Digital Welcome for all Members of the European Parliament

Start: Tuesday 2 July 2019 6:00 pm

End: Tuesday 2 July 2019 9:00 pm

Venue: Pavillon Joséphine, Parc de l’Orangerie

Location: Strasbourg, France

Digital Welcome for all Members of the European Parliament

The GSMA, together with ETNO and Digital Europe, hosted their joint reception on 2 July for the new Members of European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Afke Schaart, VP and Head of Europe, presented the GSMA’s visions for the next EU political cycle, calling for a pro-investment regulatory environment, harmonised fact-based policies and a competitive digital market. She highlighted that we are just starting a new era of Intelligent Connectivity, which will combine 5G, Artificial Intelligence and IoT and it will empower the citizens, industries and cities, making our economies stronger at the same time.

In this light, it is important to create the conditions to accelerate the deployments of 5G networks, in order for Europe to become a serious competitor in the global arena again.  Moreover, security and privacy are issues that have grown too big for member states to handle and need to be addressed at the European level. Citizens demand more innovation that will be built on European values and trust. Finally, Afke highlighted the strategic importance of two programmes, i.e. Horizon Europe and Digital Europe, since it will be the first time ever Europe will have a specific budget dedicated to the digital economy and that is a great responsibility for all.

The reception attracted the presence of Commissioner Oettinger and MEPs Brando Benifei, Inese Vaidere and Eva Maydell, who received an engaging “tech-warmup” via the various demos presented by GSMA members.