Thread by @tepsaeu

Maja Bucar, from @FDVLjubljana, is giving the initial address to #PPCLjubljana: "one of the positive things of having a conference virtually is that we can reach more people around Europe"

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TEPSA has been hosting our flagship bi-annual Pre-Presidency Conferences (PPC) for decades, always joining up with our Member Institute in the country taking on the upcoming @EUCouncil Presidency, it's become a milestone in the European calendar 💪

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TEPSA Secretary-General Jim Cloos welcomes participants to #PPCLjubljana: "the Presidency gives an impression of ownership in the Member States"

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"Slovenia is not going to preside over Union, but it will move us ahead by fostering agreement in the @EUCouncil: it is not abouot implementing a brand new agenda, but by implementing the commonly agreed upon agenda of the EU"

- TEPSA Secretary-General Jim Cloos

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After a comprehensive introduction into our #PPCLjubljana, Slovenian Foreign Minister @AnzeLog addresses the PPC: "on the eve of our second Presidency, I cannot help but look back to our first Presidency: Europe has changed profoundly since then"

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"#COVID19 is likely to stay [...] after initial troubles, the EU has shown unity and solidarity. It is about being at the forefront of vaccine development, and reach the recovery package"

- @AnzeLog, Slovenian Minister of Foreign Affairs (@MZZRS)

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"During our Presidency, the European economy will start to pick up after the COVID crisis, and the implementation of the EU recovery plan gets going."

- @AnzeLog, Slovenian Minister of Foreign Affairs (@MZZRS)

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"The EU's recovery needs to be green, and digital"

- @AnzeLog, Slovenian Minister of Foreign Affairs (@MZZRS)

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"The Slovenian Presidency will take a significant role in previewing COP-26 in Glasgow"

- @AnzeLog, Slovenian Minister of Foreign Affairs (@MZZRS)

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"Half of Europeans express willingness to participate in #CoFoE, the response is even higher in Slovenia. The Conference should be about being more effective and efficient"

- @AnzeLog, Slovenian Minister of Foreign Affairs (@MZZRS)

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"Two debates will be held: a general one, and a country-specific for five Member States. We want to establish a shared value of rule of law"

- @AnzeLog, Slovenian Minister of Foreign Affairs (@MZZRS)

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"If the EU does not continue with enlargement, other global players will assume the leading role in the back yard of Europe"

- @AnzeLog, Slovenian Minister of Foreign Affairs (@MZZRS)

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"I will make every effort, also in my capacity as the representative of the @EUCouncil in the @Europarl_EN, to ensure these priorities are met"

- @AnzeLog, Slovenian Minister of Foreign Affairs (@MZZRS)

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After @AnzeLog, Slovenian Minister of Foreign Affairs (@MZZRS), gave his address to #PPCLjubljana, we move on to our first plenary: "Slovenian Priorities and TEPSA Recommendations"

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"I am really impressed reading the #TEPSARecommendations. They demonstrate a good overview of the challenges ahead for Europe and the Slovenian Presidency"

- Mag. Gašper Dovžan, State Secretary, @MZZRS

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"The #EU2021SI agenda has four priorities: strengthening resilience, recovery, and EU Strategic Autonomy; establish a European Health Union; improve the EU's cyber-resilience; crisis resilience and external relations"

- Mag. Gašper Dovžan, State Secretary, @MZZRS

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"It is now the job of the @EU_Commission to evaluate national #COVIDRecovery plans, and implementation must begin as soon as possible. #EU2021SI will contribute to smooth implementation of these programs"

- Mag. Gašper Dovžan, State Secretary, @MZZRS

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"#COVIDRecovery can be a great demonstration of how the EU can work for its citizens [...] if we have the first recovery programmes in place by early autumn, it will be a great endorsement of the EU's capacity to act"

- Mag. Gašper Dovžan, State Secretary, @MZZRS

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"The role of the Presidency is to steer the work of the @EUCouncil. We speaking about green and digital transitions, we will have two main legislative packages, and we will invest all our energy to foster consensus"

