José Manuel Barroso and Neelie Kroes Launch European Digital Forum @ Europe2020 Summit

The Lisbon Council brought together a star-studded group of digital entrepreneurs and thought leaders to convene this year’s edition of the Europe 2020 Summit and the Brussels launch of the European Digital Forum (EDF), a new think tank spearheaded by the Lisbon Council and Nesta. José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, and Neelie Kroes, vice-president of the European Commission responsible for the digital agenda, delivered powerful keynote addresses on the way forward for the European economy and called for a growth and jobs strategy fit for the digital age. Sherry Coutu, angel investor and non-executive director of the London Stock Exchange Group; Mark Silverstein, head of product, tech, IP and policy at Spotify; Teemu Suila, chief operating officer of Rovio; Kaya Taner, CEO and co-founder of Applift and member of the European board of Application Developers Alliance; and Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten, founder and CEO of The Next Web and member of the Leaders Club, shared their perspectives on how to strengthen the European ecosystem for tech entrepreneurs and boost the digital economy. Javier Arias, corporate director and group head of EU affairs at BBVA; Pierre Louette, deputy CEO and group general secretary, Orange; Ann Mettler, executive director of the Lisbon Council and EDF; Frédéric Michel, global director for public engagement and Europe director of public affairs and communications at Telefónica; Alberto Onetti, chairman of Mind the Bridge and Startup Europe Partnership; and Marjut Santoni, deputy CEO for the European Investment Fund, presented the next steps for the European Digital Forum and Startup Europe Partnership. The summit culminated in the launch of Productivity and Digitalisation in Europe: Paving the Road to Faster Growth, a new policy brief by Bart van Ark, executive vice-president, chief economist and chief strategy officer of the Conference Board. Dr van Ark presented the main findings of the policy brief and was joined by Chris Haley, head of start-ups and new tech research at Nesta; Nicklas Lundblad, director for public policy and government relations for Europe and the EU at Google; and Dirk Pilat, deputy director for science, technology and industry at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), for a thought-provoking discussion on how the European digital single market can deliver productivity and job creation. The policy brief is published by The Conference Board and the Centre for Innovation Economics, a multi-disciplinary centre managed by the Lisbon Council.