Major maps out key factors in global future

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The keynote speaker at this year's TFWA World Exhibition conference, former UK prime minister John Major, mapped out the changes that the world will face in building for the future

Speaking in Cannes on Monday morning, he said the key changes in the EU would be the introduction of the euro as a currency that could one day rival the dollar, and the enlargement of the EU, which he said would help stabilize the region in the long term.

He said: "The new currency will accelerate the integration of the region's economies and industries, it will accelerate mergers across countries and will mean more investment across the region. With enlargement to 25 countries, the EU will be the largest and richest free trade market the world has ever seen."

Other changes he noted would be the rapid rise of China as an economic superpower, with the many challenges this would present to its neighbours and to the wider world.

"There will be concern at China's competitiveness in southeast Asia, but it will also work under the same trading rules as everyone else, and this will be a benefit in trading with it." He said the free market had already given its stamp of approval to China, with $50bn in investment being ploughed into the country each year.

Major also said that five countries would shape the future of the global economy: China, Russia, Brazil, Indonesia and India.

But he cautioned that volatility in the Middle East also presented challenges for politicians everywhere, and urged those in the US and Europe to find a solution to the region's problems.