, Erste Group went public with a
strategy to expand its retail business into Central and
Eastern Europe (CEE). Since then the Erste Group’s
customer base has grown through numerous acquisitions and organic growth from 600,000 to around 17
million. 95% of all clients are citizens of the European
Union.
Today, Erste Group is one of the largest ﬁnancial services providers in Central and Eastern Europe in terms
of clients and total assets. Its core activities, besides
the traditional strength in serving private individuals,
include advisory services and support for corporate
clients in ﬁ nancing, investment and access to international capital markets, public sector funding and interbank market operations.
Erste Group Bank’ Slovak arm, Slovenská sporiteľňa,
has 2.4 million customers which gives it more than
40% market share. in Czech Republic it is above 32%.
In Austria, Erste Group Bank, together with its savings
bank partners, has a retail market share of around
20%. In Hungary, Erste Bank’s total market share increased from 4 to 8% after the purchase of Postabank
which made Erste Bank the second largest retail bank
in the country. Erste Bank is the third largest bank in
Croatia, with a total market share around 10%. Erste
Group Bank and its partners have a strong market position in the areas of retail banking products, property
ﬁnancing, business with private clients, and services
for small and medium enterprises.
28
SLOVNAFT GROUP
SLOVNAFT Group is an integrated reﬁnery-petrochemical group. Its key company is SLOVNAFT, a.s.
dealing mainly with reﬁning in one of the most complex European reﬁneries and with the wholesale and
retail sale of motor fuels. Slovnaft operates the largest
network of ﬁlling stations in Slovakia. The company is
a leader in Slovakia in the ﬁeld of CSR and corporate
philanthropy, signiﬁcantly supports sports, culture, education, youth and revitalisation of environment. The
Forbes magazine has named SLOVNAFT among the
most valuable brands in Slovakia. SLOVNAFT Group is
a member of the international MOL Group.
KPMG
KPMG in Slovakia was established in 1991. Over the
last 23 years we have served more than 3000 clients.
Among our success stories belong Slovak small and
medium sized companies, corporations, government
entities and private investors across all major industries. They all beneﬁt from our deep knowledge of the
local business environment combined with the experience and the resources of the worldwide network of
KPMG member ﬁrms. Today, KPMG in Slovakia employs 300 people who provide a wide range of professional services in the area of audit, tax and advisory. Our branch ofﬁces are located in Bratislava and
Košice.
PARTNERS
POŠTOVÁ BANKA
Poštová banka has been operating in the Slovak market for 21 years. With a million retail clients it is one of
the strongest banks. It has a chain of 42 branches and
also provides services at more than 1,500 post ofﬁce
across Slovakia. Its clients use more than 6,500 points
for cash withdrawal. The standard offer of banking
products and services is complemented by insurance
products, mutual funds and pension savings (second
pillar).
Deloitte – A Quality Brand
Deloitte Central Europe
Regional organisations in Central Europe are organised under the umbrella of Deloitte Central Europe Holdings Limited, a member of Deloitte Touche
Tohmatsu Limited. Deloitte Central Europe includes
more than 34 ofﬁces in 17 Central European countries.
When providing solutions to our clients, we use the extensive ofﬁce network and knowledge of more than 3
900 professionals. This regional organisation also includes the Deloitte practices in Slovakia.
Deloitte in Slovakia
Deloitte Slovakia provides a wide range of major companies, fast-developing businesses and public institutions with premium audit, tax, legal, risk management,
transaction services and consulting services. Local
market knowledge combined with extensive international experience enables us to offer a comprehensive
approach to dealing with our clients’ needs and challenges. We provide our clients with tailor-made solutions.
Deloitte Slovakia employs more than 230 Slovak and
foreign experts. Our strength lies in our detailed knowledge of the local environment, which has been gained
over years of experience in providing services.
The name “Deloitte” represents Deloitte Touche
Tohmatsu, a global organisation of ﬁrms providing
professional advisory services in the following major
areas:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Audit
Tax
Transaction Services
Consulting
Risk Services
Legal
Our Vision
Deloitte – to be the standard of excellence. Being
the standard of excellence means being in a position
where others look up to us and compare their performance to ours.
Deloitte delivers comprehensive services to the world’s
largest companies as well as many small and medium-sized enterprises and public sector institutions.
Approximately 200 000 professionals in more than 150
countries share their knowledge and extensive experience and thus apply a uniﬁed approach in delivering
top-quality services.
29
EXCLUSIVE CAR SERVICE
BMW
The mobility of the future
The true joy of driving can take on many different
forms. Its character can change with the seasons.
But it is always authentic and intensely real. And at
BMW, it is our core focus. In everything we do.
At the BMW Group, we look to the future and are
prepared to go against the trend, if need be; we
have the stamina to stick to our chosen path. For us,
it is always the customer who comes ﬁrst – that is
why we offer innovative products and services and
what makes us the world’s top-selling premium car
manufacturer.
Our actions are based on our tradition, our values
and our Company’s unique corporate culture and
team spirit. At the BMW Group, we all share a passion for mobility. It is our common purpose to make
individual mobility viable for the future, as the demands on cars continue to evolve. Our industry is
in a period of transition – what we refer to as “iconic
change”. We are driving and shaping this technological shift towards sustainable mobility. It will require
all our powers of innovation in the development of
new products and attractive mobility services, as
well as constant review of our structures and processes and how we work together.
Entering into e-mobility: we deliver on our promises. The BMW Group conﬁrmed its position as the
pacesetter for future mobility in 2014. In late July,
the series model of the BMW i3 made its world debut simultaneously in New York, London, Beijing
and Munich. This innovative vehicle was specially
designed for electric mobility and has been well-received by the media worldwide. With the BMW i3,
we have adopted a totally new approach to automobile manufacturing, employing new and especially
sustainable production processes.
Step by step towards our vision for 2020.
We have therefore set ourselves ambitious targets
for 2020 in the relevant areas, namely products and
services, production and value creation and em-
30
ployees and society. We aim to reduce resource
consumption per vehicle produced by 45 % from
2006 levels by 2020. Second – also by 2020 – we
aim to halve the CO2 emissions of our European
new vehicle ﬂeet from 1995 levels.
In 2016, the Company will celebrate its centenary.
We view this milestone not only as an opportunity to
reﬂect on our heritage but also to be a springboard
towards the future.
AUTO PALACE BRATISLAVA
Auto Palace Bratislava, member of Auto Palace
group, is part of AutoBinck Holding, established in
Haag in 1907, which is one of the main contenders in
the European automotive market leader. AutoBinck
has 40 subsidiary companies and 1,450 employees
in the Benelux and in four Central European countries. The annual turnover is circa 900 million Euros.
Auto Palace Bratislava is proud retailer of BMW and
MINI from 2013, providing also extra services such
as aftersales services, car service, spare parts sales
and operative leasing. Auto Palace is also exclusive
BMW M partner. BMW showroom is located at Vajnorska 136C in Bratislava and with presented BMW,
cars possibilities of test drives and our competent
and experienced sales team you can enjoy ultimate
BMW journey.
VENUE
KEMPINSKI
Awarded the Best Hotel in Slovakia, located in
downtown Bratislava on the banks of the Danube
River, only 35 min. from Vienna International Airport,
Bratislava’s only 5-star Deluxe Hotel with 231 rooms
(of at least 35 sqm) and suites, the Kempinski Hotel
River Park is renowned for its unique location, exquisite interior design, high-quality service and Central
European hospitality.
The hotel’s 11 meeting & banquet rooms have direct
daylight and Danube River views, some even a terrace. Featuring built-in interpreter booths, Business
Centre, the latest A/V equipment, in-house valet
parking, Event Plaza, and a maximum capacity of
600 guests, the conference facilities leave nothing
to be desired.
