Event Helps Texas Businesses Access World’s Largest Economic Zone

AUSTIN—The 3rd annual Texas-EU summit, a business-focused event seeking to connect Texas business with economic opportunities in the European Union (EU), will be held May 1^st, 2014 at Austin’s AT&T Center.

“This is a big opportunity for Texas businesses,” says Dr. Doug Biow, Director of the Center of European Studies and the EU Center of Excellence at UT-Austin, a major co-host of the summit. “When you look at who is buying Texas products or where international investment into Texas comes from, the European Union nations are key players.”

The summit brings trade promotion experts and business people from European Union nations to Austin for panels and meetings with the Texas business community.  It offers a unique face-to-face opportunity for businesses to make connections and learn about current inbound and outbound business opportunities with Europe.

The 2014 event will feature a session on France, focusing on its role as an innovation hub. Sujiro Seam, French Consul General in Houston, says this is an excellent opportunity for both France and Texas.  “As a prime business partner of the United States in Texas, France is honored to be featured at the Third Texas-European Union Summit. France ranks among the top 20 trade partners of Texas and remains the third largest foreign direct investor in this part of the Nation, while the United States continues to lead foreign direct investment in France.”

Another high-profile component will be a sessions featuring representatives from the high-growth and populous markets of the Visegrad Group (consisting of the central European nations of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia). Additional sessions featuring other European nations have been scheduled and will continue to be announced.

The 28 nations of the European Union represent a combined economy of $16.7 trillion (compared with $16.2 trillion for the United States and $8.2 billion for China) [IMF 2012] and a market of more than half a billion people.

The 2014 Texas-EU Summit is organized under the auspices of the European Union Delegation to the United States and the EU Center of Excellence at the University of Texas at Austin. It occurs in partnership with Austin Community College, the City of Austin, Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, Greater San Marcos Partnership, Kozmetsky Center for Excellence in International Finance at St. Edwards University, the World Affairs Councils of America and the World Affairs Council of Austin.