Britain can pull the European Union from the economic crisis by means of innovation and gender equality
On 29 November 2012, The Parliament Magazine held a full day conference in London on Britain and its place within the European Union. Brussels Briefing Live offered insights from the EU and UK policy-makers as well as from relevant international professionals on current, not only political, issues. Besides an opening session on the chronological overview of the British membership in the EU, the conference consisted of seven breakout sessions on topics such as the UK manufacturing, energies, or women on boards, whereas the whole event had a slight pro-European flavour. The general conclusion of Brussels Briefing Live was that Britain not only fully belongs and should belong to the European Union, but also that Britain can actually pull the whole Europe from the crisis. However, the means of way out from the economic slowdown are not always about austerity or state subsidies.
According to Brussels Briefing Live speakers, Britain has a great potential to be a European, if not the world, leader in at least two areas: development of green energy technologies and an equal share of men and women on high executive positions. What have these issues in common is their often neglected economic potential. Doug Parr from Greenpeace has noticed global shifts towards renewable energies. As often declared, the EU is strongly willing to be a leader in this field. Interestingly, it is Britain where the most advanced research on new technologies takes place. Even though these sophisticated technologies are very expensive, according to Parr, the UK “has to invest into R&D if she’s interested in energy security”. Moreover, the future global supply chain of renewable energies seems to have great market opportunities, which could be dominated by Europe and led by the British research. All in all, through British continuous investment in renewable energy technologies, the EU has a potential to be the world leader on global market with sustainable resources. Besides the investment into alternative energies technologies, the UK is also a prominent in effective policy on gender equality in high business positions.
Marina Yannakoudakis from the European Parliament quoted studies which prove that gender diversity and business management are correlated – more women on boards usually mean bigger profits. Currently, policy on gender quotas is discussed among European institutions. Given the fact that Britain is one of the few countries where the share of women on high executive positions is acceptable, the UK can play a great advisory role to the European Union. In essence, thanks to expertise of British organizations such as the Professional Women’s Network, the whole Europe can profit from more women on boards. To conclude, Britain can provide an impetus to European economy by securing its place in the world market with renewable energies and by providing gender-friendly conditions in business.
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Written by Lenka Vaskova
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