Do not miss the River Bank Restaurant, offering
“Pure Kitchen” concept using the best ingredients,
the Arte Wine & Tapas with its wine cellar offering
more than 350 ﬁne Slovak and international wines
or ZION Spa on the top ﬂoor of the hotel with a
breath-taking view... let yourself be pampered at the
Kempinski Hotel River Park and enjoy the best of
Bratislava!
31
WITH KIND SUPPORT
Mavin Wine
WebSupport
Martin Pomfy established the MAVIN winery in 2001
in Vinosady, in the Small Carpathian wine region, not
far from Bratislava. Starting with casket wines, MAVIN started producing bottled wines after a positive
response from clients. In 2005, Martin Pomfy took
part in the ﬁrst wine competitions, and in 2006 his
Devín (a Slovak crossbreed of Red Traminer and
early Rote Veltliner) was the champion of the Slovak
National Collection of Wine. In 2006, he repeated
this success with his Riesling. Today, MAVIN is a
permanent ﬁxture on the international stage, winning the Bronze medal at the Decanter World Wine
Awards and a gold medal for his Cabernet ice-wine
at the AWC Vienna 2011.
WebSupport was established on 1 April 2002. Step
by step it became an inseparable part of the Slovak
IT community. WebSupport is the biggest provider
of web hosting services and registrar of domains in
Slovakia. It now manages 97 456 domains of their 72
784 customers. It also stands behind the successful
international start-up project Nicereply.
Double Cross Vodka
Hailing from the mountains of Slovakia, Double
Cross Vodka is a smooth, distinctive spirit expertly
crafted from estate-grown winter wheat and Tatra
Mountain spring water. Under the watchful eye of
Master Distiller Dr. Jan Krak, Double Cross is seven times distilled and seven times ﬁltered to create
a vodka of unrivalled purity and character. The ﬁnishing touch is an iconic glass bottle inscribed with
select lines of epic Slovak poetry, and adorned with
the ancient double cross symbol of the Slovak coat
of arms.
32
CONFI
CONFI was founded in April 2014 in Slovakia. After
participating in and co-organising dozens of conferences, we have realised that there is a need for
a better mobile app solution, more interactivity, accurate information and involvement of the support
team. When work is pleasure, life is joy – so we created CONFI. Now, our goal is to build a strong sales
team and Global CONFI Brand. We believe that
each conference can be an inspirational & remarkable event, once the attendees feel cared about and
the courtesy in any aspect is the leading principle of
business.
MEDIA PARTNERS
THE NEWS AGENCY
OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC
Awarded the Best Hotel in Slovakia, located in
downtown Bratislava on the banks of the Danube
River, only 35 min. from Vienna International Airport,
Bratislava’s only 5-star Deluxe Hotel with 231 rooms
(of at least 35 sqm) and suites, the Kempinski Hotel
River Park is renowned for its unique location, exquisite interior design, high-quality service and Central
European hospitality.
The hotel’s 11 meeting & banquet rooms have direct
daylight and Danube River views, some even a terrace. Featuring built-in interpreter booths, Business
Centre, the latest A/V equipment, in-house valet
parking, Event Plaza, and a maximum capacity of
600 guests, the conference facilities leave nothing
to be desired.
Do not miss the River Bank Restaurant, offering
“Pure Kitchen” concept using the best ingredients,
the Arte Wine & Tapas with its wine cellar offering
more than 350 ﬁne Slovak and international wines
or ZION Spa on the top ﬂoor of the hotel with a
breath-taking view... let yourself be pampered at the
Kempinski Hotel River Park and enjoy the best of
Bratislava!
HOSPODÁRSKE NOVINY
The only business daily in Slovakia which brings
serious and credible information for everyone who
follows economic events at home and in the world.
* Most read economic title in Slovakia
* Daily that brings the most information from
the Slovak and world economies.
* The only newspaper that offers comprehen sive
coverage, trends and stories from home and from
the world of companies and entrepreneurs
* Current, credible and objective newspaper, which
does not side with the opposition or the government
but relies only on credible facts
* The only newspaper that publishes analysis of
individual sectors of the economy and business in
Slovakia and abroad
TREND
EURACTIV
EurActiv.sk is an independent media portal focusing
on the European policies in their national context in
Slovakia; it brings together journalistic independence
with transparency and practical efﬁciency. EurActiv.sk
is part of Europe-wide network of 13 web portals with
more than 600 thousand unique visitors per month.
One third of readers are decision-makers from political and economic environment but there are also other
multipliers, such as journalists, academics and NGOs.
33
TATRA SUMMIT
35
ORGANISERS
Centre for European Affairs
Central European
Strategy Council
The Centre for European Affairs (CEA) was founded
in 2011 as a sister organisation of the Slovak Atlantic
Commission. Now it is a member of the Central European Strategy Council. CEA focuses on economic, ﬁnancial and political aspects of the EU integration and strategic EU policies. Its goal is to present
and support credible Slovak and Central European
platforms for European policy-shaping, particularly
in respect to the upcoming Slovak EU Presidency
in 2016.
The Central European Strategy Council is an independent non-governmental organisation built on the
foundations of a 20-year history of the Slovak Atlantic Commission. It is a regional multiplier of its core
mission, which is to strengthen the voice of Slovakia and Central Europe in European and global
affairs and deﬁne and support the strategic role of
Central Europe in international politics. The organisation connects key Central European personalities
and experts in foreign and security policy.
CEA also organises the National Convention on the
European Union in cooperation with the Slovak Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. Its other major
projects are TATRA SUMMIT and QUARTETORIUM.
The Central European Strategy Council associates
three organisations – the Slovak Atlantic Commission (SAC), the Central European Policy Institute
(CEPI) and the Centre for European Affairs (CEA).
The three well-established organisations created a
new umbrella entity in 2013.
Slovak Atlantic Commission
The Slovak Atlantic Commission (SAC) was founded
in 1993, shortly after Slovakia became an independent state, by a group of diplomats. SAC supports
transatlantic cooperation and actively shapes the
security and international policy debate in Central
Europe and beyond by fostering dynamic involvement of the Slovak Republic and Central Europe in
international affairs.
The most signiﬁcant events organised by SAC are
the GLOBSEC Bratislava Global Security Forum and
the Chateau Béla Central European Strategic Forum.
36
Central European
Policy Institute
The Central European Policy Institute (CEPI) was
launched by SAC in February 2013 with the mission
to help decision-makers in Central Europe to craft
joint responses to current challenges and improve
the quality of their contributions to the EU and NATO
debates. The work of CEPI is built on ﬁve pillars: Security and Defence Policy, Central Europe, SouthEast Europe and Eastern Partnership of the EU
Programmes are already operational. The Energy
Programme will be launched soon. Its main projects
include Defence Austerity in the Visegrad Region
(DAV4 II), Central Europe in the European Union
(CEEU) or Serbia-Kosovo Dialogue.
ORGANISERS
Ministry of Finance
of the Slovak Republic
The Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic is
a central body of state administration responsible
for the areas of ﬁnance, taxes and fees, customs,
ﬁnancial control, internal audit and government audit. The Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic is
also a central body of state administration responsible for the informatisation of society, coordination
of state aid in the area of pricing and price control,
except for the pricing and price control of the goods
regulated by separate laws.
Bruegel
Bruegel is a European think tank working in the ﬁeld
of international economics. The idea to set up a new
independent European think tank devoted to international economics stemmed from private discussions involving policymakers, business leaders and
other individuals from several European countries
in late 2002. The idea was endorsed and ofﬁcially
ﬂoated by France and Germany in their joint declaration in Paris on January 22nd, 2003.
