Programme time: 13-Oct | 16:45 | 75 min
Room: D. Maria Room 

Moderator: Eva van den Noort (TNO, Netherlands)
Speakers
• Sophie van Baalen (Senior scientist digital society, TNO, the Netherlands), 
• Marina Cugurra (R&I Lawyer and Ethics Expert, S&D, Italy - Co-chair of ADRA’s Ethical and Legal Topic Group), 
• Argyro Amidi (NATIONAL AND KAPODISTRIAN UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS - SYNTACTIC project, Greece – Co-chair of ADRA’s Ethical and Legal Topic Group)

Full description and objectives

Europe has launched an ambitious agenda to strengthen its technological sovereignty through initiatives such as AI Factories, EuroHPC, cloud sovereignty frameworks, and emerging technology policies. Yet a critical question remains: how do we translate these policies ambitions into practical action that strengthens Europe's digital ecosystem and creates real impact for industry, governments, and society? 

This interactive workshop brings together perspectives from the Netherlands, Italy and Greece to explore how technology sovereignty can be realized across domains such as AI, data, cloud infrastructure, and robotics. Participants will gain insights from ongoing research, policy initiatives, and real-world experiences, including lessons from stakeholder engagement with digital solution providers and users, developments iin national sovereignty strategies, and experiences from Europe's first AI Factories. 

Through a combination of expert presentations and collaborative discussions, participants will identify critical gaps in the current European approach and explore opportunities for stronger coordination, ecosystem development, and policy innovation. Together, we will discuss what is needed to accelerate Europe's transition towards technological sovereignty and what role the research and innovation community can play in shaping this future.

This workshop aims to translate the ammbitions of the European Tech Sovereignty agenda into concrete strategies and collective actions for stakeholders across industry, research, and policy. Participants will collaboratively explore: 

• What technological sovereignty means in practice across AI, data, cloud, and robotics. 

• Which technological, institutional, and ecosystem gaps still hinder Europe's ambitions. 

• How policy initiatives can better support adoption, innovation, and market growth for European digital solutions. 

• What actionable next steps stakeholders can take to strengthen Europe's technological resilience and competitiveness. 

Why you want to join?

Join this session if you are interested in Europe's digital future and want to contribute to shaping practical pathways towards technological sovereignty. 

You will: 

• Gain first-hand insights from emerging soveignty initiatives and research efforts across multiple European countries. 

• Exchange ideas with policymakers, researchers, industry representatives, and ecosystem builders. 

• Help identify the most important barriers and opportunities for strengthening Europe's technology ecosystem. 

• Contribute to a dialogue focused not only on policy ambitions, but on concrete actions, collaborations, and implementation strategies. 

This workshop is designed for anyone who wants to move beyond the question "Why technological sovereignty?" and engage in the more pressing question: "How do we make it happen?"

Running agenda