The Digital Assembly 2018 took place on 25 and 26 June in Sofia, Bulgaria. The event is co-organised by the European Commission and the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The Digital Assembly is a major annual forum that gathers more than 1,000 stakeholders and high-level policymakers to debate the EU digital policy and the implications of recent technological developments.
This year's edition came at a crucial time as the European Council has called for the full implementation of the Digital Single Market strategy by 2018. At the same time the Commission proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework is being discussed by Member States and the European Parliament. Part of the future long-term budget of the EU will be used to bridge digital investment gaps between Member States and tackle challenges in key areas of the digital economy. A large number of EU citizens and businesses is expected to benefit from such process.
With three plenary sessions and five parallel workshops, the Digital Assembly covered a wide range of current key topics on digital policy.
Four initial thematic briefings with laid the basis on:
- Digital in the upcoming Multiannual Financial Framework
- Free flow of non-personal data and the April 2018 Data package
- European Electronic Communications Code
- Promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services
The plenary sessions followed putting a special focus on how Central and Eastern Europe as well as Western Balkan countries can best benefit from the digitisation of their economies and societies. Developments in our Neighbourhood, particularly the Mediterranean region has been given a secial accent as well. Further workshops dedicated to key digital policy topics such as social media, cybersecurity, digital skills, artificial intelligence and the internet of things, followed.
LIBRe Foundation was represented by Alexandra Tsvetkova, Director of the organization, following a personalized invitation earlier this year.