Bruegel is independent and non-doctrinal. The mission of Bruegel is to improve the quality of European
and global economic policy-making through open
and fact-based and policy-relevant research, analysis and debate. Bruegel’s governance and funding
model is unique. Its membership includes EU governments, leading international corporations, and
international institutions. Its activities are carried out
at arm’s length from members’ interests. The Board
consists of 11 individuals with backgrounds in government, business, academia and civil society. The
Board appoints the director, the deputy director and
approves senior staff. It has decision-making powers on strategy, research programmes, partnerships
and budget but no responsibility for research conclusions and publications. Bruegel is an International Non-Proﬁt Association under Belgian law.
37
TATRA SUMMIT WELCOME ADDRESS
Peter Kažimír, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the Slovak Republic
Peter Kažimír is Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Slovakia. Before assuming his current posts in 2012, he was Vice-Chairman of the SMER-SD political party, a
member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic and Vice-Chairman of the Finance
and Budget Committee. Mr. Kažimír holds a Master´s degree in Foreign Trade Economics
from the University of Economics in Bratislava.
Ivan Korčok, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Slovak Republic to the EU,
Founding Member of Centre for European Affairs, Brussels
Ivan Korčok, founding member of CEA, has served as Permanent Representative of the
Slovak Republic to the EU since October 2009. Prior to this assignment, in 2005-2009 he
was Slovak Ambassador to Germany. Ambassador Korčok began his career in 1992 at
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he held many signiﬁcant positions including Head
of the Department for Policy Planning and Analysis (1997-1998), Director General of the
Division of International Organizations and Security Policy (2001-2002) and State Secretary in 2002-2004. In 2003, he was the Head of the Delegation of the Slovak Republic on
Accession Talks to NATO and the Member of the European Convention in Brussels.
Róbert Vass, Executive Vice-President and CEO, Central European Strategy Council,
Founding Member of the Centre for European Affairs
Róbert Vass started his professional career as a president of non-governmental organisation Euro-Atlantic Center. In 2006, he was elected the Chairman of the Slovak Atlantic
Commission and in 2008 it’s Secretary General. He founded the tradition of GLOBSEC
Bratislava Global Security Forum and since then he has been the patron of this initiative.
38
SESSION I – BATTLE FOR GROWTH:
DIVERGENT VIEWS FROM EUROPE
The EU policy makers have agreed on a number of key reforms since the eruption of the crisis over six years ago. The policy
choices were never easy given the divergent views from different capitals. The situation is no different today. While Germany
leads the core countries with ﬁscal discipline strategy, France, Italy and even the IMF are increasingly supportive of reforming
the EU ﬁscal framework to accommodate the much needed growth measures. Most governments and institutions can agree
on the need for structural reforms but even here the implementation has been lukewarm. While investments have lately received strong support from many corners of the EU, some states believe the major bulk must come from the private sources
while others don’t think this can happen without signiﬁcant public support. Can the EU agree on the appropriate growth strategy or are we destined to half-measures just to avoid the collapse? How far can we go with the ﬂexibility of the Growth and
Stability Pact while aiming to achieve the growth and stability in Europe?
Jyrki Katainen, Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Comptetitiveness, European
Commission, Brussels (Video Address)
Jyrki Katainen holds an MSc in Political Science from the University of Tampere. For 15 years
(1999-2014) was a Member of the Finnish Parliament for the National Coalition Party. Mr. Katainen
was also Minister of Finance (2007-2011) and Prime Minister of Finland (2011-2014). In 2006 and
in 2009, he was elected Vice President of the European People’s Party and also served as Deputy
Member of the Finnish Delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
Jan Krzysztof Bielecki, Former Prime Minister of Poland, Chairman of the Economic Council,
The Chancellery of Prime Minister, Warsaw
Jan Krzysztof Bielecki was a leading ﬁgure of the Gdańsk-based Liberal Democratic Congress in
the early 1990s and also served as Prime Minister of Poland for most of 1991. In his post-political
career, Mr. Bielecki served as President of Bank Pekao between 2003 and 2010 and currently
serves as Chairman of the Polish Institute of International Affairs. Since the early 2000s, Bielecki has
been a member of the Civic Platform party. Mr. Bielecki studied sea transport economics at the
University of Gdańsk, graduating in 1973. For much of the second half of the 1970s, Mr. Bielecki
was employed as an economist at the Centre of Heavy Industry, an applied economic research
institute in Gdańsk. In 1980, Mr. Bielecki joined the Solidarity movement. Since March 2010, he has
served as president of the Chancellery’s Economic Council after his appointment by Prime Minister
Donald Tusk. Mr. Bielecki has also published articles in a number of newspapers and magazines,
including The Wall Street Journal, Die Welt, Rzeczpospolita and Gazeta Wyborcza.
Enrico Letta, Former Prime Minister of Italy, Member of Chamber of Deputies, Italian Parliament,
Rome
Enrico Letta is an Italian politician who was Prime Minister of Italy from 2013 to 2014, leading a
grand coalition comprising the centre-left Democratic Party, the centre-right People of Freedom,
and the centrist Civic Choice. He has also been a Member of the Chamber of Deputies since 2006.
Mr. Letta was Minister of European Affairs from 1998 to 1999 and Minister of Industry from 1999
to 2001, and served as Secretary to the Council of Ministers from 2006 to 2008. He is a founding
member of the Democratic Party. He has a degree in political science, which he received from the
University of Pisa and subsequently obtained a Doctorate at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced
Studies.
39
SESSION I – BATTLE FOR GROWTH:
DIVERGENT VIEWS FROM EUROPE
Jörg Asmussen, Permanent State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the
Federal Republic of Germany, Berlin
Jörg Asmussen has been Permanent State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social
Affairs since January 2014. He is responsible for the human resources and budgetary policy of
the Ministry. From 2012 to 2013 he was a member of the executive board of the European Central
Bank. Before joining the ECB, Mr. Asmussen served in several functions in the Federal Ministry of
Finance. In 2008-2011, he was State Secretary responsible for European policy, ﬁnancial market
policy and economic and ﬁscal policy strategy. He was the German representative in the Eurogroup Working Group, the EU Economic and Financial Committee and German representative at
state secretary level in the process of G-7 and G-20 Finance Ministers. Since early summer 2014,
Mr. Asmussen has been Deputy Chairman of the Advisory Council to the Jacques Delors Institute
in Berlin and member of the Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum. He studied
economics in Gießen and Bonn and has a Master of Business Administration degree from Luigi
Bocconi University, Milan.
Carsten Pillath, Director General for Economic Affairs and Competitiveness directorate, Council
of the European Union, Brussels
Carsten Pillath holds a doctorate in the ﬁeld of Economics from University of Cologne, Germany.
At the beginning of her career, he acted as Advisor to German Executive Director at IMF in Washington D.C. Since 1995, he held several positions at German Federal Ministry of Finance always
with relation towards international trade and European ﬁnancial issues. In 2008, Mr. Pillath gained a
position at the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union. He was acting as Director
General for Economic and Social Affairs. Since 2012, he is Director General for Economic Affairs
and Competitiveness directorate.
Harald Waiglein, Director General for Economic Policy and Financial Markets, Federal Ministry of
Finance of Austria
Harald Waiglein is currently acting as Director General in the Austrian Ministry of Finance since
July 2012. He acted as a professional interpreter in the ﬁelds of law and economics for international
organisations and enterprises. Thereafter, for many years, he worked as an editor at the Austrian
Broadcasting Corporation, where he specialised in taxation, public budget, ﬁnancial markets and
energy. After holding the position of Deputy Chief Editor and Head of Economic Department at the
Austrian newspaper Wiener Zeitung for two years. Subsequently, in 2007 Mr. Waiglein relocated
to the Ministry of Finance where he was promoted to Director General of the DG Economic Policy
and Financial Markets in 2012. In this position he represents Austria as Director in the European
Stability Mechanism (ESM) and in the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and as Member
of the Economic and Financial Committee of the EU (EFC).
