News

How the European Green Deal can boost the economic recovery

The European Green Deal will be key to the success of the EU’s economic recovery. American companies are actively working towards the transition to a greener economy in Europe and are committed to supporting the EU’s objective of achieving climate neutrality by 2050.

Find out more about our views on key initiatives under the Green Deal umbrella, including how to finance the transition to a circular economy, ways to create more sustainable food systems and efforts to decarbonise energy.

Susan Danger, CEO, AmCham EU discusses trade with Financial Times

This week Susan Danger, CEO, AmCham EU, joined the Financial Times' trade newsletter 'Trade Secrets' to answer three questions. She took this opportunity to outline why a comprehensive EU-UK deal remains critical for American companies. She also shared her views on the future of the transatlantic economic relationship and the reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Read more here (full article behind paywall).

For more information, please contact Thibaut L’Ortye (TLO@amchameu.eu).

AmCham EU Chair, Zeger Vercouteren (J&J) speaks about his new role

Zeger Vercouteren (J&J), Chair, AmCham EU speaks about his vision regarding his new role in a video published on Wednesday, 21 October. He outlines that for his tenure he foresees an 'inclusive, innovative' AmCham EU that can contribute to a strong, positive transatlantic relationship. See here for more information.  

AmChams in Europe virtual best practices conference

Last week, over 60 representatives from more than 30 American Chambers of Commerce (AmChams) across Europe and Eurasia attended the annual Best Practices Conference. This year the conference was held virtually to respect the government guidelines and the safety of the participants. In her capacity as Chair of the AmChams in Europe network, Susan Danger, CEO, AmCham EU chaired the conference.

Every year, the AmChams in Europe Community selects the most inspiring best practice among its members. This year's finalists included AmCham Slovenia, AmCham Germany, AmCham Kosovo, AmCham EU and AmCham Israel. The winner of the 2020 Creative Network Award is AmCham Ukraine with its 'Leadership in Times of Crisis' project. A warm congratulations to Andy Hunder, President, AmCham Ukraine and to his team!

Thank you to AmCham Slovenia, in charge of running the Secretariat of the AmChams in Europe network and the Executive Committee of AmChams in Europe for the hard work on this virtual edition of the conference.  

Rebooting the transatlantic economy: webinar

On Wednesday, 14 October over 65 participants tuned in for AmCham EU’s webinar on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the transatlantic economy and paving the way to recovery with Joseph P. Quinlan, Senior Fellow, Transatlantic Leadership Network who outlined the key findings from his newly published report on ‘Rebooting the transatlantic economy’.

Rebooting the Transatlantic Economy

Rarely has the global economy been rocked as hard as from the recent coronavirus and subsequent downturn in global economic activity. Unprecedented, extraordinary, unparalleled, Great Depression-like – the narrative is still searching for the right words to describe the global pandemic of 2020 and the historic decline in global economic activity.

Find out more about the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on transatlantic trade and investment from our 'Rebooting the Transatlantic Economy' webpage and newly published report from Joseph P. Quinlan, Senior Fellow, Transatlantic Leadership Network. The report outlines key trends affecting the global economy and what they mean for the resilience of the transatlantic relationship. For more information on a stronger transatlantic relationship, read our set of recommendations published this week.

AmCham EU welcomes two new colleagues to the team

AmCham EU is pleased to welcome Seán Byrne and Chloe Kenny to the team.
 
Seán will be the Policy Adviser for the Competition Policy Committee, Healthcare Committee and for the Institutional Affairs Taskforce while Chloe joins the team in the role of Communications Assistant. We look forward to having them on board and to working together!

AmCham EU offers feedback on EU cybersecurity law

On Friday, 2 October, AmCham EU responded to a consultation on the directive of network and information systems (NIS). Find the consultation here and supporting paper here. AmCham EU supports the NIS Directive in its current form, with minor modifications. We advocate for:

• Keeping reporting obligations as straightforward as possible, while respecting the clear distinction in function of operators and providers of services.
• Clear guidance on how GDPR and the NIS directive apply in tandem.
• Ensuring that operators of essential services are equally regarded as such in all MS.
• Avoiding overdefining which sectors qualify as operators of essential services.
• Exemptions for sectors where sector-specific legislation already provides for cybersecurity requirements, such as telecoms networks.
• A voluntary, business-to-business information sharing facility in the field of cybersecurity.

AmCham EU elects Zeger Vercouteren as new Chair

Brussels, 8 October 2020 – The American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union (AmCham EU) announced today that Zeger Vercouteren, Vice President, Worldwide Government Affairs & Policy, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Global Supply Chain Initiatives, Johnson & Johnson (J&J), has been elected as its new Chair.