On August 3, 2015, The European Institute held a breakfast discussion on the European Union’s Digital Single Market Strategy with Ambassador Daniel Sepulveda, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and U.S. Coordinator for International Communications & Information Policy; Andrea Glorioso, Counselor for the Digital Agenda & ICT at the Delegation of the European Union; and Marie Royce, Vice President Public Affairs at Alcatel-Lucent. Thorough conversations with stakeholders are underway on the 16 initiatives of the strategy, which places digital technologies at the forefront of the EU's push for sustainable and competitive economic growth. While the panelists lauded the strategy overall, differing approaches on a range of issues such as spectrum management, copyright reforms, intermediary liability and data localization were discussed. Dr. Michael Nelson, Public Policy at CloudFlare moderated the discussion.

On June, 26, 2015, The European Institute held a luncheon in cooperation with Latvia's Presidency of the Council of the European Union with The Honorable Andris Piebalgs, European and Economic Affairs Advisor to the President of Latvia and Former European Commissioner for Development (2010-2014) and Energy (2004-2009). Mr. Piebalgs highlighted the Latvian Presidency's work to advance the EU's economic growth and competitiveness through such trade initiatives as TTIP, and stressed the importance of the Digital Single Market, the push for a stronger Energy Union, and the vital need for continued cooperation with the Eastern Partnership countries. Mr. Piebalgs also addressed the main challenges the EU is facing, including the continued crisis in Ukraine and growing tensions with Russia on the EU's Eastern flank, increased illegal migration, and the implications of a possible Grexit and/or Brexit.

On December 18, 2014, The European Institute hosted a breakfast discussion on the results and implications of last month’s 2014 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Busan, Korea. The panelists: Ambassador Daniel Sepulveda, Deputy Assistant Secretary and U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy at the U.S. Department of State; Andrea Glorioso, Counselor for the Digital Agenda & ICT at the Delegation of the European Union; Sally Shipman Wentworth, Vice President of Global Policy Development at the Internet Society; Marie Royce, Vice President Public Affairs at Alcatel-Lucent; and Leslie Martinkovics, Director of International Public Policy & Regulatory Affairs at Verizon addressed the outcomes of the ITU Plenipotentiary, the implications for the multi-stakeholder model of internet governance, in which openness, transparency and democratic principles can sustainably prevail in the digital age, and the challenges looking ahead to 2015. Dr. Michael Nelson, Adjunct Professor for Internet Studies in the Communication, Culture, & Technology Program at Georgetown University moderated the discussion.
 

On October 6, 2014, The European Institute and the European Parliament Liaison Office with the U.S. Congress held a live stream viewing of the hearing for European Commission Vice President-Elect Andrus Ansip.  Charged with the portfolio of the Digital Single Market, Mr. Ansip's main objective is to make Europe a world leader in information and communication technology and he has also been asked to oversee, within the first six months of his mandate, the conclusion of negotiations on the reform of Europe’s data protection rules as well as the review of the Safe Harbor agreement with the U.S.  Following the viewing, a panel discussion was held with Stephen Ezell, Senior Analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation; Bart Forsyth, Chief of Staff for U.S. Representative Jim Sensenbrenner; Dr. Michael Nelson, Adjunct Professor for Communication, Culture and Technology at Georgetown University; and Yael Weinman Vice President for Global Privacy Policy & General Counsel at the Information Technology Industry Council to assess European digital competitiveness and ways in which Europe and the United States can continue to work together in the telecommunications sector.

On March 5, 2013, The European Institute, in cooperation with the Embassy of Italy and the Delegation of the European Union, organized a discussion with Dr. Patrick Gallagher, U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce and Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and Giuseppe Abbamonte, Head of the Trust and Security Unit at DG CONNECT of European Commission, on transatlantic cooperation on cybersecurity. Luca Franchetti Pardo, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Italy, offered welcoming remarks and stressed the importance that Italy and the EU attach to cybersecurity. As the EU continues to pursue a Digital Single Market, cyber-threats have become an urgent matter to be addressed. Both Dr. Gallagher and Mr. Abbamonte emphasized the importance of cybersecurity, the measures being taken to enhance it in the U.S. and the EU, and recognized the shared values as imperative for increased European-American cooperation in this field.