Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl from DIGITALEUROPE addressed the historical tendency to view industry and policymakers as opposing forces, arguing that this mindset has hampered Europe’s progress in technology. She pointed to excessive regulatory red tape, which forces businesses to invest significantly more in compliance than innovation, a factor she identified as a detriment to Europe’s global competitiveness. Ms Bonefeld-Dahl advocated for a streamlined, harmonized regulatory environment that emphasizes collaboration between political bodies and industry. She asserted that digital innovation, cybersecurity, and defense must be viewed as interconnected components essential for Europe’s future security and competitiveness.

Matthias Bauer, representing the European Centre for International Political Economy, discussed the concept of “competitive harmonization” as a framework for revitalizing Europe’s regulatory model. He argued that Europe’s complex and fragmented regulatory landscape has hindered growth, especially for startups and scale-ups aiming to expand beyond national borders. Mr Bauer supported the “28th regime” proposal, allowing companies to adhere to a unified set of EU-wide regulations rather than navigating national variations, a step he believes would attract high-skilled jobs and promote a thriving single market. Additionally, he emphasized the importance of regulatory cooperation with global partners, especially the U.S., to establish Europe as a competitive standard-bearer internationally.

Katarzyna Gorniak, from Poland’s Permanent Representation, underscored the need to break down silos in digital governance by harmonizing implementation across the EU. She highlighted that while many digital laws have been adopted, the focus must shift toward effective implementation, particularly in cybersecurity and digital identity regulations. Ms Gorniak proposed simplifying administrative processes and promoting digital tools to reduce the regulatory burden on businesses, especially SMEs. She pointed to the European Digital Identity Wallet as a critical enabler of the digital single market and called for the EU to adopt streamlined forms and unified points of entry to simplify regulatory compliance across member states.