Building the most competitive knowledge-based society in the world The MEDEF’s top priority is nothing less than to make Europe the most competitive zone in the world, exactly in accordance with the Lisbon Agenda. This necessarily means mobilising all players in the effort for innovation, training and education. At Brussels, alongside the other employers’ organisations under the aegis of BusinessEurope, the MEDEF works daily to influence the Commission and the Parliament so that all EU initiatives take account of company competitiveness. In France, it fights for the development of research and innovation and for the renewal of higher education.
Building the Europe of social partnership Since 1993,  management and unions in Europe have been able to sign agreements. The MEDEF,  in line with this development, today remains the employers’ organisation that  is the most deeply committed to a two-way dialogue in Europe for modernising the  jobs market. Encouraging world trade More and  more the rules of international trade are being elaborated by international  organisations rather than by states. By taking part in the development of these  rules, the MEDEF sees to it that equity and consistency are respected for all  countries. It prepares the ground for the future of French companies, in a  market that is everyday growing more fluid and transparent. Meeting the worldwide challenge of sustainable development As we all face such problems as climate change, water resources, biodiversity and energy, the MEDEF raises the awareness of companies and mobilises them so that protection of the planet may also be numbered among their competitive advantages. The MEDEF advocates the creation of a world organisation to discover and share those solutions which we will have to implement in all parts of the world.

	The MEDEF International puts French company bosses in touch with public and private decision-makers the world over. Through its worldwide network, it encourages the development of all French firms, particularly SMEs, at the international level. Every year, the MEDEF International organises a number of delegations of French business leaders with concrete projects to targeted countries. These delegations enable businessmen and women to meet decision-makers at the highest level, to identify partners and to become familiar with the business environment.		In France, the MEDEF International organises meetings between foreign heads of state and government and French business leaders, helping the latter to realise their projects and resolve potential difficulties. Finally, working groups enable businessmen and women to swap accounts of their experiences, their successes and their failures.