The Bubble and the Virus

Some things don’t change.

A grey, gloom and wet day in a European Capital. The Capital of Europe as a matter of fact - gathering top Business Leaders, Policy Makers, ThinkTanks and Heads of Unions.

The first question is answered: the Virus did not stop the Leaders to flock in, from all over Europe. A reassuring signal in these times.

Some things don’t change: Commission President von der Leyen’s message was one of motivation and ambition. Will Europe be a Global Player - or a Playground for others? The positive signals come from the Business Sector and from the Youth Movements. According to Mrs von der Leyen Europe in early 2020 is about Vision, Resolution, Foresight. And progress will be a result of co-design by the key stakeholders

The new Commission drives down the message: it is about delivering and safeguarding the level playing field for Companies, for the Single Market. It’s about making sure that European Industry - again - leads the change. But there is Interdependence - as the Coronavirus shows - and today we can’t anticipate the effects of the shifts that entails.

All current hot focal areas were touched on. The European Green Deal. The European Digital Strategy. Private Investment and Common Good. Competitiveness and Sustainability. European Funds geared towards next super Computers - and the cure to the Corona Virus.

‘Prosperity, People, Planet’ was the well chosen topic of that day.

On People, nobody said it, but the War on Talent is as fierce as ever. If there is one battlefield Countries, Regions, Cities and any organisation whether in the private or public sector or civil society are eyeing down it is the access, development and retention of Talent. In other words: when it comes to People, there is no level playing field.

What was touched on is the Sense of People being left behind. Now that was not touched on under ‘Prosperity’... That will only increase if we don’t get the security / protection of workers right. The path to that has to lead also via Individual Learning Accounts, arming each and every one with a way to finance that lifelong learning requirement all talk about.

So it comes down to Skills. Entire populations need to be up- and reskilled. Workforces need to be transformed. Learning and training should be linked to the needs of the Labour Market, demand-driven. In that Herculean task, the cooperation of all is a precondition: Policy needs to adapt (and thus future-proof) Labour and Education Market frameworks, Businesses need to invest and Individuals need to ‘take control’. This is one of the cornerstones of the New Social Contract that I am more convinced than ever needs to drive our actions. On that: watch this space, ‘we’ are on it...

But for now: some things don’t change. The rain persisted all day. The Bubble is intact, even as the Virus spirals on.