The second annual Steering Committee Meeting of the EU4Digital Initiative will be held remotely due to COVID-19 restrictions. It will host a series of virtual sessions spread across the week of 5-9 October, focusing on reviewing the results achieved under the Programme, as  well as discussing the upcoming Eastern Partnership priorities and plans ahead in the digital sector.

On the morning of the first day, the focus will be on the results achieved under the EU4Digital initiative over the past period. The afternoon will be dedicated to the launch of the project “EU4Digital: Connecting Research and Education Communities” (or EaPConnect2), which brings together the research and education communities from the European Union and the Eastern partner countries by reducing the digital divide. 

The second day will be devoted to the Joint Communication on the future of the Eastern Partnership beyond 2020 and two panel discussions that will gather together representatives from Eastern partner countries to discuss their priorities as well as the benefits that the digital transformation could bring, especially in light of the recent COVID-19 outbreak. 

Thematic sessions will take place over the course of the third, fourth and fifth days of the event. During these sessions, the status and plans ahead under six EU4Digital topics will be presented in detail: Telecom rules (including independence of the national regulators, spectrum harmonisation, broadband development and work towards the harmonisation of roaming tariffs); eTrade (including eCommerce, eCustoms and eLogistics); Digital Trust and Cyber security; Digital Skills; Digital Innovation and start-up ecosystems; and eHealth.

Alongside the Steering Committee Meeting, there will be a series of virtual events dedicated to fostering the digital agenda and stakeholders´ involvement in the region. These events will bring together digital domain experts, professionals and policy makers to share good practices and experience. Some of the topics include:  How to accelerate 5G launch in the EaP region; Integration of business angels and venture capital associations into the EU and global networks; Practical Introduction to eDelivery CEF Building Block and others.