The Brussels Economic Forum

The Brussels Economic Forum (BEF) is the flagship annual economic event of the European Commission.

The BEF brings together top European and international policymakers and opinion leaders as well as civil society and business leaders. It is the place to take stock of economic developments, identify key challenges and debate policy priorities.

The Brussels Economic Forum attracts a thousand participants every year, broad media coverage, and it provides a major networking opportunity.

The BEF 2017 looked at:

The 17th Brussels Economic Forum focused on three key challenges for Europe: how to fight inequalities in a context of modest growth, the future of the EU economy at 27, and migration and its effects on the European economy and society.

The Governor of the Banque De France François Villeroy de Galhau delivered the 6th Annual Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa Lecture, endorsing further deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union and discussed the necessary reforms to achieve better integration. George Soros, founder and Chairman of the Open Society Foundations, spoke about the challenges facing the EU and proposed solutions in order to revamp the European project.

Vice-President Dombrovskis and Commissioner Moscovici delivered keynote speeches on economic inequality and the future of the EU economy at 27. Polish Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki spoke in a one-to-one interview before joining the third panel which discussed migration.

The BEF proved a lively, intense and stimulating debate, with over 800 attendees.