The Digital Agenda the Context
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GERMAN PRESIDENCY OF THE EU THE DIGITAL AGENDA THE CONTEXT The COVID-19 crisis has reinforced the importance of digital transformation at European level. With the global competitiveness of the EU being at stake, Germany assumes the Presidency with a renewed sense to drive Europe’s digital future forward. In the upcoming months, the German government’s key priority will be to strengthen the EU’s ‘digi- tal sovereignty’. With this leitmotiv, the Presidency will focus on rolling out a resilient European digital and data infrastructure ecosystem, implement several steps of the EU’s strategy for “A Europe Fit for the Digital Age” and boost competencies in key digital technologies through coordinated R&D and in- vestment efforts. An important challenge will be to ensure effective cross-ministerial coordination on digital policies af- fecting the European Green Deal, health, transport, and consumer protection policies. KEY INITIATIVES AND FILES THE KEY HUB • Strengthen the EU’s digital sovereignty following lessons Peter Altmaier learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic by laying the groundwork • Born in 1958 for the roll out of the European cloud project GAIA-X. • Federal Minister for • Support the implementation of the EU’s strategy for A Economic Affairs and Energy Europe Fit for the Digital Age with a focus on data availabil- ity and security, AI, and digital skills. This includes achieving • Member of Christian Democratic progress on the European Data Strategy with the launch of Union of Germany (CDU) guidelines for the governance of Common European Data Spaces, promoting a human-centred and ethical approach • Presiding over the Ministerial Council for to AI at EU level and discussing the European Commission’s telecommunications / digital affairs and key Digital Education Action Plan. initiator of Gaia-X, Altmaier will pull the strings in advancing the EU’s digital economy. • Ensure a rapid adoption of the regulation on preventing the • Due to the cross-sectoral nature of digital dissemination of terrorist content online and progress on policies, Altmaier will be surrounded and the ambitious negotiations on the ePrivacy regulation. partly outweighed by agenda-setters includ- ing Federal Ministers Hubertus Heil (Labour), • Support efforts towards OECD-led negotiations on adigital Christine Lambrecht (Justice and Consumer tax and press ahead with the implementation of their out- Protection), Anja Karliczek (Education and come at EU level. Research) and Jens Spahn (Health). • Consolidate the EU’s efforts in the fight against online dis- • As Head of Federal Chancellery and close and misinformation by promoting Council discussions on confidant of Chancellor Merkel, Helge Braun the European Democracy Action Plan and advances on the will be key in steering the German Govern- Digital Services Act. ment’s digital agenda. • Federal Minister Andreas Scheuer (Transport CONTACT and Digital Infrastructure) and Dorothee Bär David Morgen, Public Affairs Digital Transformation, Germany [email protected] (Minister of State for Digitalization) are attri- Rowan Emslie, Head of Digital, Belgium buted more formal roles than real clout on. [email protected] Celine Van Den rul, Digital Account Executive, Belgium [email protected] If you are interested in how the priorities of the German Presidency may affect your organization, thenget in touch. GERMAN PRESIDENCY OF THE EU THE DIGITAL AGENDA: TIMELINE SEPTEMBER 2020 OCTOBER 2020 OCTOBER Telecom Directors High-level Conference Informal meeting of EU Meeting “European competition Minister for Telecommuni- 1 September 2020 Day” cations and Digital Policy 7-8 September 2020 14-15 October 2020 NOVEMBER 2020 Informal Meeting of the Ministerial conference EOSC (European Minister for Consumer on the european Open Science Cloud) Protection — “Digital Research Area Symposium 2020 Transformation” 20 October 2020 19-20 October 2020 2-3 November 2020 DECEMBER 2020 DECEMBER High-level Conference High-level Conference High-level Conference “Digital Health 2020 — “Open Data and Smart “ICT 2020 —Leading EU on the move” Mobility in Europe” the Digital Age” 11 November 2020 17 November 2020 1-3 December 2020 21st century Formal meeting of the challenges for the Telecommuncations / eHealth National Digital Council Competence Centers 7 December 2020 in Europe 17 December 2020 2021 If you are interested in how the priorities of the German Presidency may affect your organization, thenget in touch..