DIGITALEUROPE’s Post

The 2023 scandal with Paddy Cosgrave is a thing of the past. He has returned to his leadership position, and his speech opened the Websummit. For Ukraine, participating in such international platforms is not just an opportunity but a necessity. Every stage we step on is a chance to showcase our resilience, announce our innovations, and capture the world’s attention. By now, many have already shared the headline moment from the main stage: Alex Bornyakov’s announcement of Code UA, a marketplace designed to connect Ukrainian tech businesses with foreign partners, investors, and customers. While #Ukraine didn’t have a major stand this year, that didn’t stop us from being seen. Ukrainian companies were everywhere—distributed across the pavilions yet impossible to miss. This dispersion mirrors how we’ve adapted to challenging circumstances: dynamic, vocal, and always ready to take action. Need a #flashmob? Instant execution. #Networking? The largest and most vibrant meetups were powered by Ukrainian energy. For me, this #WebSummit was more than a professional gathering; it was a therapeutic experience with a once-a-year chance to reconnect with colleagues Dmytro Kudrenko, Anton Voroniuk, Natalia Tonenka, Nataliia Chernichko, Anna Berezetska, and many others to share stories of perseverance and the strength that keeps us moving forward. The Ukrainian delegation didn’t just participate; we led. From Women in STEM to SendPulse’s 500+ attendee gathering and the Promova meetup, we hosted some of the most impactful events, drawing attendees from across the globe—from New York to Australia. Despite everything, we are strong and united facing challenges, creating opportunities, proving that technology not only unites but can also empower and inspire—especially when driven by women.

Five European cities have gathered in Barcelona for our Democracy Lab! 💡 Hosted by Eurocities and the City of Barcelona, this unique platform enables local government officials and democracy practitioners to collaborate, innovate, and tackle real-world challenges through democratic interventions. Here's a snapshot of the challenges our cities are bringing to the table today: 🇧🇬 Sofia: Implementation of civic tech as a strategic democratic measure in the city 🇵🇹 Cascais: AI in improvement of Cascais' Participatory Budget 🇳🇱 Rotterdam: Technology to increase citizens’ involvement in neighbourhood council elections 🇹🇷 Istanbul: Setting up a digital participation platform in a highly diverse, multicultural megacity 🇱🇹 Vilnius: The proficiency of senior citizens in navigating digital services and democratic participation Between September 17-19, small teams led by experienced facilitators will work on actionable solutions to these challenges, with the support of experts from the Nets4Dem network, local stakeholders, and Barcelona’s own team. The results? Fresh perspectives, collaborative solutions, and democratic innovations ready to be implemented back home ✔️ Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3AYiY5t European Capital Of Democracy #ECoD#ECoD

I had the honor of leading a delegation of 9️⃣ European Tech champions in The Hague 🇳🇱. We discussed how to keep Europe competitive and unlock #European #tech #leadership at home and beyond. Here’s what we need to focus on: 🔋 Complete the Single Market and Strengthen EU Harmonisation: Ensure uniform interpretation and consistent enforcement of laws across the EU. This can be achieved through strengthened cooperation among authorities within and between Member States, and by assessing overlapping and conflicting rules. 🚀 Develop a Comprehensive EU Tech Strategy: Focus on the needs of unicorns by fostering a robust data economy and attracting and retaining talent. ⚖️ Enforce the Rules Equitably: Ensure EU regulations apply to all, regardless of a company’s HQ. Address enforcement gaps by improving existing mechanisms rather than introducing new rules. 🏹 Adopt Tailored Rules Where Necessary: After current rules have matured, assess their impact, identify gaps, and consider the need for specific regulations. Understand the nuances of different business models, with industry input playing a crucial role. 🙏 Hartelijk bedankt aan onze gastheren Martijn Snoep, Annemarie Sipkes, Jeroen Jonker, Michiel Boots, Eva Heijblom MSc., Jesse Six Dijkstra, Queeny-Aimée Rajkowski, Wendy van Eijk, Jonathan Koets, Floor Rombach, Daan van der Neut, Adyss S., Danaë Daal, Neila Bakija en aan alle EUTA-leden: Carolien Mazal (TomTom), Maurice Hoogeveen (Booking.com), Sharon Doornenbal and Evelyn Vaalburg (bol), Ena Salihovic (Zalando), Kamil Kłopocki (Allegro), Chantal Malfeyt (Adevinta), Marc Naether (Bolt), Nathalie Laneret (Criteo), Romain Digneaux (Proton ).

