Aznar outlines views on European economic reforms

Gavin Lipsith

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Former Spanish president Jose Maria Aznar addressed delegates at the TFWA conference in Cannes today

Former Spanish president Jose Maria Aznar outlined his views of the economic challenges facing Europe and the rest of the world at the TFWA conference this morning (October 31). Aznar told delegates that Europe's "decaffeinated leaders", who say all the right things but take little action, need to pave the way for trade liberalization, privatization and political stability if the region is to pull itself out of its sluggish economic performance.

Aznar, who was the Spanish president from 1996-2004, said that while the US has achieved full employment and a strong growth rate, and while economic growth in Asia is "the phenomenon that is changing the face of the world economically", Europe's leaders need to take the much needed political reforms in order to stimulate growth. That the reforms had not been taken sooner was due to a "lack of political will", Aznar contended.

The speech was preceded by TFWA president Eric Juul-Mortensen's state of the industry address, in which he argued that the trade had reached a tipping point. In the past two years the trade has become far more organized and taking a more analytical approach to its business and to defending and promoting its interests, he said. He spoke of the connectors, mavens and salespeople needed to ensure that the trade takes advantage of the huge opportunity in front of it and challenged individual companies to prepare themselves for the future.

The conference took place at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, on the opening morning of the TFWA World Exhibition.