25 years of the European Internet Forum — created by MEPs, serving MEPs. A short documentary tracing EIF’s origins in 2000 through its evolution into a neutral space where policymakers, industry, academia and civil society meet to learn, question and shape Europe’s digital future.

About the film: Through interviews with co-founders and leaders, this video tells how EIF began, why it was needed, and how it has grown from debates in Parliament to hands-on study visits and masterclasses.

It touches on key policy moments and looks ahead to the next wave of the internet.

Featuring: James Elles (Co-founder, Former MEP) Erika Mann (Co-founder, Former MEP) Elly Plooij (Co-founder, Former MEP) Pilar del Castillo MEP (Former Chair) Peter Linton (Former EIF Advisor) Maria Rosa Gibellini (Director General)

Credits: All rights to the archive footage used in this film belong to the European Union (European Commission and European Parliament)

Learn more: www.internetforum.eu

EIF’s 25th Anniversary Reception | European Parliament, 1 October 2025

Our Forum celebrated 25 years of dialogue, debate, and collaboration at the heart of Europe’s digital policy.

Hosted in the Presidential Salon of the European Parliament, the reception brought together Members of the European Parliament, EU policymakers, industry representatives, and long-standing friends of EIF to mark this milestone.

Speakers included:

• Marina Kaljurand MEP, EIF Chair

• Sabine Verheyen MEP, First Vice-President of the European Parliament and EIF Steering Committee member

• Roberto Viola, Director-General, DG CNECT, European Commission – as special guest

• EIF Co-founders Elly Plooij-van Gorsel, Erika Mann, James Elles, and former Chair Pilar del Castillo MEP

The evening looked back at EIF’s founding vision and forward to the challenges and opportunities shaping Europe’s digital future.