Chair:
Karel Lannoo, CEO, Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels
Karel Lannoo has been Chief Executive Ofﬁcer of the Centre for European Policy Studies since
2000. Previously, Mr. Lannoo worked at the Ferruzzi group. He is an expert in European monetary
policy, banking and ﬁnancial markets, ﬁnancial market regulation, European Union business policies and corporate governance. Mr. Lannoo has chaired various working groups at the Centre for
European Policy Studies and has taken part in several studies and working groups for Spanish
and European organizations (European institutions, the OECD, the Asian Development Bank and
the World Bank). He serves as Director of Centre for European Policy Studies. Mr. Lannoo serves
as Director of Lannoo publishing and Distrimedia. He has been Director of Bolsas y Mercados
Españoles SA since 2006. He has published many articles and reports in European journals and
newspapers. Mr. Lannoo has a Degree in Philosophy and an MBA in History from Leuven University (Belgium) and a Master in European Studies from Nancy University (France).
40
KEYNOTE SPEECH – TOWARDS A MORE POWERFUL EU:
REBALANCING THE EU ARCHITECTURE
Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the European Commission for Energy Union,
Brussels
Maroš Šefčovič is a Slovak diplomat and the current Vice-President of the European
Commission for Energy Union. He holds a Master’s degree from the Moscow State Institute for International Relations and did his postgraduate studies in International Relations and European Law at Comenius University. Mr. Šefčovič was Director General of
the European Affairs Section at the Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also served as
Slovak Permanent Representative to the EU and in the previous European Commission
he served as the Vice-President responsible for Inter-Institutional Relations and Administration and Health and Consumer Policy.
Chair:
Peter Spiegel, Chief of Brussels Bureau, Financial Times
Peter Spiegel has been the Financial Times’ Brussels bureau chief since August 2010.
Previously, Mr. Spiegel worked for the Wall Street Journal, covering foreign policy and
national security issues from its Washington bureau, and as Pentagon correspondent for
the Los Angeles Times, focusing on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Before that, Mr.
Spiegel had already been with the Financial Times, which he left in March 2006 after a
six-year stint covering military affairs and the defence industry. He worked from both the
paper’s London HQ and its Washington bureau, and travelled extensively in Iraq and
Afghanistan covering the ongoing conﬂicts.
41
SESSION II – NEXT FIVE YEARS:
REGAINING TRUST OR LOSING EUROPE
After the Juncker’s European Commission has been conﬁrmed by the European Parliament vote, the ultimate goal for the
new EU political cycle is clear - not only to address “more Europe”, secure growth, jobs and investments but to regain
trust to avoid losing Europe. Call for “more Europe” offers divergent scenarios for the future of Europe. It challenges the
European society and EU leaders on their attitude towards the level of integration. In post-crisis times, framed by the new
political cycle, the EU has to take up the challenges responsibly to become more powerful. In these circumstances, is
Europe ready for deeper economic and political integration? Are the divergent views on deepening the integration making the EU more powerful or are they creating the multi-speed Europe? How to rebalance the EU architecture to foster
the interests of the EU? What are the biggest challenges for the new EU political cycle and how to tackle them? Does the
new EU leadership offer clear solutions for the UK question, immigration issues, the rise of Eurosceptic populism and the
lack of democratic legitimacy?
Günter Verheugen, Honorary Professor, Viadrina European University, Frankfurt (Oder); former Vice-President of the European Commission, Brussels
Günter Verheugen was a member of the European Commission, responsible for enlargement
between 1999 and 2004. In his second term, from 2004 to 2010 he served as Vice-President
in charge of enterprise and industry and in this capacity he was the European chairperson of
the Transatlantic Economic Council. Prior to this he was a prominent member of the German
parliament for 16 years. Today Günter Verheugen is honorary professor of Viadrina University
in Frankfurt/Oder.
Jean-Claude Piris, Former Legal Counsel, Council of the European Union, Brussels
As Legal Counsel of the European Council and of the EU Council of Ministers, Jean-Claude
Piris participated in all important decisions taken over the past 20 years by the EU, notably the
adoption of new Treaties (Maastricht, Amsterdam, Nice, Constitutional Treaty, Lisbon), and the
solutions to the problems caused by their non-ratiﬁcation. He participated in the EU’s legislative
work, in the work aimed at helping the euro zone in the current crisis and in organising the new
European External Action Service. Mr. Piris is a French Conseiller d’Etat, a former diplomat to
the UN and former Director of Legal Affairs at the OECD. He has written articles and books,
most recently The Lisbon Treaty: a legal and political analysis.
George S. Zavvos, Legal Adviser in the Legal Service of the European Commission; First
European Commission Ambassador in the Slovak Republic; Former Member of the European
Parliament, Brussels, Belgium
Georgios Zavvos was the ﬁrst European Commission Ambassador and Head of Delegation to
the Slovak Republic from 1994 to 1997. From 1990 to 1994 he was a Member of the European
Parliament. As of 2002 he is a Legal Adviser in the Legal Service of the European Commission
in Brussels. He has represented the European Commission in over 150 cases in the Court of
Justice of the European Union. From 1981 to 1990 he worked in the European Commission’s
Directorate General for Financial Institutions and Company Law. He was also Chairman of the
Committee for the Reform of the Greek Financial System. Mr. Zavvos was Professor at the Solvay Business School of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (1991-1993) and Visiting Professor at
the University of London, Queen Mary College (2004-2007). He was awarded the title of Doctor
Honoris Causa by the University of Economics of Bratislava and the Double Cross of the Slovak
Republic. He has lectured and published extensively on European banking law and policy as
well as on geopolitical issues.
42
SESSION II – NEXT FIVE YEARS:
REGAINING TRUST OR LOSING EUROPE
Jozef Bátora, Director, Institute of European Studies and International Relations, Comenius
University, Bratislava
Jozef Bátora is Director of the Institute of European Studies and International Relations at
Comenius University in Bratislava. He became Associate Professor of political theory at the
Comenius University in 2009. He holds a PhD. in political science from the University of Oslo
(2006), MPhil in public administration from University of Bergen (1999) and Bc. in political science from Comenius University (1997). Previously, he was a research fellow at the Institute for
European Integration Research at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna (2006-2009),
senior researcher at ARENA – Centre of European Studies at the University of Oslo (2006), and
visiting scholar at Scancor, Stanford University (2003-2004).
Chair:
Peter Spiegel, Chief of Brussels Bureau, Financial Times
Peter Spiegel has been the Financial Times’ Brussels bureau chief since August 2010. Previously, Mr. Spiegel worked for the Wall Street Journal, covering foreign policy and national security issues from its Washington bureau, and as Pentagon correspondent for the Los Angeles
Times, focusing on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Before that, Mr. Spiegel had already been
with the Financial Times, which he left in March 2006 after a six-year stint covering military affairs and the defence industry. He worked from both the paper’s London HQ and its Washington bureau, and travelled extensively in Iraq and Afghanistan covering the ongoing conﬂicts.
43
KEYNOTE SPEECH – CENTRAL EUROPEAN RECIPE FOR GROWTH
Central Europe is a success story of the last decade but it has not been untouched by the Eurozone crisis. The
growth rate has come down and almost converged with that of the rest of the EU. This is a major challenge for the
region – successfully and sustainably to emerge from the deepest economic crisis in a generation. Slovakia, the
only Eurozone member from the Visegrad region, currently presiding the Visegrad Group, is shaping the debate
on the Central European recipe for growth – the recipe to challenge slow growth, high unemployment, insufﬁcient
public and private investment, macroeconomic imbalances, public debt and a lack of competitiveness.
