Sommaire: Speech by Vice-President of the European Commission Margot Wallström : "How can Europe meet the challenges of globalisation?". (London, 12 May 2006)
1. Introduction
Your Royal Highness, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure and honour to be here today to celebrate one hundred years of this Anglo-Swedish relationship.
That is a long time in any relationship and certainly deserves a tribute.
Today I am here to speak about how Europe can meet the challenges of globalisation. Now as you know, all important things come in threes: parliament, the council and the commission, or - since we're in the UK - pizza, beer and football...
But let's be serious: my trio are values, creativity and leadership.
2. The IKEA way
Let me start with the award nominees, because they personify that trio perfectly.
Early one morning, deep in the forests of my beautiful home county of Värmland in Sweden, I was out walking. Far away, I saw a man walking slowly towards me through the trees. He was carrying a bucket in each hand. When he came closer, I saw that the buckets were full of blueberries. I later learned that he had also picked berries for his relatives in Småland. And I also saw who the man was...
Today we are here to honour that man for his achievements. For me Ingvar Kamprad and IKEA represent responsible, committed, down-to-earth leadership based on clearly articulated values.
The "IKEA Way" is, of course, about business and profitability. But more than that. When we buy a "Billy" bookcase, we know it has been produced according to high environmental and human rights standards.
In a globalised world with educated and politically conscious consumers, good values are an asset. IKEA takes a clear stand and a lead on such important issues as corporate social responsibility and climate change. It has done this by setting sustainable development at the very core of all its business operations - and putting it into practice too.
The second nominee is Niklas Zennström, the founder of Skype - the company that thought of the idea of enabling people to make phone calls free throughout the world using the Internet.
Niklas Zennström's achievements in the fields of innovation, entrepreneurship, and new technologies demonstrate what creativity cando. And creativity is what Europe needs if it wants to take advantage of the forces of globalisation.
3. European challenges
Today's Europe faces major challenges:
(a) First, our economic growth is sluggish. We have 20 million unemployed, and many of them are young people.
(b) Second, we are facing serious demographic problems. At present, for every retired person there are four people of working age. In 20 years' time, there will only be three potential workers for every pensioner. And in 40 years there will only be two.
(c) Third, environmental pollution is a transnational problem that affects the water we drink and the air we breathe. It makes people ill, it damages the land and it destroys property. In the year 2050, 65% of Europe's population will be living in cities, and this will put huge pressure on our natural resources.
(d) Fourth, there is climate change and energy security.
The globalisation process is often described solely as a threat - to jobs, to security, to the environment.
But globalisation also offers fantastic opportunities that we need to grasp.
In my view, globalisation is the inevitable outcome of modernisation, a process whereby global trade and new communication technologies are bringing us all closer together and making us interdependent. It has created a world of greater wealth and pulled millions out of poverty.
Europe's response to the challenges of globalisation must not involve putting up new barriers.
If we are serious about making Europe more competitive in the global economy, the way to start is certainly not economic nationalism - or patriotism, as some say.
Now, we often hear that we must make cuts in our welfare systems and reduce environmental regulations to make the wheels of the economy turn faster.
To me, this is putting things the wrong way around. Sacrificing social welfare and ignoring environmental issues just carries new costs.
When the asbestos scandal hit ABB, the company lost half its stock market value overnight. A month ago, ABB agreed to pay out 1.43 billion dollars to those affected: that's 823 million pounds!
Achieving a balance between economic growth, secure conditions for employees and ecological sustainability is what brings progress!
So here's another important trio: economic growth, social welfare and ecological balance. These are the basis for sustainability.
That is how we should do it in Europe! That is the European way!
4. European values
And to find our way for the future - a sustainable future - that is the main point of an organisation like the EU.
Of course, Europeans are all different and they like doing things differently. And that's the EU's motto: "United in diversity".
Still, you may ask: what do a fisherman from Naples, a businesswoman from the City here, a student from Madrid, a farmer from Bordeaux, a doctor from Ljubljana and a Polish plumber working in Malmö, all share?
My answer is our values. Let me say a word about what they are.
We believe in individual freedom, but also in social responsibility and solidarity, in justice and fair play.
We believe in the right to express our personal views and live our own lives - but we recognise the need to respect other people's rights too.
These values are not exclusively European, of course - they underpin any democratic society. But the European social model - or should I say models - lays special emphasis on social justice and solidarity.
Nowadays there is growing evidence that the European social model is an asset and an advantage- not a liability and a drain.
