The Brussels Economic Forum is the flagship annual economic event of the European Commission. Now in its 19th year, the BEF is the place to be if you want to be at the heart of stimulating debates and share new perspectives on Europe's economic challenges with influential speakers and participants. The Brussels Economic Forum attracts around a thousand participants every year and is widely covered in the media. It also provides an opportunity to network with top European and international policymakers, opinion leaders, academics, and leaders from civil society and business. http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/bef2019/index_en.htm

1. Programme
07:30-09:00 Registration and welcome coffee
08:00-08:45 BEF Breakfast debate – Understanding the economic roots of the populist backlash
Moderator: Ryan Heath (POLITICO)
Panel discussion with:
Manuel Muñiz (Dean, IE School of Global and Public Affairs and Rafael del Pino Professor of Practice of
Global Transformation)
Máriam Martínez-Bascuñán (Opinion editor, El País)
Sarah Durieux (Executive Director France, Change.org)
09:00-09:15 Welcome remarks
Marco Buti (Director General, DG ECFIN, European Commission)
09:15-09:45 8th Annual Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa Lecture: ‘The Future of Work in Europe’
Sir Christopher Pissarides (Professor of Economics and Political Science, London School of Economics,
Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences)
09:45-10:00 ´Broader Horizons´ - TED-Style Talk
An opportunity for a more informal and conversational look at innovative ideas and fresh thinking from
speakers offering a different perspective, to inspire us to think beyond conventional boundaries and
explore new solutions to the challenges facing Europe.
Stefanie Stantcheva (Professor of Economics, Harvard University)
10:00-10:30 Coffee break
10:30-12:00 A new global order: inward or outward looking?
How can the EU shape globalisation and lead the way in building a more inclusive global order? What
caused the breakdown of some citizens’ trust in open societies and globalisation? Do we need new rules
of the game to deliver the benefits of globalisation and international trade more equally, protect people
and revert the populist backlash? How can we respond to the protectionist drift? Should we revamp the
multilateral system to ensure that everybody plays by the same rules? Between disengagement from
multilateralism and the emergence of new economic world powers, what role for Europe and the euro in
a multipolar/multicurrency system?
Moderator: Sasha Vakulina (Euronews)
Panel discussion with:
Marco Buti (Director General, DG ECFIN, European Commission)
Arancha González (Executive Director, International Trade Center)
Hanneke Faber (President Food & Refreshment, Unilever)
Helena Norberg-Hodge (Founder and Director, Local Futures and The International Alliance for
Localization)
12:00-13:30 Lunch

2. 13:30-15:00 A new social contract for Europe?
Do we need a new social contract to respond to digitalisation, globalisation and ageing societies? How
can we make sure that all in our societies reap the benefits of digitalisation, at a time when inequality is
becoming a very real concern? Are our redistributive and social protection tools fit to face the changing
labour market situation? How can we tackle the polarisation of labour markets, underemployment and
precarious employment? How should inter-generational solidarity evolve as societies age? What role
can social impact investing and the third sector play in a new social contract? Will re-skilling be enough
to cope with the changes in the labour market paradigm?
13:30-14:00 Moderator: Maithreyi Seetharaman (Fortune)
#EUBEF19 debate: "Will a basic income help to make the benefits of globalisation reach all?"
Speaking for: Guy Standing (Professorial Research Associate, SOAS, University of London and Founding
Member and Honorary Co-President, Basic Income Earth Network )
Speaking against: Hilmar Schneider (Professor & Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Labor Economics -
IZA)
14:00-15:00 Panel discussion with:
Pierre Moscovici (Commissioner, European Commission)
Deirdre Mortell (CEO, Social Innovation Fund Ireland)
Christophe Catoir (CEO, Northern Europe and France, Adecco)
Luca Visentini (Secretary General, European Trade Union Confederation)
15:00-15:30 Coffee break
15:30-17:00 A new kind of growth for Europe?
Can we address the urgent climate change challenges with the current growth model? What economic
policies are needed for Europe to become climate-neutral and prosperous while increasing fairness? Do
we need a Green New deal in Europe? Is it realistic to pursue an overall economic objective other than
growth? Should we shift our focus to measures of well-being that go beyond GDP growth? How can we
meet environmental and social concerns without playing them against each other? How can we share
evenly the cost of fighting climate change?
Moderator: Viktoria Dendrinou (Bloomberg)
Panel discussion with:
Valdis Dombrovskis (Vice-President, European Commission)
Nadia Calviño (Minister of Economy and Business, Spain)
Gita Gopinath (Chief Economist, International Monetary Fund)
Tim Jackson (Professor, University of Surrey)
Riccardo Illy (Chairman, Gruppo Illy)
17:00-18:00 Networking cocktail