This annual strategic workshop brings together leading experts and policymakers to provide concrete input to the 2026 State of the Digital Decade Report (SDD26) and the ongoing review of the Digital Decade Policy Programme (DDPP).
The workshop will focus on the Commission’s priorities of digital competitiveness and digital sovereignty, and will link the Digital Decade review with reflections on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).
Objectives
- Inform the preparation of the State of the Digital Decade Report 2026, by identifying key technological trends, challenges and priority recommendations
- Stress-test the interim findings of the Digital Decade Review
- Discuss implications for future funding, reforms and investment priorities in support of EU competitiveness and sovereignty
The morning session will focus on competitiveness, while the afternoon session will address the topic of digital sovereignty.
Format
The introductory session will consist of a series of keynote presentations, followed by two panels. In each panel, invited speakers will provide short impulses to frame the discussion, which will then be followed by an interactive exchange.
Draft agenda
09:30 - 10:00 | Speakers' welcome coffee
10:00 - 11:00 | Introduction and presentations
- DG CNECT: Policy context, trends and evidence shaping the digital landscape, findings of the Review’s interim report, priorities for the State of the Digital Decade Report 2026
- Presentation of the study on EU critical digital capacities beyond 2027; insights on digital transformation, productivity and competitiveness
- Kincsö Izsak, Partner and Thematic Lead on Industrial Transformation, Technopolis Group
- Bart van Ark, Professor of Productivity Studies, University of Manchester; Managing Director, The Productivity Institute
- Maria Demertzis, Professor, Florence School for Transnational Governance at the European University Institute
11:20 - 12:30 | Panel – Focusing funding towards competitiveness
Led/chaired by: Kamila KLOC, Director Digital Decade & Connectivity, DG CNECT
Impulse keynote presentation:
- Anne Michels, Economic Analyst (DG ECFIN) ‘Assessing the Economic Impact of Digital Investments under the Recovery and Resilience Facility: First Estimates’
Followed by a discussion on how Digital Decade targets, reforms and funding instruments (including the MFF, NRPPs and future EU funds) can support the large-scale deployment of advanced digital technologies and address structural bottlenecks such as skills.
Speakers:
- J. Scott Marcus, Associate Senior Research Fellow, CEPS; Professor at the Centre for a Digital Society, Robert Schuman Centre, European University Institute
- Ulrich Adam, Director General, Orgalim, for their report on the EU Tech Industry: Fragile return to growth for EU tech industry - Orgalim
- Bart Hogeveen, Senior Fellow and Director Europe, Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI): On ASPI’s annual study Critical Technology Tracker (December 2025)
- Samira Gazzane, Policy Lead on AI and Machine Learning, World Economic Forum
12:30 - 14:00 | Break
14:00 - 16:15 | Deep dive – Digital sovereignty
Session dedicated to strategic dependencies, vulnerabilities and capabilities, with a focus on cloud, quantum, defence-related and space-based digital technologies, and implications for the DDPP review and SDD26.
- 14:00–14:15: Introduction by the European Commission
- 14:15–14:30: Overview of sovereignty challenges and dependencies
- 14:30–16:15: Panel discussion
Speakers:
- Guillaume de la Brosse, Head of Unit, Defence Policy and Innovation, DG DEFIS
- Ignacy Święcicki, Head of the Digital Economy Team, Polish Economic Institute
- Sebastiano Toffaletti, Secretary General (CEO), European DIGITAL SME Alliance
- Cornel Ban, Associate Professor, International Political Economy, Copenhagen Business School
- Sophie Batas, Chair, European Sovereign Tech Industry Alliance (ESTIA)
- David Luengo, Director, Indra Group