This years European Business Summit gathered more than 2000 participants and 150 distinguished speakers to debate some of the biggest challenges for entrepreneurship and sustainable development in an enlarged Europe. Prince Philippe of Belgium was among the honoured guests at the event, which was organised jointly by the Federation of Enterprises in Belgium (FEB) and UNICE. The defining feature of the conference was a series of high level interactive panel discussions focusing on the key dimensions of entrepreneurship and sustainable development - economic, social and environmental performance. CSR was one of the hot topics on the table at a session focusing on the question One European social model for 28 countries? The panel featured European Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou, Ernest Antoine Seillère, President MEDEF and Vice- President of UNICE, Emilio Gabaglio, Secretary General of ETUC, Janusz Galeziak, Former Secretary of State in the Polish Ministry of Social Affairs, and CSR Europe President Etienne Davignon. Mr Davignon highlighted how business networks like CSR Europe are helping companies to take up their role in responding to Europes social challenges. In particular, he pointed to the upcoming launches of the European Academy of Business in Society1 and the SME key unlocking responsible business2, as key initiatives in the process of deepening knowledge on CSR and helping all companies, irrespective of size, to measure and report on their social and environmental performance. He also praised the initiative by the European Commission to create Europes first neutral multi-stakeholder forum3 on CSR. The European Business Summit focuses on business role in the new Europe The EBS organisers with Belgium's Prince Philippe and European policymakers CSR Europe engages journalists in the story of the decade As a special partner in the event, CSR Europe hosted a workshop aimed specifically at journalists. The first in a series of discussions with members of the press, the aim was to hear journalists opinions and questions on the story behind CSR. Moderator and freelance journalist Roger Cowe launched the debate by declaring that CSR was on its way to becoming the story of the decade, and compared the current CSR developments to the advances in labour and health and safety laws that followed the industrial revolution. Echo researchs Managing Director Giselle Bodie presented her companies latest research on the rise and rise of CSR as a subject in the mainstream and business press. Echos research showed that CSR was not only becoming an increasingly popular topic for journalists, but that nearly 60% of all articles in 2001 took a favourable view on the issue. Finally, Prof. Gilbert Lenssen drew attention to how current research is addressing the urgent question of the business case for CSR. The debates participants raised a number of crucial issues, including the role of NGOs and the question of mandatory social and environmental reporting.