- Mag. Gašper Dovžan, State Secretary, @MZZRS

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"The second pillar of our priorities in the #CoFoE: @2021PortugalEU launched the conference, and #EU2021SI wants to ensure the debate remains open, focused on policy questions"

- Mag. Gašper Dovžan, State Secretary, @MZZRS

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"We will use this opportunity to enhance the debate, and ensure the #CoFoE's visibility"

- Mag. Gašper Dovžan, State Secretary, @MZZRS, mentions the importance of hearing EU citizens' voices via the Conference on the #FutureofEurope

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"Rule of law and the European way of life are two sides of the same coin: we believe we can contribute to bridging a gap between these two elements"

- Mag. Gašper Dovžan, State Secretary, @MZZRS

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"#Article7 is an open procedure. For every Presidency, this issue is delicate: all Member States should be on board on as many issues as possible. Here we will have to give this issue particular attention, with #RuleofLaw"

- Mag. Gašper Dovžan, State Secretary, @MZZRS

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"The European Foundation for Constitutional Democracy is something we are trying to develop: we believe the EU should have an institute similar to the Venice Commission, within the EU's framework"

- Mag. Gašper Dovžan, State Secretary, @MZZRS

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"There will be a constant need to address all aspects of #RuleofLaw across the Member States, and an expert body that can combine knowledge to assess the situation in all Member States, in an impartial way, could be beneficial"

- Mag. Gašper Dovžan, State Secretary, @MZZRS

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"'A credible and secure EU, capable of providing security and stability in its neighbourhood' - we believe this should be our goal"

- Mag. Gašper Dovžan, State Secretary, @MZZRS

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"The #migration challenge is a sensitive issue [...] it is of tremendous importance to achieve progress on a Migration and Asylum Package"

- Mag. Gašper Dovžan, State Secretary, @MZZRS

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One of the key features of the TEPSA Pre-Presidency Conferences are the #TEPSARecommendations

If you want to read them, you can do so here ➡️ tepsa.eu/recommendation…

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You can also watch our video edition of the #TEPSARecommendations!

Here, @FundaTekin17 from @IEP_Berlin gives her introduction on behalf of the TEPSA Recommendations Team, which also includes @NicolePirozzi and @IlkeToygur

➡️ tepsa.eu/recommendation…

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.@agarcod from @CidobBarcelona has written about #digitalisation, a key priority also of #EU2021SI, as mentioned by the @MZZRS State Secretary

➡️ tepsa.eu/recommendation…

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.@LouiseVanSchaik from @Clingendaelorg wrote with her colleagues about the importance of the #EUGreenDeal, here she gives the summary of the #TEPSARecommendations in the area of #ClimateChange

➡️ tepsa.eu/recommendation…

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Finally, Natasha Wunsch from @SciencesPo_CEE gives her overview of one of the most significant topics highlighted by #EU2021SI: enlargement, with a particular focus on the #WesternBalkans

➡️ tepsa.eu/recommendation…

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The #TEPSARecommendations concluded three main points:

1⃣ "Time to Recover", referring to #NextGenerationEU
2⃣ "Time to talk about the Future", referring to #CoFoE
3⃣ "Time to set the Strategic Horizon", referring to #StrategicAutonomy

➡️ tepsa.eu/recommendation…

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We also welcome the @EngagEU_Project representatives to propose their own recommendations to #EU2021SI

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Louisa Mandt from #EngageEUrCouncil speaks about #ClimateChange: "We don't need to talk about why anymore, but about solutions: reduce emissions, circular economy, biodiversity"

@EngagEU_Project

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Katharina Johanna Klotz presents recommendations regarding #digitalisation: "what you do now matters a great deal for the world my generation will inherit: support green startups, make digital fair and inclusive, ensure an ethical global digital infrastructure"

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Kalina Dukovska addresses #enlargement: "strengthen civil society participation; ensure accession benchmarks are clear; enhance the quality of country reports"

#EngagEUrCouncil @EngagEU_Project

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Darragh Power tackles EU health policy on behalf of the #EngagEUrCouncil project: "ensure equitable #COVID19 #vaccine distribution; create a European Health Union; improve the working conditions of health workers"

