Digital innovation, startup buzz and great meetings
The past month has included good meetings in Finland and in Brussels, legislative work in the European Parliament, and discussions especially on simplifying digital legislation. Last week, the Commission published its proposal to streamline digital legislation, the Digital Omnibus proposal. I paid particular attention to the GDPR, artificial intelligence, and the opportunities for European companies to make use of data. The direction is right, and I will do my part to ensure that simplification is carried out without weakening consumer protection or privacy. You know that this has always been one of my most important tasks, and I now hope to be able to push this forward from a front-row seat.
Strengthening European technological solutions is of primary importance to us for competitiveness and technological sovereignty. I had the pleasure of participating in Slush as a speaker to a full audience, as well as in its side events as a panelist and speaker last week in Helsinki. There was indeed strong interest in European technological solutions. In addition, the simplification of EU regulation, the improvement of Europe’s business environment, and actions that boost growth and innovation in Europe are exactly the kinds of measures that the participants at Slush are urgently calling for.
As the Co-Chair of the European Parliament’s SME Intergroup, I had the pleasure of hosting the event “European Alternatives to American Companies Today and Tomorrow” at the European Parliament in Brussels in early November. The discussion was highly engaging and underscored a crucial topic: how European tech SMEs can compete with major American companies and how public procurement can better support them. Strengthening Europe’s tech ecosystem is essential not only for our competitiveness but also for our technological sovereignty and security, making this conversation more important than ever.
This week we are back in Strasbourg again for the plenary meeting. The agenda includes parliamentary votes on, among other things, the InvestEU loan guarantee programme simplification package, for which I serve as the Parliament’s Rapportur, as well as discussions on reducing digital regulation. More on this and other current topics in my next newsletter, across all my social media channels, and of course in my weekly podcast.
With warm autumn greetings,
Aura
Member of the European Parliament, National Coalition Party, EPP Group
