Liberal Newspage: How can we use new tech to maximise Europe’s digital potential?
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How can we use new technologies to maximise the potential of Europe’s digital future?
The Techno-Politics Forum 2023 brought together industry leaders and politicians to debate some of Europe's biggest issues in the technological sphere. This year’s edition focused on three key areas of technological advancement.?
Clean transition & energy: Transitioning to sustainable aviation remains a complex challenge, and there is a need for collaborative efforts between policymakers, industry, and international partners. Our first panel, including Nathalie Errard , SVP, Head of European and #NATO affairs at Airbus and MEP Jan-Christoph Oetjen , Renew Europe , agreed that the focus of policymakers should be on innovation, investment, and strategic partnerships to navigate the challenges of decarbonisation and aviation sustainability.? ?
Europe’s connected future: In a discussion on the challenges of the European digital transformation and connectivity, we heard the insights of Pearse O’Donohue, Director of Future Networks, DG CONNECT, EU Commission & Maarit Palovirta ,?Senior Director for Regulatory Affairs, Connect Europe , among others. Pearse O’Donohue emphasised the significant investment gap, a challenge regarding technological developments and the need for networks to keep up. The panellists agreed that the telecom sector is a critical asset for EU competitiveness, and the industry demands more market consolidation, creating space for national champions to become European. ? ?
Artificial intelligence: In a world where all technologies advance quickly because of,?and together with AI, it's becoming easier for the wrong hands to misuse it. The panel discussion on AI regulation in the EU, including Christina Montgomery , Global Chief Privacy & Trust Officer, IBM and MEP Karen Melchior , Renew Europe and JURI Committee, highlighted the challenges of integrating AI into society. AI has the potential to revolutionise various sectors but also comes with significant risks that require comprehensive regulation.? In his keynote speech, Hosuk Lee-Makiyama , Director of European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) , called for less regulation from the EU so as not to ‘remain in the past’. Instead, we must encourage those with reason and liberal ideas to speak up against the misuse of AI. ???
Protecting democracy from the radical conservative transatlantic movement??
A new ecosystem of right-wing thinkers and politicians, dabbling in radical ideas and branding themselves as ‘promoters of true Western values’, has emerged in the EU and the United States.? Authors Ricardo Silvestre , Political Scientist and Zsolt Kerner , Senior Reporter of the Hungarian newspage 24.hu delve into the challenges faced by the liberal democratic systems of the EU and US, particularly in the context of this emerging transatlantic movement with radical tendencies.?
EU Enlargement: Applying the Staged Integration Model?
While the need for EU enlargement has become increasingly evident and widely accepted in Brussels and other EU?capitals, the practicalities of the process remain an open question. In response, an innovative ‘staged integration model’ was developed by experts to optimise the accession process.? Authors Dragana Ja?imovi? from Institute Alternative, Montenegro and Yuliia Shaipova, from the Centre for Economic Recovery, Ukraine, have assessed the potential application of the new staged integration approach to EU enlargement in Montenegro & Ukraine and whether this model can address the gaps in the current enlargement methodology.?
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Preparing Europe and Ukraine for enlargement?
Ukraine has made clear that it wants to be accepted by the EU. The European Commission recently recommended that Ukraine start the negotiation process of becoming an EU member, but a long road of reforms lies ahead for the country’s accession. Last week, in cooperation with the Institute for Politics and Society, we heard the different perspectives on the future of Ukraine’s EU integration from experts Edita Hrdá, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the EU, Tony Barber, Europe Editor at the Financial Times, MEP Ondrej Knotek , MP Kira Rudik , Vice President of the ALDE Party and host Jan Machá?ek, Chairman of the Board, IPPS. ?
MP Kira Rudik shared the Ukrainian point of view, asserting her confidence in the country to rise to the necessary reforms as they will only serve to benefit Ukraine - “we are glad to have this problem”. Ambassador Edita Hrdá also compared Ukraine's accession process with the Czech experience, emphasising that for integration to succeed, both the EU and Ukraine must evolve.?
If you want to learn more about the situation in Ukraine, check out our latest Liberal Europe podcast with Tamar Jacoby , Director of Progressive Policy Institute's New Ukraine Project, currently based in Kyiv. With host Ricardo Silvestre,?they discuss Tamar’s experiences writing & reporting on the war and the road ahead.?
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11 个月I think, in regard to how we can use new tech to maximise the potential of Europe's digital future, we need to: (1) look at what we're traditionally great at: academic research, biomedical advancements, democratic politics, automated manufacturing, finance, professional services and green/eco technologies. (2) discover what we are lagging behind on: expensive and outdated manufacturing, agricultural advancements (in some cases), public transport etc etc, and, (3) where do we want to go from here? We should be accelerating and exporting out best bits, and investing in bringing the worse bits up to par via innovation and perhaps import.