Commissioners Oettinger and Moedas participate in the ICT 2015 conference in Portugal

Commissioner Oettinger, responsible for the Digital Economy and Society, and Commissioner Moedas, responsible for Research, Science and Innovation, take part today and tomorrow in the conference ICT 2015 – Innovate, Connect, Transform in Lisbon, Portugal.The event notably presents new funding opportunities in information and communication technologies (ICT) under Horizon 2020, the EU’s research and innovation framework programme (see last week’s announcement: Commission invests €16 billion in funding for research and innovation over next two years – press conference by Commissioner Moedas).

Commissioner Oettinger opened the event this morning and participated in a workshop on standards and spectrum for the next generation of communication networks, 5G. Following the meeting, he said: “I am delighted that 5G industrial associations from various continents agreed today to promote a common approach towards 5G developments. This follows our efforts at political level, and most recently the partnership that I signed with Miao Wei, Chinese Minister of Industry and Information Technology. We need a joint vision to deliver the networks of the future across the world as soon as possible.” (More information here).

Commissioner Moedaswill speak at the event tomorrow and will highlight the importance of new technologies for open science. He will touch on how the Digital Single Market Strategy, presented by the Commission in May, will help Europe make the most of digital opportunities and create the right environment for researchers and innovators to bring their ideas to life. He will say: “Digital technologies are not only changing how we do business, but creating entirely new kinds of business. Whether improving services, making them more accessible or digitalising them entirely, we have one choice and that’s to take advantage of this new way of thinking, working and innovating.” Speeches will be available on the respective webpages of the Commissioners and will be broadcast on EbS.