Taking the lead from the Socialists and Democrats Group, the European Parliament adopted the Digital Single Market report this week. The S&D Group continues its fight to ensure everyone can benefit from the digital revolution with a high-level public conference in Koblenz, Germany.
On Thursday 21 January 2016, the S&Ds will hold the next event of their Relaunching Europe initiative on the theme of Europe's digital future.
Key speakers present at the event include:
S&D Group president Gianni Pittella, Malu Dreyer, Prime Minister of Rhineland Pfalz, Nicolas Schmitt, Luxembourg Minister of Labour and Social Economy Luxembourg and Yasmin Fahimi, Permanent State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
Several S&D MEPs will contribute, including Udo Bullmann, Jutta Steinrück, Norbert Neuser, Petra Kammerevert, Evelyn Gebhardt and Joe Weidenholzer.
The event will be opened with a video message from EP President Martin Schulz and include several workshops.
Register online for free or follow the event live via webstreaming and on Twitter #RelaunchEU.
Speaking in Strasbourg ahead of the event, S&D Group president Gianni Pittella, said:
"The digital revolution offers opportunities for all of us. We have to make sure that we make the most of these opportunities while ensuring no one is left behind in the process. Digital inclusion, computer skills and investment in infrastructure are key tools to ensure that everybody can take advantage of the huge changes that digitisation is bringing to all our lives."
Udo Bullmann, head of the German S&D delegation, added:
"We, the S&D Group in the European Parliament are striving for a digital agenda for a socially just Europe. We want to shape the digital revolution – in ways that foster fair wages and high-quality jobs for the entire workforce – under the conditions of crowdsourcing as well as for the growing number of freelancers affected by insecure working conditions. Likewise, we demand that the digital revolution allows small and medium-sized enterprises to grow – and not just a handful of multinational companies. We have already been able to succeed with our project of enabling European citizens to embark on a fair transition towards the digital age – for instance by abolishing roaming charges and enhancing copyright protection. Our next task is to ensure the digital economy lives up to its social responsibility. We are looking forward to exchanging views with all the speakers and participants in Koblenz this Thursday."
Visit the Relaunching Europe website for more details and the full programme of the event.
You can also read more in the S&D position paper on the Digital Union and in the recently adopted European Parliament report on the Digital Single Market.
