In this session a panel of experts will discuss the EU’s digital strategy in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the volatile geopolitical situation.
Europe aims to be a leader in digital technologies. Is there a tension between the necessary investments in digitalisation and the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis or could they be a way to reaching it? What more can be done to promote European leadership in both production and use of key digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, 5G/6G, and more?
Meanwhile Europe also faces increasing global challenges. What can be done to strengthen the competitiveness of EU industries both vis a vis one another and in competition with our global trading partners and competitors? What role should competition policy, state aid rules and taxation play in ensuring a suitably level playing field vis a vis global competitors in the digital age?
It is easy to speak of strategic autonomy and digital sovereignty, but is it practical to achieve strategic autonomy across the board? Are there specific sectors and value chains for which we need to prioritise digital sovereignty in order to reduce our exposure to third countries? Are there others where reliance on third countries is likely to be unproblematic, or where it is simply unavoidable?
Chair: Scott Marcus, Senior Fellow, Bruegel
Francesca Bria, Chairman, CDP Venture Capital SGR- Italian Innovation Fund
Gerard de Graaf, Director for the Digital Single Market, European Commission, DG CONNECT
Alberto Di Felice, Director for Infrastructure, Privacy and Security, Digital Europe
Georgios Petropoulos, Research Fellow, Bruegel
