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Among key EU digital annual conferences in early 2026, as well as in the coming weeks, some vital transformations are envisioned. For example, the Masters of Digital event (Feb 26, Brussels/Online) was focused on AI, security, and digital power; in the Digital Platforms Summit (Feb 25, Brussels/Online), the Digital Markets/Fairness Acts perspectives were covered. Additionally, the coming “All Digital Weeks” during March 9–25 will focus on digital skills and inclusion.
Recent events
= Masters of Digital 2026 (Feb 26, 2026): the “digital Europe’s” flagship event brought together high-level policymakers and industry leaders to discuss AI, defense and cybersecurity.
The event focused on redesigning Europe’s digital power, exploring the ways the AI can drive industrial competitiveness, strengthen digital security in a fragmented world, and how to simplify regulation to unlock growth. The keynote speeches included influential figures from the European Commission, national governments and leading technology companies.
More in: https://data.europa.eu/en/news-events/events/masters-digital-2026
= Digital Platforms Summit 2026 (Feb 25, 2026): hybrid event focusing on the Digital Markets Act and the newly devised initiative called the Digital Fairness Act; both featured discussions on consumer protection and the used AI models.
As to the “fairness act”, the EU has adopted a number of legal acts, so that consumer can play an active role and fully benefit from the digital single market. Yet, the digital transformation has altered the context in which these consumer laws apply. Data-driven personalisation and interface design now undermine consumer choices and influence them to take decisions that go against their interests. According to the 2024 fitness check of three EU consumer protection directives, the core EU consumer laws remain relevant but they have only partially achieved the objectives of providing consumers with a high level of consumer protection and a better functioning of the internal market.
More on digital fairness act in: https://www.beuc.eu/position-paper/towards-digital-fairness-act
Consumers encounter several problems online such as deceptive or addictive interface design, personalised practices that exploit vulnerabilities, difficulties with the cancellation and renewal of digital subscriptions, as well as situations in which users are driven to accept unfair contract terms. According to the Commission, EU consumer protection is undermined by insufficient enforcement, legal uncertainty, an increasing risk of regulatory fragmentation among the member states’ national approaches and the lack of incentives for traders to aim for the highest standard of consumer protection.
Reference to: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-protecting-our-democracy-upholding-our-values/file-digital-fairness-act
Note. The Commission announced in its work program-2026 (under the “Protecting democracy and upholding values”) a legislative initiative called the Digital Fairness Act. The legislative initiative is aimed to tackle several problems consumers face online such as dark patterns, marketing by social media influencers, the addictive design of digital products and unfair personalisation practices, especially where consumer vulnerabilities are exploited for commercial purposes. The Digital Fairness Act would also streamline obligations for businesses, notably by reviewing certain consumer information requirements in certain types of contracts.
More on Commission work program-2026, in which 25 out of 47 legislative initiatives have a significant simplification dimension, in: https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/strategy-documents/commission-work-programme/commission-work-programme-2026_en
= Al and Digital Weeks-2026 (Mar 9–25, 2026): A series of events promoting digital skills and jobs across Europe, co-funded by the European Commission.
The annual digital-week’s campaign, coordinated by the “All Digital Network”, is expected to gather over 1.5 million people and assisting all interested participants in “building essential digital skills for work, learning and everyday life”. The 2026 event will focus on “Digital well-being for a competitive Europe”, highlighting the importance of enabling people to engage with digital technologies in confident, ethical and sustainable ways. The campaign will explore themes such as digital inclusion, media literacy, AI and ethics, lifelong learning, sustainability, and digital skills for employment and innovation.
Besides, “the weeks” aim to support individuals and communities in navigating digital transformation while contributing to Europe’s long-term social and economic resilience.
Source: https://media-and-learning.eu/type/news/all-digital-weeks-2026-promoting-digital-well-being-across-europe/
Relevant events in 2025
= EU Digital Technologies and Policy Conference. May 2025. Belgium.
Covering issues: digital technology advances and applications (AI, quantum, nanotechnologies), digital infrastructures, hardware, and materials (chip design, semiconductors, mining technologies, supply chains), energy and sustainability, data economy, digital rights and sovereignty, and the impact of EU digital regulation.
Source: https://eurotech-universities.eu/news-and-events/events/eudtp-2205/
= Future of Digital Investments (July 2025): Focused on competitiveness and sovereignty.
= Living-in.EU Digital Assembly (Oct 2025): Focused on smart cities and data-driven policy.
