Strengthening the economy, deepening partnerships

In the first part of the event, representatives of the European Commission presented the EU Tech Business Offer (TBO), which aims to pool public and private investment to promote digital transformation projects in partner countries and strengthen the EU's ability to offer secure and competitive alternatives to providers outside the EU. In a subsequent panel discussion with participants from the BMDS, the European Commission and the Federation of German Industries (BDI), politicians and industry representatives exchanged their perspectives on the potential of this new instrument. Participants contributed numerous comments to the discussion. The focus was particularly on the following points:

• Demand orientation: The TBO must reflect the needs of partner countries and be globally competitive.
• Innovation through start-ups and SMEs: Small businesses should be actively involved in the tenders in order to strengthen Europe's innovative capacity.
• Security: Trustworthy, secure and resilient solutions are a prerequisite for a credible European partnership.

 

Impressions from the event © Dirk Lässig

The second part of the event was devoted to the BMDS's International Digital Dialogues and the question of how this forum can be used to represent the concerns of the German economy even more specifically in the future. An interactive fishbowl format gave participants the opportunity to express their views on topics and partner countries that are particularly relevant to the economy. The German business community saw opportunities for international cooperation particularly in the areas of industrial AI, deep tech, GovTech, data management and digital product passports. The participants in the discussion emphasised that, taking geopolitical developments into account, partnerships should focus on markets with high potential, robust digital ecosystems and relevant trade conditions. Working groups and other participation formats under the umbrella of the International Digital Dialogues should pursue clear goals, meet regularly and have a clear thematic focus in order to achieve tangible results. The event offered the German and European business community the opportunity to actively participate in the discussion of concrete measures for a successful European digital policy and to contribute to the design of practical and results-oriented digital policy dialogue formats.