ABOUT

The College of Europe, in partnership with Deloitte, hosted the seventh Bruges European Business Conference, held on 18 March 2016 at the College’s campus in Bruges.

The Conference Report can be downloaded by clicking here

The purpose of the Conference was to bring together European political and business leaders to discuss the state of the European economy, appropriate policy responses and business strategies. Invited speakers, will analyse the factors impacting on economic growth and outline their proposals.

The development of a Capital Markets Union (CMU) has progressed significantly since the publication of the European Commission Green Paper (February 2015). The public consultation that followed and the definition of a firm time-table in October 2015 have set well-defined targets for this ambitious project that will complement the Banking Union. During the conference, speakers spoke and discussed what was already achieved and what could happen in the 12-18 months after. Given the crucial importance of this development for businesses’ access to finance in Europe, the two topics deserved strategic attention.The aim of the conferences was to attract participants from companies and business associations with a view to engage in in-depth discussions on business-topics with a panel of high-level speakers from academia, business and the EU Commission.

Deloitte started a multiannual programme to support the College of Europe as the first partner of the 'European Economic Integration and Business Programme'. Under this cooperation, the College of Europe and Deloitte have the opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience on EU issues and collaborate:

• To the organization of the annual Bruges European Business Conference, the first one of which took place on 18 March 2010.>
• To an internship program reserved to a College of Europe graduates each summer.
• To the organization of several workshops which provide opportunities for students to interact and exchange ideas with business representatives and engage with concrete business projects.

The “Bruges European Business Conferences” are set up in the framework of the College’s specialisation on “European economic integration and business” (EEIB), which aims to offer students a unique combination of high-level economic analysis of European integration with an understanding of business and corporate strategy.

Deloitte facts and figures
Deloitte is one of the world’s largest professional services firms, and the member firms of the Deloitte network have a global annual revenue of over 20 billion euros. Deloitte’s global strategy is executed locally in over 140 countries. With a worldwide workforce of 165,000 people, the Deloitte member firms deliver services in four professional areas: consulting, audit, tax, and financial advisory services. The Deloitte member firms are present in all twenty-seven EU Member States.

In Belgium, Deloitte has 2,600 employees. The firm’s EU Services practice comprises a multinational team, centred in Brussels – and the European Institutions are one of Deloitte’s most important global clients.

The Public Sector is a very important segment for Deloitte and Deloitte member firms have led many complex government transformation efforts throughout the world, providing a broad portfolio of services and integrated solutions to support virtually all areas of government including health, tax, defence, justice, transport and education.

For more info please refer to: www.deloitte.com/be

CoE Business Club
The Bruges European Business Conference is especially supported by the College of Europe Business Club, a student initiative driven primarily by students specializing in European Economic Integration and Business. The Business Club strives for a mutual exchange of knowledge between top students of the College of Europe and business institutions (firms, chambers, etc.). It aims at developing and disseminating managerial and entrepreneurial skills within the students of the College and ultimately, to spread innovative and entrepreneurial thinking across Europe.