@EngagEU_Project

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This brings us to our first break in the #PPCLjubljana, tune back in at 12:30 for some great parallel sessions on the #EUGreenDeal and #Solidarity in action and the #FutureofEurope! 💪

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Thanks to our panellists from the Opening Remarks and Plenary Session: Maja Bucar from @FDVLjubljana and TEPSA Secretary-General Jim Cloos, as well as Slovenian Foreign Minister @AnzeLog and @MZZRS State Secretary Gašper Dovžan

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Thanks also to @FundaTekin17 and @LouiseVanSchaik for presenting the #TEPSARecommendations, as well as the representatives of the @EngagEU_Project

We'll be back soon!

/BREAK

#PPCLjubljana is back in action with @FDVLjubljana! We're got the first pair of parallel sessions this afternoon:

"European Green Deal" and "Solidarity in Action and the Future of Europe"

/CONTNUES

Our first Parallel Session of the pair concerns #EUGreenDeal

@LouiseVanSchaik (@Clingendaelorg), Raffaele Mauro Petriccione (@EUClimateAction), @JanezPotocnik22 (@SYSTEMIQ_Ltd), @borghesi_simone (@EUI_EU), and
@Ladeja68 (@CircularChange) will discuss

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If you're more interested in our panel: "Solidarity in Action and the Future of Europe", join @_PaulSchmidt (@oegfe), Maja Bucar (@FDVLjubljana), @Boettger_IEP (@IEP_Berlin), Alice Cunha (@iprinova), and Hristo Panchugov (@NBUSofia) to discuss #COVID in #Europe

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For those of you who missed our #EUGreenDeal panel, here are some highlights!

It was moderated by @LouiseVanSchaik from @Clingendaelorg, who co-authored our #TEPSARecommendations!

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Raffaele Mauro Petriccione, Director-General of @EUClimateAction began the discussion: "What we are looking at here is equally fundamental transformation of our entire lives, entire society"

- Raffaele Mauro Petriccione, Director-General of @EUClimateAction

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"Climate change is a threat and it does more and more damage very fast. We have created this threat through the way we have set our economy. If we don't change that, we won't stop the threat."

- Raffaele Mauro Petriccione, Director-General of @EUClimateAction

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"This is kind of challenge that we have to face as Europeans collectively and challenges are not necessarily bad things, challenges bring the opportunities"

- Raffaele Mauro Petriccione, Director-General of @EUClimateAction

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"The energy forms that we are developing will make things better for everybody, so the real question is how do we handle the transition, how do we find the necessary mechanisms"

- Raffaele Mauro Petriccione, Director-General of @EUClimateAction

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"We have the consensus, resources, legislation, and regulation. We are enhancing what we have already built, so if we don't start who is going to start?"

- Raffaele Mauro Petriccione, Director-General of @EUClimateAction

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"Europe is more fragile than other ecosystems in the world because we are in a very peculiar geographical position, so we need to start this process"

- Raffaele Mauro Petriccione, Director-General of @EUClimateAction

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We then turned to @JanezPotocnik22 from @SYSTEMIQ_Ltd to give his intervention: "We need to rethink the way we are managing the risks, as individuals, collectively, locally, globally"

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"Our individual and collective responsibility has enormously increased and we need to collaborate more, build resilience societies and be better prepared to share our national sovereignty to protect our collective future"

- @JanezPotocnik22 from @SYSTEMIQ_Ltd

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"What industry needs is clarity, predictability, direction, a clear path which is provided by the public services on the basis of public interests and they're extremely powerful when it comes to innovations, new ideas and activities"

- @JanezPotocnik22 from @SYSTEMIQ_Ltd

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"Ffit to 55 is the real test with which we will show how serious we are in meeting the the vision which was adopted by the @EU_Commission"

- @JanezPotocnik22 from @SYSTEMIQ_Ltd

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"Europe might need to enter the troubled waters, which is a good reason to save the lives and sometimes later on you might even be rewarded with the medal"

- @JanezPotocnik22 from @SYSTEMIQ_Ltd

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We then moved over to @borghesi_simone from @EUI_EU: "We have to recognize that the window opportunity to reach the Paris agreement target is closing, so we need to accelerate in climate policies if we are to deliver the promise targets"

