Florida Cabinet Member And European Union Official Make Stop In South Florida As International Trade Issue Takes Center Stage Tom Gallagher and Peter Berz join Florida-based consuls from EU Member States; to speak at World Trade Center Palm Beach event, "Doing Business with the European Union" May 22 WEST PALM BEACH, FL., May 15, 2003 -- Florida's Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher and EU Official from the European Commission Delegation in Washington, D.C., Peter Berz will be the keynote speakers at the World Trade Center Palm Beach event May 22 at the Palm Beach Gardens Marriott. Gallagher will discuss the financial importance of doing business with European Union nations and the fiscal impact international trade has on the state's economy. Berz, a senior staff member of the EU Delegation in Washington, D.C., expert in US/EU economic and trade relations, will take the stage at the trade symposium to discuss hot button issues like the EU single market with free flow of people, capital, goods and services, monetary integration, EU enlargement, and US/EU economic relations. Also attending the event, scheduled from 11:30 to 3:00 P.M., will be regional business and government leaders and consulate office representatives from 8 of the 15 existing EU member nations. From 2 to 3 P.M. guests will be able to meet with consulate representatives from Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden and Spain. Ten new countries from Eastern and Central Europe and the Mediterranean will join the EU's ranks next May, including Slovenia, which will be represented at the event on Thursday. An enlarged EU market would have 450 million consumers. In Florida, the EU is the #1 export market and the #1 foreign investor. "The U.S. and the European Union enjoy the world's largest commercial relationship and are each other's largest trade and investment partners. In 2001, two-way trade in goods and services between the U.S. and the EU amounted to $537.7 billion," Berz said. The non-profit World Trade Center Palm Beach is a member of the New York City-based World Trade Centers Association (WTCA), which was formed in 1970 and is the largest, private international trade association in the world. With more than 300 trade centers worldwide and a membership base of more than 750,000 companies, the WTCA focuses on international trade by bringing together importers, exporters and service providers. # # # CONTACT: Michelle Rosen, +1-561-750-9800, ext. 14, or MRosen@transmediagroup.com