Euractiv Talks – Details, episodes & analysis

Panel I: Meet the candidates

Discussion of the upcoming elections with representatives of Uzbekistan’s political groups and civil society.

Panel II: EU and Central Asia – What avenues for future cooperation?

In 2022 and 2023, the Central Asian Heads of State and the President of the European Council held their first-ever high-level meetings, resulting in the preparation of a further joint roadmap for deepening ties between the EU and Central Asia. An EU–Central Asia leaders' summit is due to take place in 2024 and will be an opportunity to match the EU's political relevance in the region with its status of major donor and investor.

This intensification of high-level relations reflects Central Asia's growing geostrategic importance in the light of recent global developments. These developments also provide further avenues for partnership and cooperation in areas such as energy, agrifood, raw materials and connectivity.

Energy remains a cornerstone of cooperation, as the region holds significant reserves of oil and natural gas. This could present potential for more energy partnerships, as well as investments in pipeline infrastructure, renewable energy projects, and the development of green hydrogen initiatives. Raw materials are another critical area of cooperation, with the EU's high-tech industries and green transition relying on these materials. Enhanced cooperation in mining and sustainable extraction technologies could be pivotal in meeting the EU’s industrial needs while promoting sustainable practices in Central Asia.

The launch of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor Coordination Platform in Astana on 12 June marked a milestone in strategic integration. This transport corridor is aimed at connecting Europe and Central Asia within 15 days or less to improve trade and connectivity and follows the Global Gateway Investors Forum in January this year.

Listen to this Euractiv Hybrid Conference to learn more about the untapped opportunities in the Central Asian region and what the new avenues for cooperation with the EU are. Questions to be discussed include:

- What role can the EU's Global Gateway play in modernising Central Asian infrastructure and further integrating the region with European markets?
- What new market opportunities are there for agrifood trade and Central Asian produce within the EU?
- What are the opportunities for EU investment in the region?
- What will EU-Central Asia cooperation look like under the new EU mandate?

The last European Parliament mandate introduced the first-ever legal framework on artificial intelligence through the AI Act. This act addresses the risks associated with AI and positions Europe to play a leading role globally.

In line with this, the development of the new European AI Office ahead of the new mandate will centralise AI expertise across the EU and play a key role in implementing the AI Act.

Looking ahead, a shift to the right following the European Parliament elections may result in fewer regulatory initiatives in tech, a weaker push for market integration, but increased support for defence innovation, according to Euractiv.

Large-scale disinformation campaigns, particularly Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI), as defined by the European External Action Service (EEAS), pose a major challenge for Europe and could be a significant focus in the upcoming mandate.

Listen to this Euractiv Virtual Conference to discuss the new legislative agenda for 2024 to 2029 and explore the anticipated challenges and opportunities for the tech sector.

Questions to be discussed include:

- What will be the legislative priorities for the tech sector in the new Commission mandate, particularly regarding AI and disinformation?
- How will the new European Parliament formation impact tech policies in the next mandate?
- What will be the major challenges and opportunities for tech policy from 2024 – 2029?
- What are the key priorities for the tech industry in the coming years?

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Programme under Grant Agreement no 101070190.

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

The European Union stands as a leader in global efforts to combat climate change, driven by a commitment to secure a sustainable future for all. At the heart of EU climate action lies the European Green Deal, a framework for transforming the EU into a carbon-neutral and circular economy by 2050.

The European Commission set different milestones that are essential to achieve in order to reach the climate-neutral economy objective by 2050. In that context, the 2030 climate and energy framework sets different key targets for the year 2030, notably in terms of emission reductions, the share for renewable energy, and improvement in energy efficiency. Achieving the EU's long-term climate objectives depends on the successful implementation of the 2030 framework.

Among the challenges, a successful transition needs to go hand in hand with economic growth, competitiveness and security of supply, and will also depend on public acceptance. In that context, the next European Commission will have a crucial role to play in setting a regulatory framework while ensuring sustainable growth for all.

Listen to this Euractiv Hybrid Conference to discuss the way forward for a successful transition and the next steps to achieve the EU’s climate goals. Questions to be addressed include:

- What are the main challenges the EU faces in meeting its objectives, and how does it plan to address them?
- What will be the key priorities for the next European Commission to achieve the EU’s climate goals?
- What role does innovation play in achieving the EU's climate goals?
- What are the strategies to ensure a just transition for all communities and sectors affected by the shift towards a sustainable economy?

