First European TIC Meeting - A Transatlantic Challenge

Scaling up Italy’s Transatlantic Investment Committee program

Why and how the Trade and Technology Council could lead the European Union and the United States of America to become, together, the most powerful source of global prosperity and sustainability.

As the world recovers from the pandemic, there is a huge opportunity to reshape market, production and consumption cycles at Transatlantic level, to ensure a strategic advance in key enabling technologies, while fostering sustainability and environmental protection. The rising geo-political tensions are transforming this opportunity into a “must” for like-minded Democracies.

This is a shared goal for the EU and the USA, one that could drive a strong synergy between the two sides of the Atlantic. Together, the EU and USA can build back their economies, making them ready to face the XXI Century’s global challenges and leveraging the twin transitions to harnesses the unique opportunities offered by the digital transformation and the green transition.

The two economic blocs share values and objectives which they can pursue together to build back better. The USA has spearhead important changes in the digital economy over the past three decades while the EU has led the way in reforming the regulatory environment around the digital transformation.

This is an historic opportunity to leapfrog our economies into a more prosperous and sustainable future. One that cannot be missed, to this end it is crucial to ensure that digital technologies flourish in adherence to our shared ethical values and while serving sustainability goals. To this end, the Trade and Technology Council can play a key role and provide the innovative framework that the two partners need to foster their relationship.

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With its first event ad European Union level, the Transatlantic Investment Committee (TIC) wishes to provide, in association with the Transatlantic Alumni Network, the European Network of American Alumni and under the patronage of the Italian Permanent Representative to the European Union and Ambassador to Belgium and the United States Diplomatic Mission to the European Union and to Belgium, a unique opportunity to US Department of State’s Cultural Exchange Program Alumni to explore, together with key Corporates, the Financial Sector and the Institutions of both EU and USA, how to strengthen transatlantic ties, so as to reap the benefits of the innovation of the coming decade.

This event comes after the success of the First TIC Italian Meeting that took place at the Italian Senate, under the patronage of the Italian Embassy to the United States of America and of the Diplomatic Mission of the United States of America in Italy, on July 20.

The workshop will also kick start the 2023 TIC program at European level and anticipate the TIC events in Washington DC (October 28) and London (late November 2022).

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Some of the issues addressed by the conference:

• How can key technologies best serve the shared objective of economic growth, keeping a strategic advance at global level and improving sustainability of the production consumption cycle?

• How can policy makers frame technology advancement in respect of sustainability, strategic autonomy and growth objectives?

• In the current context where supply chains resilience is regularly under pressure, how can the EU and the USA address such challenge in a mutually beneficial way?

• How can the USA and the EU reap the benefits of emerging technologies and design a governance of digital and other key enabling technologies that is sustainable with shared economic goals and fundamental values?

• How can the EU and the USA together address the new competition paradigm within a world compelled by rising geopolitical tensions, without renouncing to the opportunities of global trade and investment?

• How can TIC complement TTC efforts and empower public-private partnership, so as to boost the way technologies pour into the industrial sector of our Countries and make them more competitive at global level?

Agenda

10.00 Welcome address

• H.E. Francesco Genuardi, Ambassador of Italy to Belgium

10.05 Opening Remarks

• H.E. Piero Benassi, Permanent Representative of Italy to the European Union

• H.E. Mark Gitenstein, US Ambassador to the European Union

10.25 Panel 1 - The TTC. What’s at stake one year after: a technical view

• Roberto Viola, Director General, DG Connect, European Commission

• Michael Rogers, Acting Senior Trade Representative, U.S. Mission to the European Union

Moderated by: Joanna Sopinska, Mlex Journalist

11.20 Panel 2 -The role of TTC Stakeholders and US Program Alumni: how to complement the TTC and boost US and EU joint autonomy, growth and productivity

• Barbara Beltrame, Vice President – Confindustria

• Christelle Verstraeten, Senior Director Public Policy at Chargepoint and Chair of the Transport, Energy and Climate Committee, AmCham EU

• Riccardo Masucci, Director of Security and Technology Policy, Intel

• Gabriele Todesca, Head Equity Partnerships at European Investment Fund Venture

• Massimo Cugusi, Board Member, European Network of American Alumni

• Antonio Amendola, President of the Transatlantic Alumni Network

Moderated by: Joanna Sopinska, Mlex Journalist

12.30 Final Remarks and road to DC

• Andrea Gumina, Co-Founder of the TIC, President of Amerigo

• Tim Richardson, Deputy Chief of Mission, US Embassy to Belgium

12.45 – 13.30 Networking Lunch