Poland’s presidency in the Council of the European Union necessitates that the Polish Confederation Lewiatan – the leading Polish employers’ organization – actively engages in the debate on the priorities of our presidency. As a result, a special edition of the European Forum for New Ideas has been conceived. This edition will focus on the future of work and the labor market and will take place on April 15–16 in Warsaw. EFNI Spring will be organized independently from the October edition of EFNI, which is held in Sopot.

The date has been carefully chosen: the conference will follow an informal meeting of European labor ministers (EPSCO) in Warsaw, and the transformation of European (and global) labor markets is one of the key priorities of Poland’s EU Council presidency. During the April event, we will examine these issues from a broad perspective. The key topics of the planned discussions include:

challenges before the European labor market,
impact of the digital transformation – including AI – on employment
ways of ensuring the equality of opportunity on the job market in the context of the economic backdrop,
managing migration and attracting global talent to Europe,
empowering underrepresented groups in the workforce,
migration challenges and their impact on the future of work,
generational dialogue and the role of Gen Z
factors influencing European competitiveness
the skillset of the future,
importance of social dialogue and conditions for achieving cohesion, equality and integration in the labor market.

EFNI Spring will be held under the official patronage of Poland’s presidency in the Council of the European Union, as well as the Polish Minister of Family, Labor, and Social Policy, Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk. Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, Undersecretary of State for European Union Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office, has also confirmed her participation.

“There’s a slew of issues to unpack, including demographic crisis and labor shortages that put economic migration in the forefront. On the other hand we face a rapid technological transformation – robotization, automatization and artificial intelligence – and its impact on the job market: creation of new jobs and opening of new areas of discussion, from qualifications and skills of the future, to new regulations like platform work, completely fresh modes of working, and increasing competitiveness”, says Henryka Bochniarz, PhD, Chair of the General Council, Polish Confederation Lewiatan and the creator of EFNI.

The debates will include a philosophical discussion on the meaning of work, as well as a panel exploring women’s perspectives on the labor market. Beyond a broad range of discussions on the future of work, EFNI Spring will also support Poland’s priorities during its presidency in the EU Council. Only through dialogue can common ground be reached, ensuring that the voice of European business influences key areas concerning the future of Europe and addresses current economic and civilizational challenges.

“From the European point of view all these issues and challenges must be the subject of civic debate – that’s our European way of finding solutions and compromises”, Maciej Witucki, Lewiatan’s president, adds.

„During the 14 years since its inception, EFNI became one of the key economic and business events in this part of Europe. The first edition of the Forum took place during Poland’s first presidency in the EU Council back in 2011. It’s only natural that we now want to support Polish presidency once more. Europe needs a dialogue on the challenges the labor market faces – and the voice of business must be heard in this dialogue”, says Bochniarz.

European Forum For New Ideas – Spring 2025
Future of work, work of the future
Warsaw, Sofitel Warsaw Victoria hotel
April 15^th-16^th