Digital Finance: Commission holds closing pan-European conference following extensive outreach events

This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament.

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The European Commission today hosts the closing conference of the 2020 Digital Finance Outreach (DFO) event in Brussels. This conference is the final in a series of 19 national events organised together with Member States, which took place from February to June 2020. More than two thousand participants in the areas of Fintech and digital innovation in the financial sector took part. These events have provided an opportunity to gather views of key stakeholders in digital finance from across the EU. They have also helped to create awareness about the Commission’s ongoing and forthcoming work on digital finance. Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President for an Economy that Works for People said in his keynote opening speech: “To stay ahead of the game and compete globally, Europe must make the most of digital opportunities. Digital is the future of finance. We have been gathering many views and ideas on how we can best harness of the innovative potential of digital finance. Embracing digital finance and making it mainstream will also help to create jobs and economic growth for Europe as our countries recover from the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, we need to continue regulating and supervising risks appropriately. Strong regulation and supervision are key to preserving trust in finance, both for traditional and for new players. ” In parallel, the European Commission also hosted in April 2020 a pan-European ‘Hackathon’ – in collaboration with Member States – to connect innovators, partners and buyers across Europe to develop innovative solutions, including in the area of digital finance, for coronavirus-related challenges. More information Today’s panels will discuss: 1) Promoting a More Data-Driven Financial Sector; 2) Ensuring a technology-neutral and innovation friendly regulatory framework; and 3) A Digital Single Market for financial markets. EU policy makers, stakeholders from the digital finance sector, national rapporteurs from the main DFO events, MEPs, EU and national representatives, and journalists will take part. The main goal of the closing event is to summarise and discuss the key takeaways gathered throughout the national events and to prepare the ground for the new Digital Finance Strategy that will be announced in Q3 this year. Digitalisation is transforming the European financial system and the provision of financial services to Europe’s businesses and citizens. There is a broad understanding that to compete globally, Europe should embrace technological innovation, including in the financial sector. As stated by President von der Leyen in her political guidelines for the new Commission, “It is crucial that Europe grasps all the potential of digital age and strengthens its industry and innovation capacity, within safe and ethical boundaries.”