Commissioners Jourová, Vestager and Moedas represent the Commission at the Lisbon Web Summit

From 4-7 November, the European Commission will be represented at the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal. During the four-day event, Commissioners and EU experts will explore the issues driving Europe’s digital future and highlight how the EU’s policies and investments can help Europe’s brightest technology innovators become global leaders. They will do so at an EU stand as well as through their participation in different events at the Summit. On Tuesday, Commissioner Carlos Moedas, responsible for Research, Science and Innovation, will sign a “Portugal Tech programme” financing agreement under the Juncker Plan to support a Portuguese early-stage fund, together with the European Investment Fund and IFD (the Portuguese National Promotional Institution). Commissioner Moedas will also take part in a panel on “What they don’t teach you at business school”. With 35% of EU workers lacking even basic digital skills, the Commission accentuates the need to bridge the EU’s digital skills gap and will highlight the achievements of the Digital Opportunity Traineeship pilot initiative. On Wednesday, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Commission will sign a financing agreement under the Juncker Plan to support innovative and sustainable transport in Spain. On Thursday, Commissioner Věra Jourová, responsible for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, will discuss on the centre stage the question of regulating big tech and of how to protect democratic values online. She will give a press conference on the EU’s policy against disinformation and other online threats. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, responsible for Competition, will participate in a conversation on the centre stage and will take part in a press conference on the transformative power of technology and digitisation. More information about the EU presence at the Web Summit is also available through this Facebook page and by following #EUatWebsummit. As of October 2019, the European Commission, together with the EIB, has improved access to finance for more than one million start-ups and small and medium-sized businesses, thanks to the Juncker Plan. The Plan has also triggered €17.5 billion investments in the digital sector and more than €44 billion in research, development and innovation.