Thus, its importance goes far beyond economy: it is an essential driver of growth and employment and – to a certain extent – a source of national pride. This prominence carries big responsibility for both the industry and the V4 Governments: their cooperation, also at the EU level, is essential.

The V4 automotive sector does not exist in isolation; on the contrary, it is fully inserted into the European (as well as global) context. The regulatory power of the EU touches a vast spectrum of areas: from setting technical and environmental standards and requirements to creating conditions for trade with third countries.

All these ingredients create a unique patchwork of elements, interests and players that all need to work in concert in order to keep the automotive sector going and developing in the EU. 

The Round Table therefore gathers representatives of the EU institutions and the automotive industry to exchange their views on the future of this sector in the EU, in particular with regard to the priorities and structure of the new Commission.

Program

Panel I – “Automotive industry in the EU – future regulatory and other developments”

Keynote speech: Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the European Commission

Moderator:
Martin Povejšil, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the EU

Panelists:
Daniel Calleja Crespo, Director-General, DG ENTR, European Commission
Dominique Ristori, Director-General, DG ENER, European Commission
Fotis Karamitsos, Deputy Director-General, DG MOVE, European Commission 
Erik Jonnaert, Secretary General, ACEA

Topics for discussion: EU trade policy,  infrastructure for alternative powertrains, EU regulatory framework and competitiveness

Panel II – “Key developments of the automotive industry in the Visegrad countries”
Moderator: Erik Jonnaert,  Secretary General, ACEA
Panelists:
Jakub Faryś, President of the Polish Automotive Industry Association
Jaroslav Holeček, President of the Slovak Automotive Industry Association
Martin Jahn, President of the Czech Automotive Industry Association
Peter Erdelyi, Managing Director of the Hungarian Automotive Industry Association

Topics for discussion: current development in Visegrad countries and key challenges for future