Decision-makers in European governments and corporations face an extraordinarily testing time. Burgeoning international competition, the pace of consolidation in key industries and service sectors and high-speed technological change have increased the complexity of the policy challenges. Yet at the same time the pressures of politics and the capital markets have shortened the planning horizons within which solutions must be found. The start of economic and monetary union (EMU) and the proposed enlargement of the European Union confront the continent with the need for widespread reforms in economic management. The fourth annual conference of the German-British Forum will be devoted to two main questions.

• How has Europe coped so far with global economic transition and the fresh demands brought by the Euro?

• What new policies are needed to meet the task of securing jobs, growth and competitiveness in the third millennium?