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Speeches by André Lussi,
Chairman of the Edmond Israel Foundation,
on 27 November 2000
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, a very warm welcome to this, the Sixth "Vision for Europe Award" ceremony. And how delightful to be joined by so many old friends as well as to see so many new faces here tonight.
It's hard to believe it's now six years since we first gathered here to reward a key public person for their outstanding contribution to the development of Europe.
Since 1995, some of Europe's most notable statesmen have been recipients of this award. We have honoured their vision and achievements.
It was Dr Helmut Kohl - recipient of this award in 1997 - who perhaps best summed up the importance of the new Europe in his acceptance speech. On that occasion, Dr Kohl reminded us of the awful sacrifice and loss of two World Wars, the struggles of reconstruction and the noble impulses to avoid future conflict and create permanent peace in Europe. The vision of the founding fathers of the European Union - Schuman, Monnet, Adenauer - is one shared by the Edmond Israel Foundation. The Foundation strongly supports their vision of economic, political and monetary union in Europe, a Europe of nations small and large permanently at peace with each other, growing ever closer.
So this evening once again we are gathered here to celebrate a vision for Europe. But tonight's event is different in one important respect. Tonight we are focussing our attention eastwards -- our spotlight falls exclusively on Eastern Europe and the eastward expansion and consolidation of the European Union.
Like many others, I believe that expansion to the east must be a key priority for the advancement of Europe. The concentration of skills and talent in Eastern Europe, the hunger of its people for change, prosperity and economic development, their ambition and drive, can be expected to provide a powerful motor for European growth in the years ahead.
But we all know that Eastern Europeans won't be able to realise their dreams without our help or more importantly perhaps, without rising to the challenges posed by the New Economy.
It's for that reason that I'd like to share a few thoughts with you on the New Economy and the role of knowledge, which is an area where I suggest Eastern Europe can make a key contribution.
2. Address on the New Knowledge Economy
Today, we are living in a post-industrial age, a new Europe. The Europe of today is totally different from the Europe of some forty years ago. The accelerating economic, political and monetary integration we have seen across our continent since the end of the 1950s mirrors the larger processes of globalisation at work worldwide. Globalisation recognises no boundaries and our systems of governance, our business practices must all continue to adapt. Naturally, the pace of progress varies from country to country, from industry to industry. This is to be expected.
Fundamental to this process of change is technology. Technology is both a destabilising force and a positive engine for growth. The spread of information, computerisation, miniaturisation, the explosion of the web and e-commerce, and the growing convergence of technologies have dramatically boosted productivity and lowered costs. Scalability has given us flexible tools to help manage change. It also allows us to take full advantage of the opportunities that come with that change. But, as Al Jolson used to say in the old Hollywood movies, "you ain't seen nothing yet".
From transport to education, from manufacturing to government, traditional hierarchies are being changed, processes re-engineered and the familiar structures of Big Business and Big Government flattened. In short, the old Goliath is waging a losing battle with the David of the New Economy.
My own company Clearstream International has had first hand experience of this battle. Between its foundation as Cedel 30 years ago and today, Clearstream International has successfully retooled and reinvented itself and in so doing, leapfrogged its major competitor. We are not complacent about our achievement - we know old or new, small or large, none are immune from change but we are determined to defend and extend our market leadership.
What of the broader picture? For some years now, we know that knowledge-based industries have been outpacing the growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in virtually all OECD countries. Here in Western Europe, we are spending more and more on resources for the production of knowledge and investing more and more in our people to keep pace. Eastern Europe is rapidly following suit.
Again, this has been the experience at Clearstream International. As a result of the only successful post-trade merger in the European capital markets to date, we now have more than 10 trillion euro under custody. This is a record figure and as the largest global provider of international clearing and settlement services, we recognise information is our lifeblood. Our experience of clearing operations for trading on Newex, the specialist exchange for companies from Central and Eastern Europe, has only reinforced that view. Over the coming months and years, we expect our involvement in the growth markets of Eastern Europe to deepen and expand.
As a result, knowledge has become an explicit element in our strategy, management and planning. We boast of our "dare to share" approach to knowledge management and work hard to empower our people, to exploit our organisational memory and share ideas.
Intellectual capital - the skills of our people - has become our greatest asset. In a world where conventional ways of working no longer suffice, we must all learn to innovate on a continuous basis. Such innovation calls for radical thinking as well as structural change -- including greater co-operation between business organisations, universities and research institutes.
At the Edmond Israel Foundation, we are committed to the building of a new Europe. One way we can do this is through the export of knowledge. One initiative we have is the subsidising of students from Eastern Europe to attend the INSEAD MBA programme. By building knowledge bridges with Eastern Europe, we believe we can help in the work of extending Europe.
