The past two years have been challenging and unpredictable for us all. The pandemic has pushed us to reinvent ourselves, to fully embrace the digital world in order to continue delivering value to our membership. 

Since then, we have organised over 40 virtual debates, continuing the conversation on the most important topics of the digital policy agenda with MEPs and top-level speakers from the European Commission, CEOs, industry experts and civil society. And #EIFasksMEPs, our first video interview series was born. In 2022, as soon as the covid19 pandemic will allow, we are prepared to welcome you in person at our hybrid and networking events.

Nothing would have been possible without our members' trust and engagement. This video is a tribute to the continuous support that we have received. A story of collective resilience that we wrote together. Because #WEareEIF!

On 2 December 2021, EIF organised a Preparatory meeting in view of the Internet Governance Forum taking place in Poland from 6 to 10 December 2021. This meeting, chaired by MEP and EIF member Marina Kaljurand and moderated by EIF Director General Maria Rosa Gibellini, brought together Internet Governance experts to discuss how European stakeholders contributed so far to the process of the UN Secretary General’s Roadmap on Digital Cooperation and how to make the IGF more responsive to current digital issues:

• Pearse O'Donohue, Director for the Future Networks Directorate, DG CONNECT, European Commission
• Sandra Hoferichter, Secretary General of EuroDIG
• Yu Ping Chan, Senior Programme Officer, Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology, United Nations
• Maarit Palovirta, Senior Director for Regulatory Affairs, ETNO

On 30 November 2021, EIF organised a debate on ‘The limits of self-regulation in tackling harmful content’ to explore and assess the challenges of a self-regulatory approach when it comes to tackling harmful content online.
The debate, hosted by MEP Tiemo Wölken and moderated by EIF Director General Maria Rosa Gibellini, featured the following experts:

• Marco Pancini, Government Affairs and Public Policy Director for Europe, YouTube
• Lisa Ginsborg, Acting Secretary General, European Digital Media Observatory
• Gina Nieri, member of the European Commission High-Level Expert Group on fake news, Mediaset
• Carlos Hernández-Echevarría, Head of Public Policy & Institutional Development, Maldita.es
• Daniel Braun, Deputy Head of Cabinet, European Commission Vice President Jourova

On 17 November, we organised a debate, hosted by MEP Paul Tang, on the implications for the EU and European SMEs of the OECD Inclusive Framework’s Two-Pillar Approach to addressing the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the global economy. The MEP was joined by the following guest speakers:

• Benjamin Angel, Director of Direct taxation, Tax coordination, Economic analysis and Evaluation, DG TAXUD, European Commission
• Gerhard Huemer, Director Economic & Fiscal Policy, SMEunited
• Megan Funkhouser, Director of Policy, Tax and Trade, Information Technology Industry Council (ITI)
• Mona Barake, Postdoctoral Researcher, EU Tax Observatory

On 16 November 2021, we organised a debate, hosted by MEP Bart Groothuis, to take stock of the EU’s cybersecurity strategy presented in December 2020, including the progress made on the adoption of the NIS2 Directive. The MEP was joined by the following guest speakers:

• Lokke Moerel, Professor Global ICT (Tilburg University), Member of the Dutch Cyber Security Council, cyber expert on the European Commission’s Horizon2020 Innovation Program and Senior Of Counsel Morrison & Foester
• François Zamora, Chief Security Officer, European Division Orange on behalf of ETNO members
• Jakub Boratynski, Head of Unit for Cybersecurity and Digital Privacy, DG CNECT, European Commission

On 13 October 2021, EIF organised a debate on the “Digital Markets Act – Where do we stand?” to discuss the DMA and its potential impact on the EU digital economy.
The debate was hosted by MEP and EIF Steering Committee member Andrus Ansip and was moderated by EIF Director General Maria Rosa Gibellini. The discussion featured the following experts and policy-makers:

Andreas Schwab MEP and EIF Member, Rapporteur of the DMA proposal for the IMCO Committee
Gerard de Graaf, Director of Digital Transformation in DG CONNECT, European Commission
Carolina Lorenzon, Board Member, Association of Commercial Televisions in Europe
Jason Oxman, CEO, ITI (Information Technology Industry Council)

More information at www.internetforum.eu