INTERVIEW WITH ERNEST-ANTOINE SEILLIERE, PRESIDENT OF BUSINESSEUROPE : HEAD OF EUROPEAN EMPLOYERS' FEDERATION SOUNDS THE ALARM.

• Position: Interview

French-born Ernest-Antoine Seilliere, President of BUSINESS-EUROPE, the Confederation of European Business, told Europolitics in an interview that "2009 would signal the fall of Europe" if no changes are made before then, clearly pointing to several institutional reforms that need to be implemented. His warning follows hard on the heels of his organisation's decision to change its name - yesterday UNICE, today BUSINESS-EUROPE (see Europolitics 3232), a symbolic gesture to underline that the employers' federation wishes to ensure that the voice of business' is heard loud and clear.

Why is the business world asking for more Europe?

Faced with the big guns such as the United States, Japan, China, India, Russia and Brazil, we as businesses cannot accept that Europe carries no weight in dialogue on key issues such as energy, the environment, currencies, trade, intellectual property...