On Tuesday, 27 April from 10:00-11:00 CEST, the European Movement International, in partnership with the European Council on Foreign Relations, held an online panel event entitled Discussing Key European Issues | Digital Sovereignty of the European Union in the International Arena.

This was the first of a series of events, held jointly by the European Movement International and the European Council on Foreign Relations, with the aim to discuss the challenges affecting the European Union and will gather stakeholders from civil society, EU institutions and the business community.

Featuring:
Welcome by Eva Maydell MEP, President, European Movement International (EMI)

Panel discussion:
Roberto Viola, Director General of DG CONNECT, European Commission
Ulrike Esther Franke, Senior Policy Fellow, European Council of Foreign Relations (ECFR)

Moderated by Petros Fassoulas, Secretary General, European Movement International

The discussion focused on digital sovereignty of the EU, a growing concern among citizens, businesses and Member States. It also delved into data protection and how best to implement legislation in the digital field. Moreover, the event addressed the risks emanating from dependence on foreign technology and lack of private investment in AI which could put at risk the EU’s leadership in this global race where the US and China have a prominent role. Additionally, the discussion tackled the need to promote European values and principles on the digital domain in the international context and the best way to do so.

The livestream is available here:

We encourage participants to join the discussions on Twitter by using the handles @DigitalEU, @ecfr and @EMInternational.

This was the first of a series of events, held jointly by the European Movement International and the European Council on Foreign Relations, with the aim to discuss the key challenges affecting the European Union.