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"We need to involve the stakeholders and our trading partners to make sure that they understand that it is not an unilateral decision and for that we might have to travel in troubled waters"

- @borghesi_simone from @EUI_EU calls for transparency

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"Since it always recovers very fast from the #COVIDcrisis, and because it has innovation capacity, Italy's recovery plan is very much on Green and Digital side"

- @borghesi_simone from @EUI_EU

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Our final panellist was @Ladeja68 from @CircularChange, who opened: "The European Circular Economy Platform is something unique, because it is a true partnership trying to reach top-down and bottom-up approach"

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"Slovenia is the only country with 'love' in its name and I sincerely hope that out of this love we will manage to do something beautiful for the prosperity and the future during this time of the Presidency"

- @Ladeja68 from @CircularChange

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"92% Slovenian citizens willing to contribute to the future of Europe. We have seen that there is this will and power in the hands of people and we are willing and ready to change"

- @Ladeja68 from @CircularChange

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That's the #EUGreenDeal panel, but if you missed the #Solidarity in Action and the #FutureofEurope panel, you missed a treat!

Moderator @_PaulSchmidt from @oegfe opened the discussion: “all panellists are authors in our upcoming TEPSA Book, on which this panel is based”

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We turned first to Maja Bucar from @FDVLjubljana: “In Slovenia, solidarity is seen as only a one-way street. We expect others to express solidarity with Slovenia”

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“When reporting is done, it is the negative news which gets the attention, and positive examples where Slovenia benefitted from EU solidarity are not covered extensively in the media”

- Maja Bucar from @FDVLjubljana

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“When we entered the EU, support was at over 90%, now we are at 62%. COVID had a negative impact”

- Maja Bucar from @FDVLjubljana

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We then turn to @Boettger_IEP from @IEP_Berlin, who takes the German perspective: “the term ‘solidarity’ is ever-present, thanks to the historical solidarity tax”

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Despite the presence of the concept of solidarity in Germany, “the motto ‘wir schaffen das’ was divisive in Germany”

- @Boettger_IEP from @IEP_Berlin

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“Obeying COVID regulations, of course was a novelty, but was a successful example of person-to-person solidarity in Germany”

- @Boettger_IEP from @IEP_Berlin

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“#COVID19 has questioned the ability of the EU institutions to act immediately in buying equipment, for PPE, and more”

We turned then to Alice Cunha from @iprinova for the Portuguese perspective

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“During this pandemic, Portugal took measures, granting full citizenship to all asylum seekers and immigrants who request residence, and it took over 500 children from refugee camps in Greece”

- Alice Cunha from @iprinova

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“Solidarity is not high on the agenda in the Bulgarian society”

- Hristo Panchugov from @NBUSofia gives the Bulgarian perspective

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“Bulgaria is an interesting paradox: Bulgarians tend to like the EU, they trust it more than their national institutions”

- Hristo Panchugov from @NBUSofia

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“Bulgaria produces and provided masks and PPE to fellow European countries, a positive example of EU Solidarity”

- Hristo Panchugov from @NBUSofia

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”The definition of solidarity depends very much on your perspective, this is why the book is so interesting: it is a political guidebook through Europe”

- @_PaulSchmidt from @oegfe

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We're back at 15:30 CET for our next two Parallel Sessions: "Digitalisation and Security", and "The EU post-#COVID19 Recovery", join us then!

/BREAK

Our second pair of #PPCLjubljana Parallel Sessions are about to start! The first is on #digitalisation and #security

@agarcod (@CidobBarcelona) is moderating between @worldeu (@URSIV_Slovenia), @AC_Europa (@EU_Commission), and Vladlena Benson (@AstonUniversity)

/CONTINUES

We will also be discussing #NextGenerationEU in the panel: "EU post-COVID-19 Recovery"

Moderator: @IEBergant from @rtvslo
Keynote: Céline Gauer (@EU_Commission)
Speakers: Peter Wostner (@UMAR_si), @miotei (@rielcano), and Olivier Rozenberg (@SciencesPo_CEE)

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Our parallel session on #digitalisation and #security covered an extensive number of areas, including #cyberattacks, #AI, and more! Plus, we also had a vibrant discussion with the participants in the chat 🗨️

Here are some highlights!