Robert Fico, Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic
Robert Fico is a lawyer by training, having completed his studies at Comenius University
and the Institute of State and Law of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. He is currently
serving the second term as Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic time. He ﬁrst held the
position of Prime Minister in 2006-2010, then becoming Deputy Speaker of the National
Council for two years just to be re-appointed in 2012. Prior to this, Mr. Fico was a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, National Minorities and Women’s
Rights (2002-2006) and Observer in the European Parliament (2002-2004), amongst
others. Mr. Fico is Chairman of the SMER – Social Democracy political party.
Chair:
Ivan Korčok, Permanent Representative of the Slovak Republic to the EU, Founding
Member of Centre for European Affairs, Brussels
Ivan Korčok, founding member of CEA, has served as Permanent Representative of the
Slovak Republic to the EU since October 2009. Prior to this assignment, in 2005-2009 he
was Slovak Ambassador to Germany. Ambassador Korčok began his career in 1992 at
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he held many signiﬁcant positions including Head
of the Department for Policy Planning and Analysis (1997-1998), Director General of the
Division of International Organizations and Security Policy (2001-2002) and State Secretary in 2002-2004. In 2003, he was the Head of the Delegation of the Slovak Republic
on Accession Talks to NATO and the Member of the European Convention in Brussels.
44
SESSION III – ECONOMIC RECOVERY:
STILL AN UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Contrary to many analysts’ expectations a few years ago, the Eurozone managed to survive its debt crisis intact.
But given the political costs, can we afford a long period of weak growth, low inﬂation and high unemployment?
And what can be done to avoid such a scenario? Despite the consolidation efforts, the government debts have
not come down. Structural reforms are not being implemented. Bank lending is weak while the capital markets
in many countries are practically non-existent. Investments are far below the pre-crisis levels and the external
demand has lately been disappointing. Where can the EU ﬁnd its much needed growth engine?
Vazil Hudák, State Secretary, Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic
Vazil Hudák has served as State Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and also as Representative of the Slovak Republic on the Board of Governors in the European Stability
Mechanism since 2012. Prior to his assignment he was Industry Head for Public Sector
of Eastern Europe in J.P. Morgan Chase. Vazil Hudák started his professional career at
the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia in 1990. Next year he began
his 15-year tenure in Citigroup as Vice-President for cooperation with public institutions
of Central and Eastern European countries. He studied at the Moscow State Institute of
International Relations in Moscow and Harvard Business School in Boston.
Jozef Síkela, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO, Slovenská sporiteľňa
Jozef Síkela started working in Creditanstalt, Vienna in Risk Management International
Department in 1992. In 1995 he became Deputy Head of Credit Risk Management Division in Creditanstalt, Prague. Then he worked in Česká spořitelna as Director of Corporate Customers. From 2006 he was Deputy CEO responsible for corporate business
and regional network development in Erste Bank Ukraine. In 2009, he became CEO of
the Erste Bank Ukraine, responsible for Corporate Banking, Financial Markets, Controlling, Accounting, Human Recourses and Communication. Jozef Síkela was elected
Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Slovenská sporiteľňa as of June 2010.
Rolf Strauch, Member of the Management Board, European Stability Mechanism; Director, Research and Institutional Relations of the European Financial Stability Facility,
Luxembourg
Rolf Strauch is responsible for Economics and Policy Strategy for the European Stability
Mechanism. He is also Director of Research and Institutional Relations of the European
Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), a position he has held since the creation of the EFSF
in July 2010. He is responsible for economic and ﬁnancial analysis and monitoring of the
ESM and EFSF, strategic orientation and economic and ﬁnancial policies. He represents
the ESM and EFSF in European fora, negotiates with Member States and is responsible
for relations with credit rating agencies. Prior to this, Mr. Strauch worked at the European
Central Bank from 2000 to 2010 in the Directorate General Economics on ﬁscal, monetary and structural policies. He was also previously Economist at the Deutsche Bundesbank and Researcher at the University of Mannheim and University of Bonn. Mr. Strauch
holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Bonn. He is a fellow of the Center for
European Integration Studies (ZEI) in Bonn and he also written numerous articles and
economic publications.
45
SESSION III – ECONOMIC RECOVERY:
STILL AN UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Guntram Wolff, Director of Bruegel, Brussels
Prior to joining Bruegel in 2011, Guntram Wolff worked for the European Commission’s
DG for Economic and Financial Affairs where his work focused on the macroeconomics
of the euro area and the reform of euro area governance. Prior to joining the Commission, he was an economist in the economics and research departments of the Deutsche
Bundesbank, where he coordinated the research group on ﬁscal policy. He also worked
as an adviser to the International Monetary Fund. Mr. Wolff has published numerous
papers in leading academic journals. His columns and policy work are published and
cited in leading international media such as the Financial Times, the New York Times,
Wall Street Journal, El País, La Stampa, FAZ, Handelsblatt, Financial Times Deutschland, BBC, ZDF, WDR, Die Welt, CNBC, and Bloomberg.
Chair:
Martin Šanta, Head of Communication Department, Ministry of Finance of the Slovak
Republic
Martin Šanta studied at the Faculty of Political Sciences and International Affairs of the
University of Matej Bel. Prior to becoming Head of Communication Department at the
Ministry of Finance and Advisor to the Finance Minister Peter Kažimír, Mr. Šanta worked
in the Delegation of the European Commission, Thomson Reuters and at the Slovak
Ministry of Finance.
46
SESSION IV – EU ENERGY UNION:
CAN IT BE BOTH GREEN & COMPETITIVE?
The future EU Energy Union should ensure energy supply security and solidarity among the EU member states.
Policy steps and action will lead towards the integration of national energy markets, reducing European energy
demand, decarbonisation of the energy mix and the increase of investments in research and innovations. While
achieving the “green” targets and the climate agenda itself remains one of the key pillars of the energy union,
some are increasingly worried about the impact of these policies on the competitiveness of Europe. The concerns are especially strong in times when Europe is still searching for the dynamic engines for growth. What is
the ultimate objective of the European green and competitive energy union?
Mary Veronica Tovšak Pleterski, Director for European and International Carbon Markets, DG for Climate Action, European Commission, Brussels
Mary Veronica Tovšak Pleterski has held a position of Director for European and international carbon markets at the Directorate General for Climate Action at the European Commission since July 2010. Before joining the European Commission, Ms. Tovšak
Pleterski held a position of Deputy Permanent Representative in the Permanent Representation of Slovenia to the EU. Earlier, she was Head of Unit for Common Foreign and
Security Policy of the EU, in the Department for European integration and economic relations, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia. Ms. Tovšak Pleterski holds a Master
degree in International Affairs from Columbia University and a Master of Arts degree in
European Studies from Katholieke Universiteit in Leuven (Belgium).
Peter Javorčík, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak
Republic
Peter Javorčík is State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the
Slovak Republic. Until 2012, he acted as Deputy Permanent Representative of the Slovak Republic to the EU in Brussels. He was also a Member of Cabinet of the former EU
Commissioner Ján Figeľ. Having worked for the ministry at various positions, as well as
Director of the Chief Negotiator´s Department, he was directly involved and responsible
for accession negotiations of the Slovak Republic into the European Union.
George F. Babcoke, President, U.S. Steel, Košice
George F. Babcoke began his career with U. S. Steel (USS) in 1976 as a labourer in
Gary Works’ general services department but moved into management already in 1981.
