The 12th Central European Logistics and Transport Congress EASTLOG 2009 has concluded. During this three-day event in Prague, Czech Republic, approximately 1,000 guests attended – mainly from the Czech Republic itself, but also from Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and other countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The main topic of the proceedings was the economic situation of the Czech Republic and neighboring countries during the crisis, as well as ways to remain competitive in the market during this difficult time.
The Eastlog Congress began on May 27 with an economic analysis of the situation that has unfolded over the past year – starting from the United States, through Europe – and in more detail – the central part of the continent and the Czech Republic itself. Ales Michl, chief analyst at Raiffeisenbank, presented the sources of the economic crisis and its impact on changing the economic strategies of individual countries, as well as shifts in the direction of logistics and transport development.
In the next presentation regarding the details of the Czech Presidency of the European Union, Petr Duchon, a Member of the European Parliament, presented legislative changes concerning transport in a broad sense – including road, rail, air, and water transport, aimed at removing barriers that hinder movement within the European Union. Other figures from the world of politics also spoke on this topic – Szabolcs Schmidt, head of the E1 group (inland transport) at the European Commission, Marc Billiet from the International Road Transport Union (IRU), and Vladimir Slavicek, head of the Department of European Affairs at the Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic.
Subsequent presentations held in the main congress hall concerned ways to minimize the effects of the global economic crisis.
– One way is to strengthen mutual transport cooperation between neighboring countries, establish preferential rules for trade exchange, and provide support for domestic carriers – said Jan Ekl, Managing Director of the Association of Forwarding and Logistics of the Czech Republic (Svaz Spedice a Logistiky CR).
We spoke about this topic with Wojciech Pobóg-Pągowski, head of the Trade and Investment Promotion Section at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Prague:
– The economic situation in Western Europe has also significantly affected the situation in the Czech Republic. Preliminary data for the first quarter of 2009 indicate that GDP fell by 3.4% year-on-year; the automotive industry felt the biggest problems, e.g., for the first time in history, Skoda Auto suspended production for 3 weeks – explains W. Pobóg-Pągowski. – The cooperation between the Czech Republic and Poland has been very good so far, especially since our joint accession to the European Union and the removal of barriers related to trade exchange and capital flow. Over the last five years, trade between our countries has tripled. Polish companies are doing very well in the Czech market – this is mainly due to geographical, cultural, and linguistic proximity. In both countries, programs are being conducted that aim to support companies operating in both local and international markets. Support is also provided by the economic services of both countries; in the case of Poland, it is the Trade and Investment Promotion Section, which is a foreign office of the Minister of Economy. On the other hand, there is an agency in the Czech Republic that supports Czech entrepreneurs operating in foreign markets (Czech Trade) – one could say that our actions are complementary.
The Eastlog 2009 Congress, although noticeably smaller than last year’s, was an important meeting point for the logistics industry, as it brought together specialists from the Central and Eastern European region and provided an opportunity to establish interesting international contacts, learn about ways to deal with the economic crisis, and discover the most interesting logistics solutions in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, and other European countries.
As part of the three-day Congress, the following were organized:
– Business Arena (the central business hub of the Congress),
– conferences and workshops (presentations, case studies, discussions),
– a forum on Human Resources in Logistics (discussion forum for managers, workshops for students, job fair),
– Logistic Business Mixer (meeting of industry professionals),
– visits to logistics centers (a chance to see logistics in action),
– transport industry meeting (interactive workshops),
– Regional Days (experiences, trends, inspiration for cooperation between Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria),
– corporate seminars (professional workshops led by specific companies).
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The official summary of the event in English is available in a PDF file.