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“We cannot say we live in an offline world, nor in an online world, but a hybrid of both”

- @agarcod from @Cidobbarcelona opens the session

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“It is great timing for #EU2021SI, because looking at our digital agenda, we are now hitting the moment to move from concept to delivery”

- @AC_Europa from @EU_Commission

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“We have been working on defining our clear goals in #digitalisation. Now we have them in the #DigitalCompass”

- @AC_Europa from @EU_Commission

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“We have four key aims: digital skills and education, infrastructure, digitalisation of businesses, digitalisation of public administration”

- @AC_Europa from @EU_Commission

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“The #DigitalEurope programme will allow us to invest heavily to create economies of scale, and the #ConnectingEurope facility will allow us to create digital infrastructure”

- @AC_Europa from @EU_Commission

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Our next intervention comes from @worldeu from @URSIV_Slovenia, who comments: “digitalisation and security are two sides of the same coin”

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“Technology is neither good nor bad per se, but we have to have in mind the number of mis-uses of digital technology worldwide in recent years”

- @worldeu from @URSIV_Slovenia

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“There is no company which is not affected by digital”

- @worldeu from @URSIV_Slovenia

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“In Ireland, the health service has been blighted by cybersecurity problems, we have many examples of these attacks in recent years”

- @worldeu from @URSIV_Slovenia

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“Cyber attacks are becoming more advanced, more regular, and more damaging”

- @worldeu from @URSIV_Slovenia

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Vladlena Benson from @AstonUniversity joins the panel to discuss privacy and data ownership

“Data sovereignty is currently impossible, but in the context of emerging tech, we are seeing the emergence of a discussion around individual data ownership in a post-COVID world”

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“Cybersecurity is often an afterthought to those companies developing new technologies. The pandemic has highlighted the speed with which we’re developing, but more importantly it has brought the need to security to the fore”

- @worldeu from @URSIV_Slovenia

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Our second parallel session this afternoon was all about Europe's post-#COVID recovery and #NextGenerationEU

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Céline Gauer from the @EU_Commission began the session by confirming: the Commission proposed for approval for two first plans that come from #Spain and #Portugal and also for the #Greek and #Danish plan

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"Less than a year ago the @EUCouncil agreed on unprecedented large scale recovery program for the EU for all the Member States of the EU and we are talking about EUR 672,5 bn which is something that we have never seen before"

- Céline Gauer, @EU_Commission

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"Almost everybody has been affected by #COVID19. That is why the response from the EU makes every sense and gives every credit to the @EUCouncil, @Europarl_EN and other EU institutions and their joint efforts"

- Céline Gauer, @EU_Commission

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"Who will come on top in the 4th industrial revolution will depend on what kind of strategy it will use in sense that to what extent regions and countries will be able to transition after #COVID19"

- Céline Gauer, @EU_Commission

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"I think now we are in a new paradigm. I see quite big difference in how the debate is running, what kind of instruments we are using, how we are reacting to that"

- @miotei from @rielcano

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"The fact that we have already hit green and social alongside digital and competitiveness, resilience shows this different approach"

- @miotei from @rielcano

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"This is actually the 1st time that we do something jointly, when we issue the joint debt and we will pay this amount of debt over the next 30 years"

- @miotei from @rielcano

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"I think the connection between the public and the private sector is crucial, public hands should kind of decide in many ways where this money broadly should be spending"

- @miotei from @rielcano

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"The priority of next radical right French president regarding the EU would be on the relation with Russia, on the migration issue, rule of law issue unless now on the economic aspects as it is the matter of credibility for them"

- Olivier Rozenberg from @SciencesPo_CEE

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This wraps up the first day of #PPCLjubljana, where we've enjoyed great panel discussions on a number of topics with @FDVLjubljana and many more!

Make sure to come back tomorrow for more from TEPSA, including #InDivEU, #WesternBalkans, and #StrategicAutonomy

ENDS

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