During his career he worked on several positions in USS. In 2008, he was appointed
Senior Vice President – European operations and President – U. S. Steel Košice in 2008
and was responsible for operations at U. S. Steel’s two European locations: U. S. Steel
Košice in the Slovak Republic and the now-former U. S. Steel Serbia in the Republic of
Serbia. In 2011, Mr. Babcoke was named Senior Vice President-Europe and Global
Operations Services, maintaining executive responsibility for the company’s operations
in the Slovak Republic. In 2013, Mr. Babcoke started serving as Senior Vice President
– European operations and Global Safety and President of U. S. Steel Košice. Mr. Babcoke holds a master’s degree in management from National-Louis University.
Thomas Jan Hejcman, CEO, Východoslovenská energetika; Board Member,
RWE Slovakia, Košice
Thomas Jan Hejcman carries responsibility for public affairs, communication, regulation and legal and sales coordination at Východoslovenská energetika. Mr. Hejcman’s
professional career at RWE has been developing for 12 years at top management positions. As Chairman of the Board at Západočeská plynárenská, he actively contributed
to the transformation of RWE Group in Czech Republic. In 2002-2007, he successfully
managed the introduction and optimisation of centralised procurement, call centres and
47
SESSION IV – EU ENERGY UNION:
CAN IT BE BOTH GREEN & COMPETITIVE?
transformed IT services across RWE companies in the Czech Republic. In 2007, he
started working for RWE Customer Service in Ostrava where he introduced numerous
processes focused on effectiveness and higher standards of customer services. Thomas Jan Hejcman holds a degree from Albert-Ludwigs University in Freiburg, Germany.
Christian Egenhofer, Head of the Energy and Climate Change Research Programme,
CEPS, Brussels
Christian Egenhofer has more than 25 years of experience in EU policy analysis in the
areas of energy, climate, environment, transport and water. Currently, he is Associate
Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Energy, Climate and Environment Programme
at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) in Brussels. He is also Visiting Professor at the College of Europe in Bruges (Belgium) and Natolin (Poland), SciencesPo,
Paris and Guido Carli LUISS University in Rome. From 1997 to 2010, he held a part-time
position as Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law
and Policy at the University of Dundee.
Chair:
Sandrine Dixson-Declève; EU Director, Prince of Wales’s EU Corporate Leaders
Group, Brussels
Sandrine Dixson-Declève joined the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability
Leadership (CISL) in 2009 to run its EU Ofﬁce and The Prince of Wales’s Corporate
Leaders Group on Climate Change (CLG). Ms. Dixson-Declève has over 25 years of
European and international policy and business experience with a particular focus on
EU and US environmental and energy policy development and regulatory analysis. Prior
to joining CISL she ran the Europe, CIS and Africa Ofﬁce of Hart Energy Consulting. She
holds an M.Sc. in Environmental Sciences from l’Universite Libre de Bruxelles and a B.A.
in International Relations and French from University California Davis with distinction.
48
EXCLUSIVE PARTNER
TATRA BANKA
its clients. Its more than 760 000 clients are served
by more than 3 400 employees in 128 branches. The
bank has also been actively expanding the options
to keep in touch with clients. It offers the ﬁrst virtual branch on Facebook, 24/7 communication via the
online Tatra ChatTB, unique corporate centers, specialized branches of the Living Center and the Investment Center, luxury branch for private banking
clients.
TWENTY-FOUR YEARS
OF INNOVATION IN BANKING
Dominance in private banking
Tatra banka was established on November 1, 1990
as the ﬁrst private bank in Slovakia. Since the beginning, it has introduced above-standard solutions.
Banking service innovator
The priority for Tatra banka was to ensure easier access to everyday banking services for clients. That is
why the bank has introduced innovations unrivalled in
the Slovak market. These include the ﬁrst electronic
banking services and the ﬁrst 24-hour contact center
DIALOG Live for clients using tool Voice Biometrics
as one of the ﬁrst banks in the world.
Internet BankingTB is one of the best online banking
services in Slovakia. It has received many international awards not only for its safety but also for its ease
of use and execution of transactions in real time. Tatra banka was the ﬁrst to include in internet banking
clear graphs, customizable tables and a sophisticated Spending ReportTB with interactive features.
The Internet BankingTB service is available via mobile phone and maximum user comfort is ensured by
means of the Tatra banka application for those using
Apple iOS, Android or Windows Phone operating system on their phones. The application also contains
features such as money order scanner or the option
to draw a pre-approved Any Purpose Loan within
minutes or to withdraw money from ATM without necessity to have a payment card.
In addition to this Tatra banka application, clients
may also use Mobile Payments application for contactless payments using a mobile phone, Tatra banka VIAMO for fast sending of small payments and
ArtConsultingTB to view the works of art in the comfort
of home.
Closer to clients
In private banking, where Tatra banka dominates the
market, close attention is paid to extra services. Tatra
banka was the ﬁrst bank in Slovakia to launch trading
in gold without an intermediary and to increase the
availability of a private banker, while constantly expanding the range of investment vehicles for private
banking clients.
Leader in payment cards
In the early years it was the ﬁrst credit card that made
Tatra banka the leader in payment cards. The bank
has maintained its position thanks to the fact that its
payment cards have always met three conditions exclusive design, technological progress, convenient
use.
The introduction of contactless payment cards in
2010 meant a breakthrough in the way clients use
their cards. The growing interest in this fast payment
method has also been reﬂected in the use of mobile
phones for contactless mobile payments, including
payments over €20, which Tatra banka was the ﬁrst
to introduce to the Slovak market in 2012. Today, Tatra banka is the leader in the number of contactless
transactions and the number of credit card transactions as well as the number of payment terminals.
Tatra banka Foundation
The Tatra banka Foundation is celebrating 10 years
since its founding. Over this period, the foundation
has supported 1,426 valuable education, art and design projects. The principal philosophy of the Tatra
banka Foundation is to increase educational standards and provide opportunities for the best to excel.
The foundation is available for all those who want to
grow, learn, create and have an ambition to achieve
something in life - simply for all those wishing to progress in their ﬁeld. As part of the Personalities in Person initiative, the foundation arranged meetings with
six Nobel and four Pulitzer Prize winners.
Tatra banka is constantly adapting to the lifestyles of
49
GENERAL PARTNER
SAAB
Saab serves the global market with world-leading
products, services and solutions from military defence to civil security. With operations on every continent, Saab continuously develops, adapts and improves new technology to meet customers’ changing
needs.
When Saab was founded in 1937 its primary
aim was to meet the need for a domestic military aircraft industry in Sweden. Since then Saab has
developed to become one of Scandinavia’s premier
defence companies. During the last years the markets in which Saab operates have undergone signiﬁcant changes, with decreased defence budgets
in the western world and an increased awareness
about changed global threats. As a result Saab has
expanded within the civil security ﬁeld as well as in
Air Trafﬁc Management. The CEE region is an important region and in Czech Republic Saab has around
140 employees. The country is considered as a base,
enabling expansion of the business into neighbouring Central and Eastern European countries. One of
the largest programs is of course the Gripen ﬁghter,
in operational service within the Czech Air Force and
the Hungarian Air Force. Both countries have decided on prolongation of the current leasing for another
10 years.
Saab’s most important markets today are Europe,
South East Asia, Brazil and the US. Saab has around
13,000 employees. Annual sales amount to around
SEK 24 billion, of which research and development
account for about 25 per cent of sales.
50
INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS
Ministry of Foreign and European
Affairs of the Slovak Republic
The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs is responsible for maintaining the Slovak Republic´s external relations and the management of its international diplomatic missions.
The ministry oversees Slovakia´s affairs with foreign
entities, including bilateral relations with individual
nations and its representation in international organisations, including the European Union, the United
Nations, NATO and the OECD. The ministry also
holds responsibility for matters related to international
trade, the rights of its expatriates, monitoring human
rights and crisis situation abroad, and the spread of
information about Slovakia internationally. The ministry is also involved in the affairs of the Visegrad
Group (V4), a grouping of Central European states
– Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland
– established for the purpose of furthering for four nations´ European integration.