= Advanced Digital Skills Summit (Nov 2025): Addressed the digital skills gap.
= Danish Agency/Ministry for Digital Government. The Future of Digital Investments in the EU.
In: https://en.digst.dk/policy/international-cooperation/european-conference-2025/
These conferences are central to implementing the Digital Decade policy program 2030, which aims to guide Europe’s digital transformation in skills, infrastructure, and business.
More on the EU-wide events on digital and AI issues, in:
https://euagenda.eu/events/digital
Digital investment issues
At the digital Europe’s conference this February, Maria Luís Albuquerque (Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union) revealed some EU-wide initiatives at improving digital finance and payments to support new technologies in the European financial system. Actually, her main tasks are to “unlock the financing needed for the EU’s green, digital and social transition, while safeguarding financial stability, ensuring better access for EU businesses to finance and creating better opportunities for citizens in order to improve their own financial security”.
Citation from: https://commission.europa.eu/about/organisation/college-commissioners/maria-luis-albuquerque_en
In the digital world – and in EU more than anywhere else – scale and investment network’s effects are making the difference” start-ups in Europe can raise seed funding, but when it needs 50 or 300 million to scale, the search for funding often becomes global. It’s not that this money is not available in the EU, notes the Commissioner, it is because “the money is not being mobilised effectively to finance innovation; the reality is that capital is not neutral; it determines where companies grow, where jobs are created and where (and how) the strategic decisions are made”.
Source and citation from: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/da/speech_26_491
The Commission is going to promote the changes needed to create scale, unlock investment and strengthen Europe’s capacity to grow and compete: as the digital economy does not stop at the EU member states’ borders, and capital should not either. Addressing this is really what the EU’s Savings and Investments Union, SIU is about.
More on SIU in: https://www.integrin.dk/2025/11/06/eus-savings-investment-union-boosting-banks-and-insurers-equity-investments/
But to “incentivise” investments does not mean over-regulation: since the beginning of the new Commission’s mandate, it was working to make the simplification of EU rules, with a vision that regulation both protects and also enables. Hence, the idea of “smart, clear, simple and predictable rules”.
It all has to do with the digital data and finances: during last six years, the EU is exploring the Digital Finance Strategy: it managed to: – promote digital onboarding and e-identification (to reduce costs and make cross-border activity and investment easier); – support distributed ledger technology in capital markets (meaning faster settlement, higher transparency, lower costs and global reach); – bringing a clear framework and strengthening financial resilience through EU-wide rules about crypto assets and digital operational resilience for financial institutions); -finally, the EU is now developing frameworks for data sharing in finance.
The Commissioner notes that in the digital age, data is capital; but when this data is locked in silos, innovation slows: i.e. if data flows safely and securely, innovation accelerates and hence, open finance empowers consumers, innovators and data holders, pushing them to compete and continue to earn the trust and loyalty of their customers.
Data sharing also gives investors access to better financial products; and it all that links are critical for those willing and ready to deploy capital. Institutional investors, for example, with deep expertise and long-term horizons, need to see the full picture of their investments.
The future of the EU’s “capital freedom”
The Commissioner has made some vital comments on the future of EU-wide “capital freedom”, which is the fourth component of the EU integration’s freedom concept.
First, notes Commissioner Albuquerque, the era of ‘national champions’ and intra-EU protectionism is over: “the reality is simple, she says, if your only competitors are European neighbors, you are playing in the second division’ it is time to act with continental scale to have a global reach, because that is what true competitors do”.
Second, Europe has never lacked ideas, talent or the capacity to innovate: but presently, the member states have “to prove is that having ambition to invest: at scale, with confidence, and a clear sense of direction”. Hence the “optimal innovation” will be driven by capital that moves freely, by markets that are deep and integrated, and by rules that give innovators the certainty to build European future.
Third, it is the EU’s “moment to connect invention with investment”, she adds, turning European scientific leadership into industrial strength: i.e. “to act not as twenty-seven separate markets, but as one”.
Finally, finance is not on the sidelines of the digital transformation, it is its engine; thus, all actors – industry leaders, innovators, investors and policymakers -have to work with on building the Savings and Investments Union. “Because a more digital Europe will only succeed if it is also a more integrated, more ambitious and more investment-driven Europe. During last decades, the EU’s financial sector was part of the problem, she concludes, now, we are working to guarantee it will be part of the solution”.
Reference and citations from the recent Commissioner’s press release at: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/da/speech_26_491