February 20, 2006 - More than 200 participants representing the business community, government, civil society, public authorities, trade unions and the media from various European countries gathered in Brussels to discuss how to promote Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the new European Union Member States.

The conference, which was organized by the European Commission’s Directorate General of Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (DG Employment) and the World Bank, was an opportunity to take stock of the current dynamics of CSR in the new member states, both among multinationals and domestic companies, and to share the perspectives of different stakeholder groups on how best to overcome challenges and seize opportunities to promote the practice of CSR.

The conference explored such issues as how CSR is defined or understood in the new member states, what is the impact of the historical context on the approach taken to CSR, what is the new perception of the role of the state in society, and what can be done to reduce the mistrust between business and stakeholders and promote new partnerships.

In his opening remarks, Vladimir Spidla, the EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities called for a pro-active approach to promoting CSR to overcome the lack of trust among the State, businesses, and the NGO sector and emerging civil society in the new member states and build constructive partnerships among these groups.

Edgar Saravia, representing the World Bank, emphasized the Bank’s commitment to help CEE countries promote their CSR agendas, particularly in cooperating with the European Commission in helping local governments develop their comprehensive CSR strategies.

The conference provided an opportunity to present the findings of opinion research on private sector perceptions of CSR in CEE countries and the barriers and challenges they perceive to implement CSR practices. Piotr Mazurkiewicz of the World Bank presented the results of the opinion research study in the Baltic States, and Hungary, Slovakia and Poland, which was conducted by the World Bank in cooperation with the European Commission.

The research indicates that while companies see themselves as predisposed to act in a socially responsible manner, they consider the corporate culture to be primarily market-oriented and competitive, and therefore often lacking the economic incentives and regulations to develop socially responsible practices further.

The research also indicates that the best approach to promoting CSR is to promote voluntary actions rather than through strict regulations and that it is up to governments and other stakeholders acting through constructive partnership to create a more conducive environment for promoting CSR.

Professor Witold Orlowski of the Business School at the Warsaw University of Technology and former Economic Advisor to the President of Poland listed the main reasons for differences between CSR perceptions and practices in Western Europe and CEE, pointing out at the weak public institutions in the new member states.

Other panelist, including Lyra Jakulevieciene of UNDP in Lithunia, Atis Zakatistovs of Stockholm University of Economics in Latvia, and Heather Elms of the Central Europan University discussed the conditions for successful CSR engagement and awareness-raising and the issues of corporate culture and business ethics.

The session on Cultural vs. Economic Challenges for CSR in the enlarged Europe brought together panelists representing business, trade unions, civil society and government from the new member states, including Siim Rae of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Anna Karaszewska of the Polish Confederation of Private Employers, Adam Bodnar of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Agnes Simonyi of the Hungarian Government, and Karoly Gyorgy of Hungarian Trade Unions. The panelists discussed challenges and barriers hindering the adoption of CSR in their countries and ways to promote adoption of socially responsible practices by business, particularly with respect to building constructive partnerships among government, public authorities, business, trade unions and NGOs.

Participants shared experiences and best practices from both the new and the old EU member states, including the issue of the commitment of the top corporate management, the transfer of the corporate culture from the headquarters of the multinationals to the new enterprises, or how to deal with corrupt practices. It was also an opportunity to share experiences from other transition countries such as Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia and Turkey  and to create new networks of stakeholders.

In his closing remarks Mr. Dominique Be of DG Employment praised the cooperation between the European Commission and the World Bank in the area of CSR and presented it as a model for future joint initiatives between two institutions in helping countries broaden and deepen their CSR programs.

For more information on the Conference, please visit

  http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/soc-dial/csr/060220_cover_en.html