The International Visegrad Fund
Representation of the European
Commission in Slovakia
The European Commission has ofﬁces, called Representations, in all the Member States of the European
Union.
The EC Representation is in Bratislava and serves
three main purposes:
• Political cooperation and reporting – the Representation monitors and reports back to the European
Commission in Brussels on the political, economic
and social developments in Slovakia
• Informing the public – the Representation organizes a number of European information events for
the general and professional public in Slovakia. The
Representation also supports a network of 12 regional information centres called Europe Direct.
• Speaking for the Commission as its voice in
Slovakia – the Representation provides background
brieﬁngs for the media as well as on-the-record comment on issues relevant to the Commission.
The International Visegrad Fund is an international organisation founded in June 2000 by the governments
of the Visegrad Group (V4) countries: the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Republic of Poland and the Slovak Republic.
The purpose of the fund is to facilitate and promote
closer cooperation among the V4 countries (and of
the V4 countries with other countries) through grant
support of common cultural, scientiﬁc and educational projects, youth exchanges, cross-border projects
and tourism promotion, as well as via individual mobility programmes.
51
MAIN PARTNERS
EY
ENERGETICKÝ
A PRŮMYSLOVÝ HOLDING
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction
and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and conﬁdence
in the capital markets and in economies the world
over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to
deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In
so doing, we play a critical role in building a better
working world for our people, for our clients and for
our communities.
ENERGETICKÝ A PRŮMYSLOVÝ HOLDING (EPH)
is a leading Central European energy group operating mainly in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and Poland. It is a vertically integrated energy utility covering the complete value chain in the
energy sector. It includes 40 companies operating
in coal extraction, electricity and heat production
from conventional and renewable sources, including electricity and heat distribution, electricity and
gas trade and their supply to ﬁnal customers and,
last but not least, in the gas industry.
Our 190,000 people are the foundation of our success. We assemble the right multi-disciplinary team
for your business, drawing on our global network of
professionals. Working with you in a collaborative
style, we gain a clear understanding of your organization and strive to identify issues before they
become problems. You get the people you need,
wherever in the world you need them, backed up by
leading practices, methodologies and tools.
The companies in the group employ more than
8,000 people.
EPH is the gas industry leader in Slovakia and the
key shipper of natural gas from Russia to the European Union. EPH is one of the most important producers of cogenerated heat in the Czech Republic
and the largest supplier of thermal energy to customers in the Czech Republic. It is also the second
largest Czech producer of electricity.
EPH’s generating plants have currently a total installed electrical capacity of almost 1,750 MW and
their annual output approximately totals 8.5 TWh.
Thermal energy supply to customers in the categories of households, businesses and various organisations is almost 20 PJ every year. In the Czech
Republic, the CHP plants within the group supply
thermal energy for Prague (capital of the Czech Republic), regional capitals Hradec Králové, Pardubice and Plzeň and the towns of Most, Litvínov and
Chrudim.
In Germany, EPH (i.e. its wholly-owned subsidiary
MIBRAG) holds the position as the third largest coal
extraction company.
EPH’s EBITDA for 2012 amounted to CZK 32.7 billion. The group’s revenues for 2012 totalled CZK
115 billion and EPH’s total assets amounted to CZK
258 billion (pro forma consolidation including EPH’s
49% stake in SPP).
52
PARTNERS
SLOVNAFT GROUP
SLOVNAFT Group is an integrated reﬁnery-petrochemical group. Its key company is SLOVNAFT,
dealing mainly with reﬁning in one of the most complex European reﬁneries and with the wholesale and
retail sale of motor fuels. Slovnaft operates the largest
network of ﬁlling stations in Slovakia. The company is
a leader in Slovakia in the ﬁeld of CSR and corporate
philanthropy, signiﬁcantly supports sports, culture,
education, youth and revitalisation of environment.
The Forbes magazine has named SLOVNAFT among
the most valuable brands in Slovakia. SLOVNAFT
Group is a member of the international MOL Group.
ERSTE BANK
- SLOVENSKÁ SPORITEĽŇA
Erste Group was founded in 1819 as the Austria’s ﬁ
rst savings bank. In 1997, Erste Group went public
with a strategy to expand its retail business into Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Since then the Erste
Group’s customer base has grown through numerous acquisitions and organic growth from 600,000 to
around 17 million. 95% of all clients are citizens of the
European Union.
RWE SLOVENSKO
Today, Erste Group is one of the largest ﬁnancial
services providers in Central and Eastern Europe in
terms of clients and total assets. Its core activities,
besides the traditional strength in serving private individuals, include advisory services and support for
corporate clients in ﬁnancing, investment and access
to international capital markets, public sector funding
and interbank market operations.
RWE Slovensko is representing the interests of RWE
Group in Slovakia and is part of RWE East structure.
The business purpose of the company is to identify
common aspects and to utilize synergies to achieve
further strategic development and coordination of all
energy related RWE activities in Slovakia.
Erste Group Bank’ Slovak arm, Slovenská sporiteľňa,
has 2.4 million customers which gives it more than
40% market share. In the Czech Republic, it is above
32%. In Austria, Erste Group Bank, together with its
savings bank partners, has a retail market share of
around 20%. In Hungary, Erste Bank’s total market
share increased from 4 to 8% after the purchase of
Postabank which made Erste Bank the second largest retail bank in the country. Erste Bank is the third
largest bank in Croatia, with a total market share
around 10%. Erste Group Bank and its partners have
a strong market position in the areas of retail banking
products, property ﬁnancing, business with private
clients and services for small and medium enterprises.
Since acquisition of minority shares in Východoslovenská energetika back in 2002, RWE has established
itself as a stable and reliable partner of the Government and the Slovak energy community. Through its
subsidiaries in Slovakia, RWE supplies more than half
a million customers with electricity and over 100,000
clients with natural gas. It is operating a grid of more
than 21,000 kilometers and developing decentralized
energy solutions in central and eastern Slovakia.
Slovakia is considered an important region for the future development of the RWE Group and therefore
RWE will further strengthen its position on the Slovak
energy market.
53
PARTNERS
U.S. STEEL KOŠICE
U. S. Steel Košice, s.r.o. is one of the largest integrated producers of ﬂat rolled steel products in Central
Europe, providing a wide assortment of hot rolled,
cold rolled and coated products including hot dip
galvanized, colour coated, tinplate and non grain-oriented sheets. The Company also produces spiral
welded pipes and KORAD panel radiators.
USSK has annual raw steel production capability of
4.5 million metric tons. USSK has two coke batteries, three blast furnaces, four steelmaking vessels,
a vacuum degassing unit, two dual strand continuous casters, a hot strip mill, two pickling lines, a cold
rolling mill with 4-stand and 5-stand reduction, four
batch-annealing facilities, a temper mill, a double cold
reduction mill, three hot-dip galvanizing lines, two
tin-coating lines, three dynamo lines, a colour-coating line, two spiral-welded pipe lines and facilities for
manufacturing panel steel heating radiators. In addition, USSK has a research laboratory which, in conjunction with U. S. Steel’s Research and Technology
Center, supports efforts in coke-making, electrical
steels, design and instrumentation, and ecology.
Environmental protection is one of the Company’s
principal strategic business drivers, and its main
commitments are stated in the Company’s Environmental Policy.
54
EXCLUSIVE CAR SERVICE
BMW
The mobility of the future
The true joy of driving can take on many different
forms. Its character can change with the seasons.
But it is always authentic and intensely real. And at
BMW, it is our core focus. In everything we do.
At the BMW Group, we look to the future and are
prepared to go against the trend, if need be; we
have the stamina to stick to our chosen path. For us,
it is always the customer who comes ﬁrst – that is
why we offer innovative products and services and
what makes us the world’s top-selling premium car
manufacturer.