Hardly a day goes by in Brussels without a reference being made to Europe’s digital sovereignty, although interpretations of this concept tend to vary. At the same time, Europe finds itself in the midst of a geopolitical world where security, economic stability, and the protection of democratic values are increasingly dependent upon cooperation among democratic states.

Against this background, the EU started the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) in June 2021, which aims to deepen transatlantic cooperation, particularly in trade, investment and digital matters.

Some observers see deviations between on the one hand the TTC ambitions and some of the EU’s sovereignty-inspired regulatory proposals in the EU, such as the EUCS draft on cybersecurity, or the EU’s Standardisation Strategy. Aligning Europe’s digital sovereignty with its transatlantic agenda will be key to achieve Europe’s digital ambitions.

Relisten to this EURACTIV Hybrid Conference to learn how Europe can foster its digital growth while embracing international co-operation.

As part of the European Green Deal, the EU has set itself a binding target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieving climate neutrality by 2050. In light of this, the EU is working to achieve the ambitious goal of transforming its energy sector into a system based on renewables and low-emission energy sources.

This transformation means a complete reform, not only in how energy is produced in the EU but also in how it is used by consumers. 'Nobody should be left behind' is a phrase often quoted when discussing the energy transition.

Achieving climate neutrality is a great challenge for both the European Union as a whole and individual Member States. Some industry stakeholders express views that the cost is not just economic, but also social, as energy poverty is on the rise. They also say that when designing ambitious goals, EU institutions should take into account the economic and social circumstances of different Member States as well as the current geopolitical situation.

The European energy sector is at a crossroads. Relisten to this EURACTIV Hybrid Conference to discuss its future. Discussed questions included:

- How do we ensure that the 2030 and 2050 targets can be achieved in light of the recent geopolitical developments?
- With most Europeans facing a winter of sharp price increases, how can energy poverty be addressed?
- What are the necessary technologies needed to ensure an efficient energy transformation? And at what cost?
- What has already been done to help climate change mitigation?
- What approaches are taken by different Member States to reach climate neutrality?
- What are the challenges and costs related to the energy transformation?

District heating supplies millions of homes in cities across Europe, representing about 10% of heat supply in the EU. However, most of that runs on fossil fuels, mainly natural gas and coal.

According to a study carried out by the European Commission, district heating and cooling (DHC) is one of the main infrastructures allowing decarbonisation by integrating renewable and carbon neutral energy sources and technologies, and participating in energy system integration.

Acknowledging the potential system benefits of a higher deployment of efficient DHC, the Renewable Energy Directive and its recast, the Energy Efficiency Directive and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive all include explicit and implicit provisions and implications on the future use and extension of district heating and cooling.

However, the war in Ukraine and its geopolitical implications have shifted the economic fundamentals behind the choice of fuel supplying district heating networks. Before the invasion, some eastern EU countries had made plans to switch their district heating systems to fossil gas, as this was seen as a cost-effective way of meeting the climate goals of EU’s “Fit for 55”. But with the sharp increases in gas prices, these plans are being re-evaluated.

Relisten to this EURACTIV Virtual Conference to find out about the future of district heating in the European Union, in light of the war in Ukraine. How can the EU ensure that the ongoing recast of relevant regulatory frameworks introduces realistic targets for the decarbonisation of district heating? And how much time and investment do industry stakeholders need to adapt to the new geopolitical realities?

The Data Act, presented in 2022, is a legislative proposal that intends to complement the Commission’s data strategy. The proposed law aims to regulate access conditions for data produced by the Internet of Things (IoT) devices, requiring manufacturers to provide access and introducing the right for device users to access and port their data. Furthermore, it lays down the right to share data with third parties. Overall, the proposal defines who can use what data and under what conditions.

Unlocking industrial data is a great challenge for the EU as 80% of it remains unused. With this new legislative proposal, the Commission wants to unlock the potential data-sharing offers to businesses, consumers or public services and boost innovation by using the potential of data as a non-rival good.

However, there are not only opportunities, but also risks associated with the Data Act as proposed by the European Commission. In particular for manufacturing SMEs, the mandatory data sharing might have also negative impacts, for example by exposing trade secrets, creating too many obligations for product design and undermining data-based business models.

