11:00 - 11:45 - Fintech 2019

Fireside chat – Is Europe able and willing to innovate?

The EU aims to become a lead player in new technologies on the world stage. However, especially in the technology sector new proposals take years to pass through the EU legislative process that they risk becoming outdated by the time they enter into force. Digital skills and access to data are two of the key ingredients for the development of new technologies. Is the EU able to innovate in time to become a major global player? Are Member States willing to take steps to allow the EU to advance a common innovation policy if this means ceding certain decision-making powers? What do the high profile anti-trust cases in the EU tell us about Europe’s ability to compete internationally?

Moderator: Brian Hayes

Member of the European Parliament

Michael D'Arcy

Minister of State, Department of Finance, Ireland

Joachim Schwerin

Principal Economist, DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SME's, European Commission

Michael Cocoman

Global Head of Regulatory, Stripe

Karin Dohm

Managing Director, Global Head of Government & Regulatory Affairs

Damien Perillat

Director for Southern Europe, PayPal

More about the speaker

Valdis Dombrovskis

Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue also in charge of Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, European Commission

Valdis Dombrovskis is the Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Euro and Social Dialogue, also in charge of Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union. Prior to that, he served three consecutive terms as Prime Minister of Latvia, becoming the longest serving elected head of government in Latvia’s history. Before becoming European Commission Vice-President, Valdis Dombrovskis was elected for the second time as a Member of the European Parliament (first, 2004-2009) and Head of the Latvian Delegation in the EPP Group. He served as a Member of the Saeima (Parliament) of Latvia (March 2004 – June 2004; January 2014 – June 2014) and was Latvia’s Minister of Finance from 2002 to 2004.

Valdis Dombrovskis was born on 5 August 1971 in Riga, Latvia. He graduated with a degree in physics from the University of Latvia (1993) and economics from Riga University of Technology (1995). He received his master’s degree in physics in 1995 from the University of Latvia. In 1995 -1998, he worked as a research assistant at Mainz University, Germany, at the Institute of Solid-State Physics in Latvia and at the University of Maryland (USA).

Prior to joining politics, he worked as a senior economist and Chief Economist at the Bank of Latvia (1998-2002). Together with Anders Aslund, he co-authored the book “How Latvia came through the financial crisis”, which was published in 2011. In November 2014, Valdis Dombrovskis was awarded the Order of the Three Stars (Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis), the highest State Decoration of the Republic of Latvia.