Our actions are based on our tradition, our values
and our Company’s unique corporate culture and
team spirit. At the BMW Group, we all share a passion for mobility. It is our common purpose to make
individual mobility viable for the future, as the demands on cars continue to evolve. Our industry is
in a period of transition – what we refer to as “iconic
change”. We are driving and shaping this technological shift towards sustainable mobility. It will require
all our powers of innovation in the development of
new products and attractive mobility services, as
well as constant review of our structures and processes and how we work together.
ployees and society. We aim to reduce resource
consumption per vehicle produced by 45 % from
2006 levels by 2020. Second – also by 2020 – we
aim to halve the CO2 emissions of our European
new vehicle ﬂeet from 1995 levels.
In 2016, the Company will celebrate its centenary.
We view this milestone not only as an opportunity to
reﬂect on our heritage but also to be a springboard
towards the future.
AUTO PALACE BRATISLAVA
Auto Palace Bratislava, member of Auto Palace
group, is part of AutoBinck Holding, established in
Haag in 1907, which is one of the main contenders in
the European automotive market leader. AutoBinck
has 40 subsidiary companies and 1,450 employees
in the Benelux and in four Central European countries. The annual turnover is circa 900 million Euros.
Auto Palace Bratislava is proud retailer of BMW and
MINI from 2013, providing also extra services such
as aftersales services, car service, spare parts sales
and operative leasing. Auto Palace is also exclusive
BMW M partner. BMW showroom is located at Vajnorska 136C in Bratislava and with presented BMW,
cars possibilities of test drives and our competent
and experienced sales team you can enjoy ultimate
BMW journey.
Entering into e-mobility: we deliver on our promises. The BMW Group conﬁrmed its position as the
pacesetter for future mobility in 2014. In late July,
the series model of the BMW i3 made its world debut simultaneously in New York, London, Beijing
and Munich. This innovative vehicle was specially
designed for electric mobility and has been well-received by the media worldwide. With the BMW i3,
we have adopted a totally new approach to automobile manufacturing, employing new and especially
sustainable production processes.
Step by step towards our vision for 2020.
We have therefore set ourselves ambitious targets
for 2020 in the relevant areas, namely products and
services, production and value creation and em-
55
VENUE
KEMPINSKI
Awarded the Best Hotel in Slovakia, located in downtown Bratislava on the banks of the Danube River, only
35 min. from Vienna International Airport, Bratislava’s
only 5-star Deluxe Hotel with 231 rooms (of at least
35 sqm) and suites, the Kempinski Hotel River Park
is renowned for its unique location, exquisite interior
design, high-quality service and Central European
hospitality.
The hotel’s 11 meeting & banquet rooms have direct
daylight and Danube River views, some even a terrace. Featuring built-in interpreter booths, Business
Centre, the latest A/V equipment, in-house valet parking, Event Plaza, and a maximum capacity of 600
guests, the conference facilities leave nothing to be
desired.
Do not miss the River Bank Restaurant, offering “Pure
Kitchen” concept using the best ingredients, the Arte
Wine & Tapas with its wine cellar offering more than
350 ﬁne Slovak and international wines or ZION Spa
on the top ﬂoor of the hotel with a breath-taking view...
let yourself be pampered at the Kempinski Hotel River Park and enjoy the best of Bratislava!
56
WITH KIND SUPPORT
Mavin Wine
WebSupport
Martin Pomfy established the MAVIN winery in 2001
in Vinosady, in the Small Carpathian wine region, not
far from Bratislava. Starting with casket wines, MAVIN started producing bottled wines after a positive
response from clients. In 2005, Martin Pomfy took
part in the ﬁrst wine competitions, and in 2006 his
Devín (a Slovak crossbreed of Red Traminer and
early Rote Veltliner) was the champion of the Slovak
National Collection of Wine. In 2006, he repeated
this success with his Riesling. Today, MAVIN is a
permanent ﬁxture on the international stage, winning the Bronze medal at the Decanter World Wine
Awards and a gold medal for his Cabernet ice-wine
at the AWC Vienna 2011.
WebSupport was established on 1 April 2002. Step
by step it became an inseparable part of the Slovak
IT community. WebSupport is the biggest provider
of web hosting services and registrar of domains in
Slovakia. It now manages 97 456 domains of their 72
784 customers. It also stands behind the successful
international start-up project Nicereply.
Double Cross Vodka
Hailing from the mountains of Slovakia, Double
Cross Vodka is a smooth, distinctive spirit expertly
crafted from estate-grown winter wheat and Tatra
Mountain spring water. Under the watchful eye of
Master Distiller Dr. Jan Krak, Double Cross is seven times distilled and seven times ﬁltered to create
a vodka of unrivalled purity and character. The ﬁnishing touch is an iconic glass bottle inscribed with
select lines of epic Slovak poetry, and adorned with
the ancient double cross symbol of the Slovak coat
of arms.
CONFI
CONFI was founded in April 2014 in Slovakia. After
participating in and co-organising dozens of conferences, we have realised that there is a need for
a better mobile app solution, more interactivity, accurate information and involvement of the support
team. When work is pleasure, life is joy – so we created CONFI. Now, our goal is to build a strong sales
team and Global CONFI Brand. We believe that
each conference can be an inspirational & remarkable event, once the attendees feel cared about and
the courtesy in any aspect is the leading principle of
business.
57
MEDIA PARTNERS
THE NEWS AGENCY
OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC
Awarded the Best Hotel in Slovakia, located in
downtown Bratislava on the banks of the Danube
River, only 35 min. from Vienna International Airport,
Bratislava’s only 5-star Deluxe Hotel with 231 rooms
(of at least 35 sqm) and suites, the Kempinski Hotel
River Park is renowned for its unique location, exquisite interior design, high-quality service and Central
European hospitality.
The hotel’s 11 meeting & banquet rooms have direct
daylight and Danube River views, some even a terrace. Featuring built-in interpreter booths, Business
Centre, the latest A/V equipment, in-house valet
parking, Event Plaza, and a maximum capacity of
600 guests, the conference facilities leave nothing
to be desired.
Do not miss the River Bank Restaurant, offering
“Pure Kitchen” concept using the best ingredients,
the Arte Wine & Tapas with its wine cellar offering
more than 350 ﬁne Slovak and international wines
or ZION Spa on the top ﬂoor of the hotel with a
breath-taking view... let yourself be pampered at the
Kempinski Hotel River Park and enjoy the best of
Bratislava!
EURACTIV
EurActiv.sk is an independent media portal focusing
on the European policies in their national context in
Slovakia; it brings together journalistic independence
with transparency and practical efﬁciency. EurActiv.sk
is part of Europe-wide network of 13 web portals with
more than 600 thousand unique visitors per month.
One third of readers are decision-makers from political and economic environment but there are also other
multipliers, such as journalists, academics and NGOs.
58
HOSPODÁRSKE NOVINY
The only business daily in Slovakia which brings
serious and credible information for everyone who
follows economic events at home and in the world.
* Most read economic title in Slovakia
* Daily that brings the most information from
the Slovak and world economies.
* The only newspaper that offers comprehen sive
coverage, trends and stories from home and from
the world of companies and entrepreneurs
* Current, credible and objective newspaper, which
does not side with the opposition or the government
but relies only on credible facts
* The only newspaper that publishes analysis of
individual sectors of the economy and business in
Slovakia and abroad
TREND
C
M
Y
CONFERENCE BROCHURE
CM
MY
CY
11-13 November 2014
Bratislava
CMY
K
Klariská 14
811 03 Bratislava
Slovak Republic
Phone/Fax: +421 2 544 106 09
info@europeanaffairs.sk