Tag: Wirtschaftsrat

Innovation & Business Press & Publications

Wirtschaftstag 2024: A Crucial Moment for Germany and Europe

Jochen Werne June 23, 2024

An insight view, by Jochen Werne

The Wirtschaftstag 2024, held on June 11 and 12 at the JW Marriott Hotel in Berlin, brought together high-profile speakers from business and politics. Germany stands at a crossroads, and now more than ever, bold market-economy ideas are needed for a strong Germany and Europe. The Social Market Economy is a centennial idea, inviting all who cherish freedom, believe in the creativity and inventiveness of citizens, respect property, and strive for performance and equal opportunity with social balance. However, the 75-year history of the Social Market Economy is also a constant battle to defend, maintain, and shape the economic order.

In this context, strong signals of shared responsibility from both business and politics are crucial to keeping the economy on track. These impulses have been set at the Wirtschaftstag 2024.

Key Highlights and The Role of Experian at Wirtschaftstag 2024

At Experian DACH, we were delighted to participate in this important event. As a subject matter expert in data and data insights, Experian played a significant role in the panel discussion on “Digitalization and AI – Transformation Opportunities for Business and Politics”. This participation underscores our commitment to leveraging data analytics to drive digital transformation, benefiting both businesses and society.

The esteemed panel participants were: Dr. Volker Wissing (Minister for Digital & Transport – MdB), Jochen Werne (CEO Experian DACH), Prof. Dr. Kristina Sinemus (Minister for Digital & Innovation, State Hesse – MdL), Petra Justenhoven (Speaker of the Board, PWC Germany) Marcel de Groot (CEO Vodafone Germany), Dr. Wolfgang Dierker (Managing Director Microsoft Germany), Hui Zhang (Managing Director NIO Europe), Carola Wahl (CEO DACH Nexi Group)

“We’re thrilled to make a joint contribution to the digital transformation journey and thereby strengthen Germany as a business location. We sincerely thank the Economic Council for this great opportunity!”

Jochen Werne, CEO Experian DACH

Perspectives and Gratitudes

A heartfelt gratitude has to go to to the organizers at the Wirtschaftsrat, especially Astrid Hamker and Wolfgang Steiger, for their dedication and leadership. Their efforts were instrumental in making Wirtschaftstag 2024 a resounding success and bringing together distinguished speakers as Friedrich Merz, MdB, Robert Habeck, MdB, Christian Lindner, MdB, Boris Pistorius, Bettina Stark-Watzinger, MdB, Dr. Volker Wissing, MdB, Dr. Marco Buschmann, MdB, Omid Nouripour, MdB, Dr. Carsten Linnemann, MdB, Alexander Dobrindt, MdB, Christian Sewing, René Obermann, Dr. Jens Weidmann

The international perspective was enriched by contributions from: Milojko Spajić, Prime Minister of Montenegro, Prof. Dr. Martin Kocher, Federal Minister for Labour and Economy of Austria, Aušrinė Armonaitė, Minister of Economy and Innovation of Lithuania

Personal Reflections

As I reflect on the Wirtschaftstag 2024, I am filled with a profound sense of gratitude and optimism. This year’s event, coming shortly after the European elections, carried a special significance. It served as a powerful signal of unity and forward-thinking, bringing together leaders from across the business and political spectrum to focus on the critical tasks ahead for a strong Germany and Europe.

A Platform for Meaningful Dialogue

The Wirtschaftstag 2024 was not just another event; it was the one of the largest Business and Politics gatherings in Germany. It provided an unparalleled platform for high-profile thought leaders and decision-makers to discuss and develop actionable recommendations for the future. The timing added an extra layer of importance, highlighting the need for bold market-economic ideas to secure the economic strength of Germany and the European continent.

The two days at the #Wirtschaftstag 2024 in Berlin have been a tremendous success, also for Experian. Engaging with high-profile participants from leading organizations and decision-makers from Germany’s business and political sectors has been truly inspiring.

Looking Forward

2024 marks several significant milestones: 75 years of the Grundgesetz and the Social Market Economy, over 30 years of the European Single Market, and the dawn of a new legislative period for the EU Parliament and Commission. These next few years will be crucial for the future competitiveness and viability of Europe.

I’m sure we all look forward to continuing this important dialogue and working together towards a prosperous future for Europe and beyond.

Innovation & Business Society & Diplomacy

60 years Economic Council (Wirtschaftsrat)

Jochen Werne May 26, 2023

It was a great pleasure for me, as a member of the Economic Council, to be invited to its 60th anniversary in Berlin.

“I firmly believe that it is part of the essence of a democracy that citizens, and thus society, are invited to help shape it on a daily basis. The Economic Council and its esteemed members have been working for the economic interests of the Federal Republic of Germany for over 60 years. As one of the many good interest groups in our country, it embodies the essence of civic participation in a modern democracy.”

Jochen Werne

The President of the Economic Council, Astrid Hamke, summarised the event as follows:

“To celebrate our anniversary “60 years of Wirtschaftstag – Werte. Prosperity. Cohesion.”, the Business Day was a two-day event. At the opening, we were able to welcome Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who spoke in a – of course pre-arranged – series of speeches after the Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, BASF CEO Dr Martin Brudermüller and myself. For all our substantive criticism of the traffic light coalition, I must say that the Chancellor responded to our arguments with aplomb. Germany is facing immense challenges due to the fundamentally changed world situation, which must be mastered in addition to decarbonisation, digitalisation and improving competitiveness.”

Astrid Hamke

About

Source: https://wirtschaftsrat.de/en/

The Economic Council (Wirtschaftsrat der CDU e.V.) is a German business association representing the interests of more than 11,000 small and medium sized firms, as well as larger multinational companies. We provide our members with a platform to engage in a continuous dialogue with leading decision makers, both in Germany and Europe. We advocate economic policies which best reflect the principles of a social market economy as envisaged by Ludwig Erhard, Minister for Economic Affairs in the German Federal Republic between 1949 and 1963 and one of the co-founders of the Economic Council.

Members

Our members are drawn from all sectors of the business and entrepreneurial community, including banking and finance, insurance, the automotive and chemical industries, healthcare and high-tech. Members can be companies, independent business executives or freelance professionals.

The diverse nature of our membership yields significant political weight when addingpolicy proposals to the political agenda. We ensure that the principles of the social market economy are taken into account within the decision making process, not only in Berlin and Brussels but also in the German federal states.

What does the Economic Council do?

We organize over 2,000 events annually at all levels of the council. These range from one-off events aimed at highlighting particular areas of interest to regular annual events such as the Europe Symposium, Conference on Energy Policy and Wirtschaftstag. These events are attended by high ranking politicians, academics as well as members of the business community. They attract significant regional and national media coverage.

The way the economic council works reflects the three tier structure of the association with offices in Berlin, the German federal state capitals (with the exception of Bavaria) and Brussels.