Outstanding European achievements in business

• On March 15, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants will honor the winners of its pan-European Best of European Business competition in Brussels
• The awards ceremony takes place in the context of the Gala Dinner of the two-day European Business Summit
• Prizes will be awarded in three categories: Growth, Europeanness and Cross-border M&A; a separate CSR prize will also be presented
• CNN is the international media partner to the BEB awards in Brussels

European companies with outstanding performance in three categories will receive a "Best of European Business" (BEB) award on March 15, 2007 in Brussels. The award presentation is the capstone of the overall BEB initiative, held across nine of Europe's strongest economies in 2006/2007. Winners will receive their prize in the context of the Gala Dinner of the two-day European Business Summit (EBS). International news broadcaster, CNN, is the official BEB media partner of the competition.

Launched by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in 2005, the Best of European Business initiative examines business performance by European companies in three different categories each year.

Over nine months, Roland Berger's team of experts rated more than 8,000 companies in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland against a number of specified criteria. A top international jury then selects the winners from each country.

All winners of previous national competitions are nominated for the pan-European prizes in Brussels. Two awards, one for large enterprises and one for SMEs will be presented in each of the three categories: Growth, Making the best of Europe's opportunities ("Europeanness") and Cross-border M&A.

In addition, one company will receive a special award for exceptional commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). As a strategy consultancy, Roland Berger believes that business excellence is closely linked to outstanding corporate responsibility. Relevant factors considered in this special award category included how a company has managed risks and generated or enhanced its existing business through CSR activities. A separate jury examined shortlisted candidates for this prize.

The Brussels awards ceremony is part of the two-day European Business Summit (EBS), which brings together leaders from the world of politics and business to debate the future of Europe's competitiveness. Roland Berger Strategy Consultants serves as the strategic partner of the EBS in 2007. Invited guests include the Prime Ministers of India and Croatia, along with nine EU Commissioners and top European CEOs.

At the EBS, the strategy consultancy will also present the findings of an exclusive survey among 430 of Europe's leading CEOs. A press conference on these results is scheduled for 11.15 local time on March 15.

For further information, please refer to: www.best-of-european-business.com   and www.ebsummit.eu