During the celebration of the 30 years of operation of EuroCommerce in Brussels, ESEE, one of its oldest members, she participated by presenting the “Shopping in Greece” activity for the interconnection of tourism with commerce. The event’s purpose was to highlight the enormous contribution of retail and wholesale commerce to the European Union’s economy and its valuable role in achieving its ambitious climate, sustainability, digitalization, energy transition, and resilience goals.
In this extensive exhibition held with the assistance of EuroCommerce members to highlight their actions in the areas of sustainability, digitization, and skills, ESEE was represented by its Vice-President and representative at EuroCommerce Spyros Geroditis, the General Secretary of ESEE Nikos Boni, the Director of INEMY-ESEE and Associate Professor EKPA Valia Aranitou and the Head of European and International Relations of ESEE Milena Panagiotopoulou. In particular, the ESEE delegation presented the multiplying effects of tourism activity on commerce and the objectives for promoting Greek business through tourism.
The extensive survey “Commerce and Tourism” was presented, highlighting the sectors that Greek commerce needs to focus on to increase the percentage of tourism spending in commercial establishments. It was underlined that it is necessary to give “tools” to tiny commercial enterprises to sell their products remotely and enjoy the benefits of the single common market.
Also participating in the exhibition were initiatives in the areas of sustainability, digitization, and skills:
- From Spain: The Association of Supermarkets – ASEDAS and the National Association of Large Distribution Companies – ANGED.
- From Germany, the Association of Commercial Enterprises – HDE and the supermarket chain EDEKA.
- From France, sportswear retailer – DECATHLON.
- From Italy, the Federation of Distribution Companies – Federdistribuzione.
- The Federation of National Direct Sales Associations – Seldia.
- The wholesale food commerce company – METRO.
- The multi-brand retail company- SONAE.
- The nutrition company – Herbalife.
- The home improvement company with a broad portfolio of brands – Kingfisher.
The keynote speaker at the celebration of 30 years of operation of EuroCommerce was Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, who spoke about the importance of the European Union’s Single Market and the industrial ecosystem. Also of particular interest was the speech by Professor of Economics and member of the Royal Academy of Belgium Bruno Colmant regarding transforming the balance of power between governments and the market.
In closing, EuroCommerce President Juan Manuel Morales summarized the main objective that all EU commerce organizations should have, pointing out that “retail and wholesale commerce are among the important players for the green and digital transition of the EU economy European Union and the strengthening of employment and the stock of skills. Europe will be in trouble if it does not use our own added value to realize the ambitious goals it has set.”
