On April 29th 2026, our board member Louis Delcart was invited to be part of the panel organised by the entrepreneurial organisation SME Europe, of which EAR-AER Honorary Member Horst Heitz is secretary-general, during the Spring Conference of the European People’s Party that took place in the European Youth Centre in Budapest and that was organised in close cooperation with the Robert Schuman Institute and the Wilfried Martens Centre.
The initiative was taken by the European Seniors Union to bring together seniors, youth, women, civil society, academics, policymakers, and EU institutions to reflect, debate, and commit to advancing intergenerational solidarity, fairness, and collaboration in Europe.
The objectives are clear: to raise the visibility and political weight of intergenerational solidarity, foster dialogue and mutual understanding between generations, develop concrete policy proposals for social protection and lifelong learning and strengthen networks across EPP Associations / affiliated organisations.
SME Europe’s panel, of which Dr Heitz was the moderator, had as its subject “Generations in Business: How Europe turns Experience into Growth and Youth into Innovation and Competitiveness”.
The keynote on the impact of AI on future business development was given by Dr Nadine Lilienthal, Head of Legal Expertise & Alliance DACH of Dili Trust and CEO & Founder of legaleap. law. She emphasised that AI is not only transforming companies – it is fundamentally changing the way we work. As young people enter a labour market that is evolving faster than ever, experienced professionals are increasingly asking how their skills will remain relevant.
Dr. Lilienthal was also a panel member for the discussion alongside 19-year-old Dolea Daria-Patricia, who represented the Business Organization for Students Romania, President of the Taxpayers Association of Europe Michael Jäger and EAR-AER board member Louis Delcart.
In her statement, Daria Dolea emphasised the pressing need for stronger government support and improved student financing in Romania, particularly in Bucharest, to help students navigate rising education costs. She insisted upon a transitioning from studies to the workforce is increasingly difficult; securing an internship is nearly impossible for students who lack prior experience or active engagement in organizations like BOS (Business Organization for Students).
Daria also believes in the power of networking: Success is heavily dictated by the strength of one’s network. Building professional connections early is essential for opening doors that academic credentials alone cannot.
EAR-AER board member Louis Delcart also made an intervention touching on the following elements in the discussion:
• Intergenerational Synergy: Success requires a “two-way street” where older generations embrace innovation and younger generations value professional experience.
• Human-Centric Technology: Technology risks dehumanizing society if left solely to private profit; it must be balanced with social support and community infrastructure.
• AI as Companionship: The rise of AI personas (like Doubao) demonstrates a growing global reliance on technology to solve social isolation and provide companionship.
• Ecological Crisis: The world faces an urgent depletion and waste problem that is broader than climate change and requires immediate processable solutions.
• Youth-Led Circularity: The younger generation is leading the shift toward a practical circular economy, taking the “3Rs” (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) seriously as a global trend.
• The Triple Helix Model: Effective change happens locally through the collaboration of three pillars: local governments, knowledge centres, and entrepreneurs.
• The Ethics Gap: Relying purely on private initiative is risky, as ethical entrepreneurship is still only practiced by a minority of business owners.
• Barriers to Progress: While the youth offer a story of hope, their progress is threatened by religious and political fanaticism.
In his intervention, Michael Jaeger insisted on improving advice and support for young entrepreneurs and facilitating the takeover of businesses and business succession. He would also like to facilitate access to capital, financing, and venture capital, improve transparency regarding funding opportunities, remove trade barriers, reduce bureaucracy, and introduce exemptions for entrepreneurs. He is in favour of a tax relief and incentives for entrepreneurs and on improving the work-life balance for entrepreneurs.
The discussion with some 25 attendees in the room was lively. Louis Delcart ended the almost 2 yours during session with a message to the participants showing 2 icon photographies: “Caroline Pauwels, the rector of my university who passed away far too young, wrote a small book in 2021 entitled “Ode to Wonder.” It is an inspired plea to look at the world once again with a childlike gaze. In science and art, but also in the big and small moments of every day. In the text, she brings two photographs together.
The space photograph (Pale Blue Dot) of the Earth as a small, blue dot was taken in 1990 by NASA’s Voyager 1 space probe from a distance of approximately 6 billion kilometres. And the world-famous photograph of a foetus sucking its thumb was taken by the Swedish photographer Lennart Nilsson. In doing so, Caroline Pauwels connects the insignificance of the ‘Pale Blue Dot’ with the potential of Nilsson’s baby into a plea for radical wonder and responsibility. On the other hand, the combination of the two images undeniably leads to the conclusion that man is born as a vulnerable being but, as a community, can achieve unimaginable things by working together. Moreover, I would like to link this to intergenerational cooperation by calling for a ‘chain of generations’, in which the wonder of youth is supported by the wisdom of elders to pass on the earth sustainably.”