Of course, such programmes, however ambitious, are only a tiny part of what is needed if Eastern Europe is to be integrated into the European Union. But I have no doubt that information technology -- and the technical and management skills that go with it -- will be at the forefront of the process of European integration providing both a catalyst and a basis for progress. I am proud that the Edmond Israel Foundation will be playing its part by equipping promising students with the right skills, helping them realise their dreams and in so doing, raising awareness.
3. Introduction of speakers
I would now like to introduce each of our speakers to you before they share their thoughts with us.
Our first speaker this evening is Patrick Zurstrassen, Managing Director of Crédit Agricole Indosuez Luxembourg.
Our second speaker tonight will be Hans-Dieter Genscher, Germany's former Foreign Minister and one of the foremost architects of the new Europe.
Following Herr Genscher's address, we will present the "Vision for Europe" award to former Hungarian President, Dr. Árpád Göncz.
Then, we will share in the perspective of a young scholar from Eastern Europe, Jaromir Sladkovsky, winner of this year's INSEAD MBA Scholarship.
Let's extend a warm welcome to our speakers tonight.
Introduction of Patrick Zurstrassen
Patrick Zurstrassen is one of Europe's foremost bankers. He is also one of our generous sponsors this evening. Managing Director of Crédit Agricole Indosuez Luxembourg, one of the Grand Duchy's oldest banks, Patrick is a Director of the Bourse de Luxembourg, of the Association des Banques et Banquiers de Luxembourg and Vice-President of the Association Luxembourgeoise des Fonds d'Investissement. He is President of Fastnet and a Professor at the Université Catholique de Louvain. Belgian by birth and a civil engineer by training, his international academic career spans Belgium, California and England.
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Patrick Zurstrassen.
Introduction of Hans-Dieter Genscher
Hans-Dieter Genscher really needs no introduction from me. The world's longest serving Minister of Foreign Affairs in the western world this century, Herr Genscher was at the top of German political life for almost two decades. One of Europe's outstanding post-war statesmen and architect of German reunification, he has played a major role in shaping the new Europe. His accomplishments are simply too many and varied to enumerate in a brief introduction such as this. Senator, writer and lecturer, among his more interesting achievements Herr Genscher includes honorary citizenship of the State of Costa Rica and a honorary Professorship at the University of Peking.
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Hans-Dieter Genscher.
4. Presentation of the 'Vision for Europe' Award
The "Vision for Europe" award has been presented on five occasions. To Jacques Santer, Jean-Luc Dehaene, Helmut Kohl, Jean-Claude Juncker and last year, to Wim Duisenberg, President of the European Central Bank. All these gentlemen have come from the West of Europe so today's award is very special going as it does to Dr. Árpád Göncz, the distinguished former President of the Republic of Hungary.
President Göncz, we are greatly honoured that you can join us today.
How does one begin to do justice to a man such as Árpád Göncz? When they met in 1999, President Clinton of the United States said of our award winner: "Árpád Göncz is one of those extraordinary leaders who risked their lives in the struggle for liberty, were imprisoned for their beliefs and activism and emerged in freedom's sunlight as the President of his nation".
And he went on to quote the words of the great American writer EL Doctorow: "The devastating history of 20th century in Europe, which you and I might study in a book or look at as a tourists, is housed in the being of Árpád Göncz".
How true these words are. Árpád Göncz is by any standards a monumental figure, a veritable Renaissance man. Lawyer, soil conservationist, agricultural engineer, novelist, playwright, translator, World War Two resistance fighter, political dissident, parliamentarian, Árpád Göncz appears to have packed more into his life than most of us could manage in ten lifetimes.
In 1958, two years after the Hungarian Uprising, Árpád Göncz was sentenced to life imprisonment for revolutionary activities. In 1990, he became President of Hungary. Ten years on, Hungary is now one of the fastest growing economies in Europe and a member of NATO. What else need I to say about this extraordinary man of courage and vision? The facts speak for themselves.
President Göncz, it is a great privilege for me present to you the 2000 Vision for Europe Award on behalf of the Edmond Israel Foundation and to invite you to share your vision for Europe with us.
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, President Árpád Göncz.
5. Young Vision for Europe
Our last principal speaker tonight brings youth, academic insight and energy from the Czech Republic, one of the countries we expect to become part of the new Europe in the new Millennium. Jaromír Sladkovský is one of the winners of the INSEAD MBA Scholarship, a programme sponsored by the Edmond Israel Foundation. His outstanding academic achievement, his youth and his country are all central to our vision for the new Europe.
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Jaromír Sladkovský.
I trust that you have all enjoyed this evening and feel able to share in the vision that has been so ably expressed by our guests. I would now like to invite you all to take part in our cocktail reception where we can continue our discussion about the new Europe in less formal surroundings.
Before doing so, however, I would like to sincerely thank the sponsors of this event - Crédit Agricole Indosuez Luxembourg, Luxemburger Wort, BNP Paribas Luxembourg, EMC Computer Systems- for their generosity in funding our ceremony this evening. I would also ask you to thank them and our excellent speakers for their contributions this evening. Thank you.
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