We should tackle unemployment with more ambitious retraining and new jobs.
We should tackle the challenges of an aging population by opening up more opportunities for old people to continue working instead of being forced into early retirement.
The Nordic model, with its active labour market policies and its system of collective bargaining, has succeeded in creating both growth and jobs.
5. Creativity - the road to smart growth
Sustainable development in no longer about saving polar bears; it has become a matter of hard-core politics. It is about security, economic growth and our very survival.
The fact is we can no longer afford the costs of a Europe that is not sustainable.
Take such problems as obesity, stress and allergies: they cost us 30 billion euro a year and the loss of 600 million working days!
We must make sure the future is about smart growth.
This is where we come to the second in my trio - creativity!
Here is a chance for creative minds to invent new products, set up new companies, create new jobs - in compliance with the demands of sustainability.
The main driver behind economic growth has always been investment in new technologies. Over the next 25 years, an estimated 16 trillion dollars will need to be invested in the world's energy systems...This is a great opportunity for investing in cleaner and more energy-efficient technologies!
As part of its growth and jobs strategy, the EU has agreed on four Priority Action Areas:
First, more investments in research, development and higher education.
Knowledge is an effective weapon and the key to a competitive advantage.
Second, support for SMEs
A "one-stop shop" for setting up businesses. The Commission will look at reducing costs arising from EU rules.
Third, getting people into work
For example, every young person who has left school or university should be offered a job, an apprenticeship or additional training within 100 days.
Fourth, ensuring efficient, secure and sustainable energy
This means better coordination in Europe's energy infrastructure, better regulation of energy markets, more competition, and investment in renewables.
6. To succeed we need Leadership and Democracy
And now we come to the third in my trio - leadership.
Exploring the possibility of smart growth to meet the challenges of globalisation will call for strong leadership and commitment from both political and business leaders.
Political leaders must offer citizens a real possibility of participating in the decision-making process. This is vital if we are to close the current gap in trust between the EU and the citizens.
People must have a hand in writing the script for the future. So a more democratic Union is a prerequisite for moving the European project forward.
In his new book, the former Czech president Vaclav Havel recalls delivering a speech nervously to the heads of global corporations in Paris and attacking them for their "irresponsibility, omnipresent dictatorial adverts and huge profits".
To his shock, he says, his words were met with loud applause - a response he put down to politeness towards himself rather than what he had said or smug satisfaction at their own power. Or again, as he put it recently in the Financial Times, "perhaps even that they agreed with me".
So please shock me by agreeing with me when I suggest this to you:
First, that you make a commitment to the values of sustainability.
Use the existing instruments like Kofi Annan's Global Compact and other networks for Corporate Social Responsibility, and show your performance, for example through the Global Reporting Initiative.
Second, that you be creative. Work in new innovative partnerships between politicians, business, researchers, trade unions and civil society.
Take climate change as an example. Go CO2 neutral! Which means taking a thorough look at your own company and its CO2 emissions - in all areas from transport to your supply chains - right down to the nuts and bolts.
Third, that you show leadership by making better use of women's skills.
It is not just a matter of fairness. Plenty of studies suggest it is good for business, too. Women are becoming more important in the global market place, not just as workers but also as consumers, entrepreneurs, managers and investors.
Surveys suggest that women take up to 80% of consumers' buying decisions - in everything from healthcare and homes to furniture and food. And researchers have also concluded that women make better investors than men.
Your Royal Highness, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The British writer Paul Harrison begins his book "The Third Revolution" with a description of the plot in Shakespeare's "Hamlet":
"Claudius is swift in the commission of evil: there is no chink of delay between thought and deed.
But Hamlet: Hamlet knows from the outset that something is wrong.
By the end of Act One, he knows exactly what is wrong.
At the end of Act Two, he knows what needs doing.
Act Three brings his best chance of killing Claudius with least damage. He lets it pass.
Then Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Ophelia, Laertes and Gertrude all die unnecessarily.
Hamlet waits until circumstances force his hand.
Before he does what had to be done all along, Hamlet has less than half an hour to live".
Hamlet's indecision and procrastination are a perfect illustration of our own predicament.
I think we are somewhere in the third act. We already know what is wrong in terms of our unsustainable impact on the globe.
We also have some of the solutions in sight - and I have tried to outline them today.
Let us avoid Hamlet's tragic flaw - his indecision.
The remedy is decisive action - now!
Thank you.
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