Czech Business Today

In the period when the Czech economy again started to belong to the group of fastest-growing ones in the EU, accompanied by a very low unemployment rate, substantial trade balance and current accounts surpluses, and rather a moderate fiscal deficit, I have been honoured to be finally approved for being a new member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). 

I personally consider the EESC as an important EU institution, a respectable player contributing to the EU economic policy framework as a reflection of the opinion and a position of a very important stakeholder groups. In addition, I can imagine that an effective utilization of the EESC membership also means an active participation in the extraordinarily structured and never-ending networking process contributing to making benefits in favor of the Czech Republic and its business and economic community. My ambition within the EESC is to be a part of ECO and TEN sections. ECO section, covering the whole range of economic policies and the topic of cohesion policy is naturally my first preference as my professional career is almost equal to providing economic policy consulting and advisory from different aspects. 

I started the preparatory phase for that in the second half of the 80s, after my graduation from the University of Economics in Prague and receiving my first diploma in finance. Shortly after that, I decided not to enter a state company within, at that time, centrally planned system and rather preferred to absorb my first work experience in the academia at the Department of Monetary Theory and Policy, where I had an opportunity to discuss with the key future policymakers who – immediately after the Velvet Revolution in November 1989 – took the highest positions in the newly created democratic political system. My consequent steps, however, led to Western economic academia and research institutions, including my next two diplomas in economic policy management and European studies from Columbia University and KUL Leuven. After almost five years abroad, I decided to return back to the Czech Republic to become a part of the first macroeconomic analytical team in the country in the company Patria Finance, followed by the career at the capital market with Conseq and EU policy analysis and advisory with Erste Bank/Česká spořitelna. My tops in the advisory activities for the public sector are excellent cooperation, first in 1995–1998 when I worked as an economic adviser to President Václav Havel and the second in the period 2009–2014 when I was a member of the National Economic Council of the Czech Government. 

I also like teaching, being the Professor of Economic Transition and Integration at New York University until the end of 2013. I intend to utilize the absorbed professional experience in EESC economic, cohesion, and structural policy concepts as a strong believer in advantages and benefits of a very intensive and deep integration concept. 

The current, rather sensitive, may be fragile and surely not very predictable political and social situation represents in my eyes and mind a big exogenous risk for stability and positive development of the integration process in Europe and a serious element of European vulnerability, despite my conviction about Europe as a strong, responsible and competent continent and its integration grouping.

Petr Zahradník
EESC Member, Group I Employers