companies entered the markets and prepared the ground for subsequent investment waves. more recently, investment projects have shifted from labor - intensive, low - skill industries to more skillintensive industries and the service sector. this may indicate that the new eu member states have reached a new level of development. in this sense, austria is not only confronted with a changing fdi landscape in europe, but is actively participating in shaping it. the profitability of austrian investment projects in central and eastern europe is much higher than in other regions. as most projects are still young, profitability can be expected to remain above average for the years to come. by turning to the east, austrian companies have not only succeeded in reaping benefits for their own operational business ; they have also contributed substantially to european integration and the realization of welfare gains. however, i do not want to finish my elaborations on austria ’ s fdi situation without adding some words on the challenges ahead. based on the excellent experience with investing into austria ’ s neighbouring countries and the wish to maintain their pioneer role, companies have begun to move farther east - and southeastward searching for new investment opportunities. this regional shift does not come without additional risks : austrian companies are approaching markets that are more distant both in a geographical sense as well as in their traditions and business culture. this makes a comprehensive judgement of the associated risks more difficult. at the same time, austria increasingly faces competition from what used to be typical fdi host countries, which are now emerging as active investors in their neighboring countries, often sharing with them a common language and a common history. the changing fdi landscape in europe is thus a challenge for investor countries like austria. but austria will also be challenged as an fdi host country. investors constantly update their investment strategies in geographical and sectoral terms. i appeal to the future austrian government to continue the stability - oriented fiscal and dynamic structural policies in order to preserve austria ’ s attractiveness as a business location. besides an appealing tax system and investment incentives this also requires a highly trained workforce and continued wage moderation in combination with flexibility and social peace. reform deadlock or “ defense play ” would be a short - sighted and risky strategy that will neither bring growth nor employment. the focus of this conference lies on the countries of central, eastern and southeastern europe. but over the next two days we will also hear about experiences in western european countries or the u. s. after all, fdi trends worldwide are dominated by the

be a rather narrow topic. however, a closer look at the issues covered in the conference program quickly reveals how complex and controversial this topic really is. robert c. feenstra, a first - rate expert on fdi, expressed it the following way : “ fdi combines aspects of both international trade in goods and international financial flows, and it is a phenomenon more complex then either of these. ” for individual businesses, fdi raises questions of ownership and location considerations. for the public, fdi very often raises fears of unemployment and loss of independence. for policymakers, fdi and the internationalization of business are accompanied by the challenging task of increasing the attractiveness of their country as a business location and providing the ground for positive spillovers, while at the same time responding to the fears of the public. and for international institutions there is a sheer endless list of tasks, from publishing comprehensive data on fdi and providing funds and investment insurance, to promoting an ongoing dialogue between the major nations in order to avoid the revival of protectionist and beggar - thy - neighbor policies. international institutions such as the wto, the unctad, the oecd, the imf, the ebrd or the eib have – each in their respective fields – contributed substantially to providing satisfactory data, best practice catalogues and a growing body of scientific research, which has laid the ground for a discussion that is based on facts instead of sentiment and prejudices. it is our hope that this conference will contribute to this ongoing discussion by highlighting the most recent trends and research findings and bringing together experts from various backgrounds. in our conference title, we refer to a changing landscape, as we have seen over the years that regional fdi links have indeed changed dramatically. investors have extended and shifted their investment radius, entering new territory both in a geographical and a sectoral sense. competition has increased both among investor countries and fdi host countries. at the same time, fdi has displayed its power to connect regions. countries that appeared distant a decade ago are now perceived to be within easy reach, owing to close business relations and fdi links. in this sense, fdi is a connecting force which influences the entire business landscape. to illustrate the complexity and the importance of foreign direct investments for the current political debate, i would like to present the topic from two perspectives : the european perspective and the austrian perspective. let me start with the european perspective : at the very origin of the european integration project