Under the framework of the Spain Digital Week, the first-ever initiative in Brussels that activates policy convenings (both public and private) on the role of the Spanish community in shaping the European Union’s economic and digital policy agenda, Adigital -the Spanish Association for the Digital Economy-, through its Permanent Office in Brussels, organizes this public policy conference on the relevant issue of economic competitiveness and digitalization as the main driver, with EURACTIV as its European Media Partner.

This Policy Conference focuses on boosting economic competitiveness through digitalization and strategic investments. It explores the connections between the Multiannual Financial Framework and the proposal for the European Competitiveness Fund, the Startup and Scaleup Strategy, and Competitiveness Compass to deliver concrete policy options for accelerating digital investments and strengthening Europe’s tech strategic autonomy, by creating a clear, agile governance framework that secures Europe’s leadership in the global digital economy.

Organised by: Adigital
Media Partner: Euractiv

Despite significant progress on the supply side, the EU market for zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) is growing more slowly than anticipated across all vehicle segments, including cars and vans (LDVs), as well as medium- and heavy-duty trucks, buses and coaches (HDVs).

For example, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the share of electric vehicle sales increased in 2024 in 14 out of 27 EU member states. However, it either stalled or declined in the remaining ones, including in key markets such as Germany and France, largely due to the phasing out or reduction of subsidies.

To tackle these challenges, the European Commission has put forward several proposals aimed at accelerating ZEVs adoption. The most recent suggests extending exemptions from tolls and road user charges for zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles (trucks and buses) until June 2031, replacing the previous 2025 deadline.

Nevertheless, some stakeholders argue that more can be done to stimulate the ZEV market across different vehicle segments, and suggest a range of policy options.

Listen to this Euractiv Hybrid Conference to explore the right mix of policy instruments needed to drive ZEVs demand and support Europe’s climate and industrial objectives. Questions to be discussed include:

• Why is ZEVs demand lagging in parts of the EU despite regulatory clarity and growing supply?
• What tools do governments have at their disposal to stimulate demand (e.g. fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, public procurement strategies, mandates)?
• Can a pan-EU approach be effective, or should incentives remain within the remit of national governments?
• Are mandates a viable solution for corporate fleets? What risks and opportunities do they present?
• What lessons can be drawn from frontrunner countries such as Norway, Switzerland and others?

The European Commission’s upcoming Digital Networks Act (DNA) is set to reshape the future of connectivity in Europe. By overhauling the rules that govern telecom operators, cloud services, and content providers, the DNA raises fundamental questions about fairness, competition, innovation, and the very architecture of our open internet.

Listen to this hybrid event to examine the risks and opportunities, and jointly debate what kind of DNA will truly serve Europeans in the years ahead.

Panel 3 – How Can the Digital Networks Act Truly Deliver for Europeans?

Central question: How can we ensure that the DNA becomes a tool that delivers best-in-class connectivity and fosters competition?

To that end, this panel will cut through perception to examine the realities: the financial health of telecom companies, the state of network roll-out, as well as the dynamics between tech and telcos.

The discussion will unpack persistent arguments driving the DNA debate (investment gaps, traffic growth, AI’s impact) and the telecom sector’s push for consolidation. Most importantly, the panel will consider what legislative design choices could make the DNA genuinely effective for European consumers, businesses, and innovators.

The European Commission’s upcoming Digital Networks Act (DNA) is set to reshape the future of connectivity in Europe. By overhauling the rules that govern telecom operators, cloud services, and content providers, the DNA raises fundamental questions about fairness, competition, innovation, and the very architecture of our open internet.

Join this hybrid event to examine the risks and opportunities, and jointly debate what kind of DNA will truly serve Europeans in the years ahead.

Panel 1 – An Uneven Playing Field for Connectivity: Myth or Reality?

Central question: Should rules originally designed to regulate telecom operators be extended to the wider tech sector?

In its white paper on how to master Europe’s digital infrastructure needs and recent DNA call for evidence, the European Commission asserts there is increasing convergence between telecoms and the tech sector (particularly cloud and content providers). Telecom providers, for their part, build on this assumption to advance claims that the regulatory framework therefore should converge as well.

This panel will unpack the structural and functional differences between the two sectors, while also examining the collaborative dynamics that underpin their relationships. We will walk through the patchwork of existing EU frameworks to answer one question: is extending the EECC to digital actors necessary, fair, or even workable?

Panel 2 – How Does the DNA Risk Threatening the Open Internet?

Central question: What concrete risks does the Digital Networks Act pose to the open internet?

This panel will examine the reality of collaboration between telecoms and tech, and assess dangerous proposals that keep resurfacing – in the DNA call for evidence and earlier public consultations, for example.

A central theme will be how any form of dispute resolution for IP interconnection would evolve into network fees – and how such measures would fundamentally reshape the way the internet functions today. Experts with first-hand experience will share their insights, underscoring the real-world stakes for competition, innovation, and end users.

In the context of the EU’s reindustralisation efforts, aimed at strengthening its manufacturing sector, boosting economic growth, and enhancing its strategic independence, new technologies and innovations continue to emerge. Industrial workplace environments are evolving too, reshaping the landscape for workers across all industries. As these transformations can pose risks to workers' physical and mental health, the need to safeguard their well-being and safety is paramount. This shift also emphasises the need for preventive measures, adapted workplaces, and coherent policies at EU level.

To better protect workers, the European Commission has introduced several key initiatives, including the European Pillar of Social Rights, and the EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2021-2027. The Occupational safety and health (OSH) Framework Directive also sets out core principles aimed at improving workers’ wellbeing. All these efforts are supported by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), which advocates for safer and healthier workplaces.