🥁 internet lab hosts “𝘿𝙚́𝙟𝙖̀ 𝙑𝙪 𝘿𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡: 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙀𝙪𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚’𝙨 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙁𝙚𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙗𝙖𝙩𝙚…𝘼𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣”, an 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟰 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 (𝟭𝟰𝗵𝟯𝟬-𝟭𝟲𝗵 𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗧) 🔍 The 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘇𝗼𝗼𝗺𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻’𝘀 21 February 2024 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿 ‘How to master Europe’s digital infrastructure needs?’, which is open to comments until 30 June 2024. ❓ The 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 that our panellists will address are:   🟡 Do you consider that the introduction of dispute settlement mechanisms or the expansion of universal service obligations might indirectly lead to the potential introduction of a system resembling a network fee?  🟡 And if so, what would be the consequences for Europe and its citizens? 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀:   🎙️ Regulatory | Michel Van Bellinghen - BIPT - IBPT 🎙️ Networks | Petra Arts - Cloudflare  🎙️ Civil Society | Carl Gahnberg - Internet Society (ISOC) 🎙️ Telco | Gonzalo Lopez-Barajas Huder - Telefónica 🎙️ Content | Julia Maxwell - The European VOD Coalition 🎙️ Economist | Aude Schoentgen - Plum Consulting 🎙️ ISP SME | Tom Smyth - Wireless Connect Ltd. 🎙️ Consumers | Cláudio Teixeira - BEUC - The European Consumer Organisation 🎙️ Moderator | Caroline De Cock - information labs 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀: https://lnkd.in/eNE49vwe 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻: 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘛𝘶𝘣𝘦 ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e6irSMKD 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘥𝘐𝘯 ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ew89mr2Q #OpenInternet #connectivity #EUtelecoms #EUpolicy #Europe #WhitePaper

Following on from our debate, which highlighted the need for digital literacy in terms of people navigating both dis- and misinformation better, join Tactical Tech's co-founder in exploring ways to boost this essential skill for societal resilience. Vanessa Ramos-Velasquez, Felix Friedrich, Neus Vidal Martí, Nicole Bogott, Maurice Frank

Nice to pitch in front of investors and representatives from Public Entities (municipalities, regional administrations a ministries) from Spain, The Netherlands, Estonia, Belgium... Scale-ups are key to improve the services for the cityzens, mainly when new technologies have to be applied. We need to spread this knowledge to all the responsible that want to get it. GovTech Connect European Commission PUBLIC Intellera The Lisbon Council

We're excited to announce the launch of EU Tech Loop, your new go-to source for insights and analysis on the European Union’s digital policies. Powered by Consumer Choice Center Europe, we are an independent media outlet launched in 2024, dedicated to exploring the intersection of tech, policy, and consumer rights, and how innovation helps us all. 🚀 ❓ What We Do: At EU Tech Loop, we delve into the intricacies of EU digital policies to provide you with comprehensive insights that matter. Our aim is to inform and enrich the public debate by offering balanced analyses that highlight the impact of these policies on innovation and consumer choice. 🎯 Our Vision: we believe in sharing the best policy practices from across the continent and fostering a community where opinion leaders and policymakers can contribute to shaping a forward-thinking digital landscape in the EU. 🌐 Join the Conversation: We invite you to join us on this journey as we break down complex policy issues and discuss how they affect every one of us - as consumers, professionals, and citizens. Follow our page, share your thoughts, contribute to the dialogue via editor@eutechloop.com and stay tuned for in-depth articles and expert opinions. #EUTechLoop #techreg #Innovation #tech #EU

Yet another productive and inspiring European Tech Alliance (EUTA) Day behind. The days serve as an important touch point on our key initiatives, for sharing information, and discussing ways forward on our key topics. If you are interested in what we are up to, check comments for a link to subscribe to our newsletter!

Trustworthy news media has never been more important, says Minister for Foreign Affairs Lars Løkke Rasmussen. A new world order calls for action as our security, freedom, social cohesion, and democratic cultures, in all their diversity, are being challenged also by the digital transformation. The challenges are addressed in the Government’s European Policy Agreement, which emphasises that Denmark must be a strong voice for a responsible, fair, and secure digitalisation. Denmark will work for EU measures tackling the tech giants and AI and supports the 13 AI-recommendations from the government’s tech expert group. The Minister for Culture, Jakob Engel-Schmidt, and the Ministry are at the forefront when it comes to copyright regulation of big tech. Our response to the challenges must be free and plural media, academia, active civil society, and informed, engaged, and empowered citizens – the best guarantee for the resilience of our democracy. Together with Danske Medier and Dicle Duran Nielsen, DPCMO works to ensure that big tech respects press publishers' rights. https://lnkd.in/eCQvQ9gy

Soooo... this is happening! Brussels round-table 24 September on how to build an open, competitive and interoperable digital public infrastructure. The way I see it, Europe - extremely dependent on and vulnerable to US Big Tech platforms to power our entire society, economy and public services - has two choices: 1 - Do the Mario Draghi thing and funnel a tonne of money to a few EU companies like telecoms incumbents to build a Europe-branded version of the US monopolistic tech-stack, or... 2 - Realise we can't out-compete the US and China versions of tech on their own monopolistic, surveillance-based business models, and build a digital public infrastructure that looks like Europe; embracing diversity, modular construction, open innovation, and at least (!) 27 different ways of doing things. One of these options is truly European. . . Come along on 24 September to hear from Cristina Caffarra Francesca Bria Meredith Whittaker Robin Berjon sujith nair Audrey Tang and many more on how to build a Euro-Stack where we all have equal opportunities, rights and freedoms. https://lnkd.in/g8apgydX