EU Industrial Policy for Digital leadership

On 23 February 2021, EIF organised the virtual debate “EU Industrial Policy for Digital leadership” aimed at discussing the new updated European Commission proposal on the EU industrial strategy expected to be launched in mid-March. As a consequence of Covid crisis and the considerable investment package foreseen, investments into ‘digital’ have the opportunity to relaunch and transform the European economy. The debate, hosted by MEP and EIF Chair Pilar del Castillo, was moderated by EIF Director General Maria Rosa Gibellini and featured the following speakers:

• Maria Teresa Fabregas, Director of the Recovery & Resilience Task Force at the European Commission
• Christoph Steck, Director of Public Policy & Internet at Telefonica
• Alain Dedieu, President of Water Waste Water segment at Schneider-Electric and Chair of DIGITALEUROPE’s Digital Manufacturing Executive Council
• Vera Demary, Head of the Competence Area, Digitalisation, Structural Change and Competition at the German Institute for Economic Research

Internet Governance Forum 2020 key take-aways

The EIF virtual debate organized on 3 February 2021 focused on the take-aways of the Fifteenth Annual Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) which was hosted online by the United Nations between 9 and 17 November under the overarching theme 'Internet for human resilience and solidarity' and around the four main thematic tracks: Data; Environment; Inclusion; Trust.

The debate, moderated by EIF Director General Maria Rosa Gibellini and hosted by MEP and EIF member Lina Gálvez Muñoz, discussed the take-aways together with the following speakers:

• Mattia Fantinati, Member of the House of Representatives, Italian Parliament, newly elected MAG Member
• Lise Fuhr, Director General, ETNO
• Esteve Sanz, Head of Sector, Internet Governance and Multi-stakeholder Dialogue, DG CNECT, European Commission 
• Giovanni Seppia, External Relations Manager, EURid
• Sandra Hoferichter, Secretary General, EuroDIG

The Digital Markets Act: the role of gatekeepers

On 27 January, EIF organized a virtual debate to discuss “The Digital Markets Act: the role of gatekeepers”. The event, hosted by Digital Services Act Rapporteur MEP Alex Agius Saliba, was moderated by EIF Director General Maria Rosa Gibellini and featured the following expert speakers:
- Inge Bernaerts, Director for Policy and Strategy, DG COMP, European Commission
- Vincent de Dorlodot, Senior Vice President EU Affairs, Bertelsmann and RTL Group; Head of the Brussels Liaison Office
- Hendrik Bourgeois, Head for government affairs for Europe and Russia, Apple
- Fiona Scott Morton, Theodore Nierenberg Professor of Economics at the Yale University School of Management

The European Alliance for Industrial Data and Cloud

On 26 January 2021, the EIF organised a virtual debate on ‘The European Alliance for Industrial Data and Cloud’. The event, hosted by MEP and EIF Chair Pilar del Castillo, was moderated by EIF Director General Maria Rosa Gibellini and focused on a number of issues around this initiative with the following policymakers and industry representatives:

• Pearse O'Donohue, Director for the Future Networks Directorate, DG CONNECT, European Commission
• Stéphane Demartis, Vice President for Cloud infrastructure solutions and services, Orange
• Jo Stark, Director of Strategic Business Development, IBM

Cybersecurity priorities in Europe

On 9 December 2020, EIF organised a virtual debate on ‘Cybersecurity priorities in Europe’. The event, hosted by MEP and EIF Steering Committee member Marina Kaljurand, was moderated by EIF Director General Maria Rosa Gibellini and discussed about EU priorities and challenges in the context of cybersecurity certifications and response to cyberattacks together with the following policymakers and industry representatives:

• Philippe Blot, Lead Expert on Certification, ENISA
• Dr. Claire Vishik, Intel Fellow and Chief Technology Officer, Government Markets and Trade group at Intel Corporation
• Bernardo Costa Pereira, Cyber Attaché, Portuguese Permanent Representation
• Tomas Jakimavicius, Senior Director of Public Policy - Europe, GSMA
• Alexandra Maniati, Director, Cybersecurity & Innovation, European Banking Federation

A European Digital Skills strategy

On 18 November, EIF organised a virtual debate titled "A European digital skills strategy" hosted by MEP Victor Negrescu.

The discussion, moderated by EIF Director-General, Maria Rosa Gibellini, featured the following speakers:

- Alina Ujupan, Member of Cabinet of Executive VP Vestager, European Commission
- Izabela Milewska, Digital Skills Global Leader, Amazon Web Services
- Nenja Wolbers, Project Manager, Digital Opportunities Foundation
- Rok Kvaternik, CEO, Ernst Klett Publishers, Region Eastern Europe & Baltics
- Janine Costa, Education Attaché, Coordination Education, Youth and Sports, Portuguese Permanent Representation

Read more at www.internetforum.eu