However, despite these EU initiatives, legislation on workers’ health and safety is still not aligned across EU member states. Some stakeholders are therefore calling for more comprehensive, all-encompassing and worker-centered EU policies.

Listen to this Euractiv Hybrid Conference to explore how to protect workers’ health and safety in the EU, and how innovation is transforming industrial workplaces. Questions to be addressed include:

• How do the EU’s reindustrialisation efforts shape new industrial workplaces? How do they impact workers’ health and safety?
• What practical EU legislative tools and measures can be implemented to address these challenges?
• How can efficient practices for worker protection be shared across EU member states?
• How can we proactively design EU worker-centric policies that equip the workforce for future workplaces, driven by rapid technological change? How to ensure that work legislation is uniform across member states?

Competitiveness is at the heart of the EU’s agenda as it transitions toward a more sustainable economy. The Competitiveness Compass and the Clean Industrial Deal provide new direction to achieve this shift.

Circularity focuses on the entire life cycle of many products via material use reduction, product maintenance and servicing, as well as strategies such as reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing, and recycling. These actions extend the life of materials, preserve value across supply chains, and minimise resource waste. A circular economy, with its potential to drive sustainable competitiveness, increase strategic autonomy and promote innovation, offers concrete solutions to some of the EU's most pressing industrial and environmental challenges.

The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) aims to improve the circularity, energy performance, recyclability, and durability of products like textiles or steel and aluminum. While circularity policies are often framed around consumer products, industrial circularity presents a different set of challenges and opportunities. Consequently, stakeholders have raised concerns that the regulation does not currently differentiate between business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) circularity needs.

To address these challenges, the European Commission is advancing other initiatives, including the Circular Economy Act and a revision of the Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE). These aim to support the EU’s goals under the Competitiveness Compass and the Clean Industrial Deal to increase recycled material in the EU economy, particularly in areas like waste from electrical and electronic equipment.

Listen to this Euractiv Hybrid Conference to discuss the future of B2B circularity in the EU. Questions to be addressed include:

• What are the main issues faced by industry in becoming more circular? How can it be ensured that all resources are used?
• How can the EU address current regulatory gaps, including the need to distinguish between B2B and B2C circularity requirements?
• How effective is the ESPR in promoting circularity, and what improvements are needed?
• What policy tools can drive and encourage circularity across all industrial sectors? What role can industry play in shaping the next policy agenda?
• How will the Circular Economy Act strengthen existing EU initiatives?

The European Union’s ambitious climate goals demand a fundamental transition of its industrial base. As one of the most CO2-intensive industries, the steel sector stands at the forefront of this shift. Transitioning to climate neutrality presents significant challenges but also offers an opportunity for Europe to lead globally in the production of low-emission steel while contributing to the continent’s economic resilience. Achieving this vision hinges on the creation of European lead markets, requiring targeted measures to integrate low-emission steel into steel-using sectors progressively.

The Low Emission Steel Standard (LESS) represents a critical milestone. This labeling system for low-emission steel has the potential to become a game-changer, driving the establishment of lead markets for clean steel while fostering innovation, competitiveness, and sustainability throughout the value chain.
In collaboration with our media partner Euractiv, this high-level event will bring together policymakers, industry leaders, standardization bodies, and civil society to explore how robust labeling frameworks can stimulate demand for low-emission steel. Discussions will focus on the role of harmonized standards in ensuring transparency, building consumer trust, and enabling public and private procurement practices that reward climate-friendly solutions.

Key topics include the current political landscape, the design and implementation of effective labeling systems such as LESS, and their potential to accelerate investments in breakthrough technologies. The event will also address challenges such as certification, traceability, and alignment with international markets.

Don’t miss this opportunity to shape the future of Europe’s steel industry and its pivotal role in achieving climate neutrality.

As part of its efforts to increase European competitiveness, the European Commission adopted a simplification package, the Omnibus I, in February 2025. This covers several areas, such as sustainable finance rules, due diligence reporting and the carbon border adjustment mechanism, among others. Decided under the previous Commission term, they are already being reviewed under the guise of competitiveness of European industry.

One of the regulations included in the package, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), mandates companies to report on their sustainability impacts, risks and opportunities on a yearly basis, and for that report to be audited by an independent third party.

Several companies that have reported this year under the current CSRD argue that the practices of the authorised audit firms have made reporting too extensive and complex, and therefore too expensive and not time-efficient internally, on top of not always focusing on the most material elements of a company’s sustainability footprint. In this quest for overall simplification of the Directive, some stakeholders are calling for auditing requirements to also be streamlined.

One issue that stakeholders see with the current transposition of CSRD is that less than a quarter of EU Member States authorise Independent Assurance Service Providers (IASPs), which results in a highly concentrated market around a small amount of authorised companies. By opening the market to IASPs, companies in scope will have access to a wider range of assurance providers. This can lead to making specialised expertise more accessible, especially for smaller companies that will be in scope of the CSRD in 2029, thus lowering the cost and burden of compliance, without lowering the ambition and effectiveness of the Directive.

Listen to this Euractiv Hybrid Conference to discuss how the simplification of sustainability reporting and assurance can become a reality and an opportunity for EU competitiveness. Questions to be addressed include:
- What impact does sustainability reporting have on investment levels?
- What makes double materiality reporting essential?
- What are the benefits of opening the market to IASPs?
- How can the European Commission best review the concentration of the assurance market and ensure diversification?
- What could be the ideal guidelines for companies to conduct voluntary reporting and assurance, so that it remains affordable for organisations of all sizes?
- What are some concrete examples of the ways in which the revision of CSRD can strengthen Europe’s economy? How do these compete on an international level?