On 18 March, Telefónica hosted a Policy Lab Roundtable on “Innovation, Connectivity and Competitiveness: the EU’s blueprint for success” in Brussels, with a panel of high-level speakers, as well as guests from EU institutions and industry.
The roundtable was composed of four speakers: Aleksander Sołtysik, Polish Presidency of the Council, Pilar del Castillo, Member of the European Parliament, Renate Nikolay, Deputy Director General, DG Connect, European Commission and Raquel Jorge, Senior Fellow, Elcano Royal Institute. In addition, Telefonica representatives Pablo de Carvajal, General Counsel & Regulatory Affairs and Juan Montero Rodil, Chief Public Policy, Competition & Regulatory Affairs, introduced the debate and moderated the roundtable respectively.
The discussion covered technological advancements, digital infrastructure needs, and policies that foster economic growth within the broad digital ecosystem. In light of the Draghi Report and the Competitiveness Compass, the event offered a unique platform to debate and reflect on Europe’s pivotal moment and how connectivity policies can shape Europe’s competitive advantage and ensure that the benefits of digitalization reach all European citizens.
Speakers addressed a variety of issues, from network integration and fair share to cloud and quantum. When asked about what trends will define 2025 in the telecoms sector, speakers highlighted security, simplification, consolidation, connectivity, and technological innovation as the main drivers.
The Digital Networks Act (DNA) was brought up multiple times during the debate, as a real opportunity to modernize and harmonize the telecoms regulatory framework. Along with the Commission’s Omnibus proposals for simplification, our speakers and participants shared their hopeful perception for a competitive and connected Europe in the face of current geopolitical challenges.
The question around how to scale up companies in the EU was also given a center role in the discussion. Private-public partnerships, less regulatory burden, improved connectivity and partnerships with like-minded countries were identified as possible answers.
We would like to thank Mr. Sołtysik, Ms. Nikolay, Ms. Del Castillo and Ms. Jorge for the high-level debate and our attendees for their active participation.
Stay tuned for upcoming policy discussions in the frame of our Playbook in Brussels!