Relisten to this EURACTIV Virtual Conference to find out how to ensure fair and balanced rules for data-sharing in the framework of the EU Data Act.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the global energy market disruption has caused a sharp increase in EU energy prices. This is seen in European countries that were particularly reliant on Russian gas supply for residential heating and industrial production.

In the run-up to winter, the European Commission is working on its newly released REPowerEU strategy. While Member States plan for a shortfall in gas during the colder months, the industrial sector is already reviewing which supplies will be available throughout the coming winter.

Industrial processes requiring fossil gas, especially for heating and cooling, could experience increasing supply issues as provision of gas to the power sector or private households is prioritised. According to new data gathered by the energy and climate consultancy “Climact”, there is potential for reducing fossil gas consumption in many industrial processes, such as low and medium heat provision.

The study shows that European industry has the possibility to cut its natural gas demand by 25% with short-term opportunities of electrifying certain gas processes and long-term measures. Climact estimates that the overall gas demand can be reduced by electrifying many of the current processes. The research sees potential for sectors such as food and drink, glass manufacturing and chemicals to evolve by electrifying the majority of their processes and a move beyond fossil gas.

Relisten to this EURACTIV Virtual Conference to find out how some industry sectors can move from fossil gas to electrification. How long would it take, and at what cost? How can such a change be incentivised? What would the cost benefits be? And how would the demand for the power needed to supply this large scale electrification be met?

A EURACTIV event organised with the support of the European Climate Foundation, who cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained or expressed therein.

In a healthy and thriving democracy, citizens should be able to freely express their views, choose their political leaders, and have a say about their future. Democracy in the EU faces challenges from rising extremism, election interference, the spread of manipulative information, and threats against journalists. The European Democracy Action Plan is designed to empower citizens and build more resilient democracies across the EU by promoting free and fair elections, strengthening media freedom, and countering disinformation.

When presenting the plan in December 2020, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “With the digital revolution under way, citizens must be able to make choices where views can be expressed freely. Facts have to be distinguished from fiction, and free media and civil society must be able to participate in an open debate, free from malign interference. Therefore the EU is taking action to make our democracies in the EU more resilient.”

These measures will be implemented throughout this Commission’s mandate. In 2023, a year ahead of the next European elections, the Commission will review the implementation of the action plan.

Technology is widely perceived as having both positive and negative impacts on democracy. Technology has the power to protect and promote democratic institutions and values rather than undermine them. For technology companies to have a positive impact, industry must reflect on its roles and obligations to democratic societies above and beyond the letter of the law.

Relisten to this EURACTIV Hybrid Conference to find out about the direction of European democracy and the role for tech and the private sector in preserving and advancing democratic norms.

-How can the tech industry and the private sector best align with the European agenda to counter disinformation and empower citizens to make informed decisions?
-What more does the private sector need to do proactively to achieve the aims of the EDAP?
-What new obligations should and will exist as a result of the EDAP?

Two years into the European Commission’s Digital Decade, the EU’s vision of pursuing a human-centric, sustainable vision for a digital society, the connectivity target of “Gigabit for everyone, 5G everywhere” has never felt more urgent. Mobile networks are vital to economic recovery and future crisis resilience and can support a green and digital transformation across Europe. As economies and societies around the world digitalise, the acceleration of 5G in Europe is essential to maintain and amplify Europe’s industrial and manufacturing strengths.

Industry stakeholders claim that the current regulatory environment is creating an investment gap, stifling innovation, and that market conditions in Europe mean investment capital for telecom operators is hard to come by. As a result, they say that over the past decade, Europe has invested 40% less per capita in its telecom networks than the US. The industry also argues that regulatory interventions and resistance to consolidation artificially distort competition, leading to poorer service and outcomes for consumers and businesses.

The right conditions for private infrastructure investment, network modernisation, and digital innovation are needed for accelerating Europe’s digital future. A financially sustainable mobile sector is key to the delivery of innovative services and the deployment of new networks. 5G has the potential to deliver a significant amount of value to the region if the mobile sector and policymakers find the right regulatory balance.

Relisten to this EURACTIV event to find out where the EU is on 5G development and how Europe’s digital competitiveness compares to other regions. Addressed questions included:

- How can policymakers ensure that national and EU level regulations are in line with the Digital Decade targets?
- What policies could drive economic growth and social welfare when it comes to 5G connectivity in Europe?
- How can the upcoming Connectivity Infrastructure Act facilitate full 5G coverage in the EU?