09:00 - 09:30
Breakfast & Registration
09:30 - 09:45
Welcoming remarks
Oliver Grün
President (European DIGITAL SME Alliance & BITMi)
Sebastiano Toffaletti
Secretary General (European DIGITAL SME Alliance)
Emilie Prouzet
President INT Section, (European Economic and Social Committee)
09:45 - 10:15
Keynote speech
10:15 - 11:15
Beyond the Digital Package: How to attain European tech sovereignty and competitiveness?
Francesca Bria
Senior Fellow (Stiftung Mercator)
Oliver Grün
President (European DIGITAL SME Alliance & BITMi)
Matthias Ecke
Member of the European Parliament
Michał Kobosko
Member of the European Parliament
Ruth del Campo
General Director for Data (Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Function - Spain)
Laura Balke
Head of Sector – Cloud Policy (DG CNECT, European Commission)
11:15 - 11:30
Networking & Coffee
SESSION 1
11:30 - 12:30
The Data Act and the Aftermarket: Ensuring Competition and Access for SMEs
Bjoern Juretzki
Head of Unit, Data Policy (DG CNECT, European Commission)
Damian Boeselager
MEP (The Greens, Germany)
Sylvia Gotzen
Secretary General (FIGIEFA)
Veronique Willems
Secretary General (SMEUnited)
Andrei Kelemen
CEO (Cluj IT) & Vice-President (European DIGITAL SME Alliance)
Inge Graef
Associate Professor for Competition Law (Tilburg University)
SESSION 2
11:30 - 12:30
Fostering cyber resilience for the 99%: Supporting SMEs to level up European cybersecurity
Christiane Kirketerp de Viron
Acting Director for Cybersecurity and Trust (DG CNECT, European Commission)
Alex Agius Saliba
MEP (S&D Group)
Joanna Świątkowska
Secretary General (ECSO)
Europe’s Tech Sovereignty Showcase: A Demo Session with Leading Innovators
Opening keynote:
Briehan Burke
General Partner (Keen Venture Partners)
Anthony Senter
CEO (Atomnia)
Erlend Andreas Gjære
Co-founder & CEO (Secure Practice)
Katalin Kauzli
Co-founder & Business Development Director (Partnerhub)
Goran Golubović
Director (Egzakta Advisory)
12:30 - 13:45
Networking Lunch
powered by
13:45 - 14:10
Keynote speech
Ekaterina Zaharieva
Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation (European Commission)
14:10 - 14:25
Keynote speech
Eléonore Simonet
Minister for the Middle Class, the Self-Employed, and SMEs (Belgian Federal Government)
14:25 - 15:15
Keynote speech
Followed by a Fireside Chat
Eléonore Simonet
Minister for the Middle Class, the Self-Employed, and SMEs (Belgian Federal Government)
SESSION 1
14:25 - 15:15
European tech leadership: How to unleash growth and innovation by homegrown SMEs and start-ups?
Antonio Cavarero
Head of Investments (Generali Asset Management)
Kasia Toczko
Head of Communications (Simplito)
Jekaterina Novikova
Deputy Head of Unit (DG RTD, European Commission)
Sophie Dembinski
Head of Global Public Policy (Ecosia)
SESSION 2
14:25 - 15:15
How can a more flexible, inclusive, and transparent European standardisation system drive digital SMEs’ competitiveness?
Barbara Bonvissuto
Director of Ecosystems III (DG GROW, European Commission)
Jan Ellsberger
Director-General (ETSI)
Dario Sabella
CEO and co-founder, Head of R&D (NEXT G CLOUD)
Alessandro Cillario
Co-Ceo & Co-Founder (CUBBIT)
Cynzia Missiroli
Acting Director General (CEN & CENELEC)
Jon Echanove
Secretary General (SBS - Small Business Standards)
SESSION 3
14:25 - 15:15
Buy European – Boosting demand for homegrown innovation with Public Procurement
Heiko Pongratz
Board Member (Databund)
Viviana Demonte
Project Officer (Eurocities)
Philippe Van Damme
Deputy Director General (DG DIGIT, European Commission)
Victor De Laleu
Policy Officer (DG GROW, European Commission)
Pascal Belmin
VP Head of EU Aviation and Regulatory Affairs (Airbus Group)
15:15 - 15:45
Networking & Coffee Break
SESSION 1
16:30 - 17:30
Mastering the path to the Green and Digital Transition
Roberto Stasi
Senior Loan Officer (European Investment Bank)
Miriam Koreen
Senior Counsellor on SMEs - Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (OECD)
Mark Jordan
Chief Strategy Officer (Skillnet Ireland)
Idriss Brockmann-Serbis
CEO & Consultant for Sustainable Digital Transformation (NightlyCode GmbH)
Alessandro Gropelli
Director General (Connect Europe)
DIGITAL SME Awards – Green Category
SESSION 2
15:45 - 16:45
Fostering Digital Resilience in the Era of Economic Security
Matchmaking on EU funding opportunities
Session's opening
Isidro Laso Ballesteros
Senior Official (European Innovation Council)
Yasen Gyurov
Seconded National Expert - European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights (EUIPO)
16:45 - 17:00
Coffee Break
16:45 - 17:00
Keynote speech
Marietje Schaake
International Policy Director (Stanford University Cyber Policy Center)
15:45 - 16:00
Keynote speech
Caroline Stage Olsen
Minister for Digitalisation (Government of Denmark)
16:00 - 17:00
From AI to Tech Continent: What is needed for the future of digital competitiveness?
Frank Krüger
Head of Directorate Data Policy and Innovation (German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport)
Kim van Sparrentak
MEP (European Parliament)
Raphaël Auphan
COO (Proton)
17:00- 17:20
Keynote speech
Henna Virkkunen
Executive Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, European Commission
17:30 - 18:00
Closing remarks
Henna Virkkunen
Executive Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy (European Commission)
17:30 - 18:30
Networking cocktail
DIGITAL SME awards ceremony
Antonio Cavarero
Head of Investments, Generali Asset Management
Barbara Bonvissuto
Director of Ecosystems III (DG GROW, European Commission)
Jan Ellsberger
Director-General (ETSI)
Karine Perset
Head of AI and Emerging Tech (OECD)
Raphaël Auphan
Chief Operating Officer (Proton)