We are delighted to invite you to an event which will be held on Tuesday, 28th of September 2021 at 16.00.
The event will consist of an afternoon session on the question of how the EU telecom industry can create long term-value in Europe with our distinguished speakers:
- Mr Anthony Whelan, Member of the Cabinet of President Von der Leyen, European Commission;
- Ms Eva Kaili MEP (S&D/GR), Committee on Industry, Research and Energy – ITRE, European Parliament;
- Ms Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, Director General, DIGITALEUROPE;
- Dr Andrea Renda, Senior Research Fellow and Head of Global Governance, Regulation, Innovation and the Digital Economy, CEPS;
- Ms Nawar Cristini Equity Analyst, Morgan Stanley;
- Mr Ramon Fernandez, Delegate CEO, Finance, Performance and Development, Orange.
The event will be moderated by Matthew Newman, Chief Correspondent, MLex.
This is a public event hence it will not be held under the Chatham House Rule.
Given the current developments regarding the Covid-19 outbreak, this event will be held in streaming.
This event is co-organised with:
About the debate
Europe’s endeavour to frame a long-term vision for its economy and society for the next decade and beyond has been at the core of the EU policy-making of President Von der Leyen’s Commission. This process has included, among others, the adoption of the ambitious targets set out in the Digital Compass and the upcoming adoption of the Digital Policy Programme, the Fit455 package, the revision of the Industrial Policy Strategy, as well as the adoption of the European Alliance for Industrial Data, Edge and Cloud. Indeed, digitalisation is regarded as the most prominent opportunity to ensure a prosperous future for current and future generations as it is revolutionising the world of work, business structures and value chains.
The COVID crisis has notably accelerated digitalisation processes and the upcoming years could represent a turning point for EU citizens and businesses, if they can fully benefit from the ongoing digital revolution. In fact, the digitalisation of the EU is underway and should strongly contribute to the various recovery plans, since 20% of the NextGenerationEU budget should be devoted to digital projects. This stance is essential to ensure the EU’s recovery, as well as to keep pace with competitors at the global level.
EU telecommunications operators are making substantial efforts to speed up the transition to 5G and fibre networks facing both a difficult economic and societal context. At the same time, estimates show that a €300bn investment is needed to achieve full gigabit connectivity. Several crucial aspects of the EU’s digital transformation process are however still problematic, such as (i) the capacity for network operators to properly valorise their investment, (ii) a more investment friendly implementation of the EU regulatory framework, (iii) the development of new business models taking account of the global value chain, (iv) the fostering of innovation to facilitate the emergence of new EU technological solutions (e.g. on cloud or network evolution), as well as the challenges and opportunities of the green transition.
Looking ahead to the rest of this decade and beyond, Europe has no other choice but to take on these challenges in order to fully exploit the benefits of the current technological and societal transformation and make Europe stronger, wealthier and more competitive. Several observers have highlighted that the old continent has both the know-how and the resources to regain leadership in technology, but at the condition that the European Union as a whole is able to foster long-term value creation.
The event will commence at 16.00 and it will last until about 18.00.
The discussion will be held in streaming.
The audience will be able to ask questions during both the discussion and the Q&A session through sli.do #DigitalDecade
We look forward to hosting you at 16.00 on the 28th of September.
