COMPETITIVENESS: EUROCHAMBRES TO CALL FOR 'CULTURAL CHANGE'.

But there is a "paradox" in Europe, which was built to prevent conflict and foster compromise, he added. "In some of the bigger member states the standard of living is so high that we think if we take risks we lose something", Mr Abruzzini lamented. "We don't understand that if we don't take any risks, we are damned to die ... other regions in the world will succeed and prosper."

Against this background, Mr Abruzzini applauded Enterprise Commissioner Gunter Verheugen for proposing a new educational programme promoting entrepreneurship in a recently-presented policy document on SMEs. The basic idea is to influence students so that they do not see entrepreneurial activity - and wealth creation - as a bad thing, as some Europeans seem to have done in the past. "If we're not able to communicate that, we are doomed", he cautioned. "If you don't take risks, you are not an entrepreneur".

The Congress will also focus on key outstanding business concerns, including demands that an EU...