IOE: EU Development Should Support the Private Sector

L-R: Phil O’Reilly (BIAC), Frederick Muia (IOE) and Ronnie Goldberg (USCIB)
L-R: Phil O’Reilly (BIAC), Frederick Muia (IOE) and Ronnie Goldberg (USCIB)

A high-level delegation from the International Organization of Employers (IOE) participated in an EU workshop in Brussels prior to an EU Development Policy Forum. This workshop is the second the IOE has attended in the past six months in efforts to inform EU policy discussions with business perspectives and recommendations.

Ronnie Goldberg, USCIB’s senior counsel and IOE vice president for North America, shared the opening session with Klaus Rudischhauser, deputy director general for international cooperation development.  She underscored the IOE’s strong commitment to building partnerships with the European Commission in light of many shared goals.

Acknowledging that EU support lifts millions of people out of poverty and contributes to a solid foundation on which private enterprises could be created and developed, Goldberg thanked the hosts for creating the space for deeper private-sector engagement, adding, “The IOE places great importance on building partnerships with the European Commission for the joint promotion of an enabling environment for growth and sustainable development.”

She reiterated the IOE’s key inputs to consultations on the post-2015 Development Goals over the past two years, which could equally frame EU-private sector dialogue. These included putting sustainability at the core of the agenda; ensuring that growth was inclusive to boost productive employment. Open and accountable institutions also had to be enabled.

Goldberg added that it is essential that EU commission funding support investment in infrastructure projects, such as road, rail, electricity, renewable energies and ICT; the protection and enforcement of property rights and the rule of law; effective financial services, particularly for SMEs; improvements in education and training for the delivery of work-ready young people, as well as more open markets and regional integration.

Staff Contact:   Ronnie Goldberg

Senior Counsel
Tel: 212.703.5057

Ronnie Goldberg advises USCIB’s president and CEO on strategic matters and represents American business at several high-level forums. She currently serves as the U.S. employer representative on the International Labor Organization’s Governing Body, and chairs the BIAC Employment, Labor, and Social Affairs (ELSA) Committee.
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