The Institute of Public Policy – Lisbon on behalf of PromethEUs organised the seminar “Southern EU Recovery Plans: The Digital Dimension”.
The seminar was held on Tuesday 24 May and organized within the framework of PromethEUs network. The objective of the event was to discuss the reforms and investments in the digital field supported by the RRP (Recovery and Resilience Plan) funds, namely how they intend to address the main weaknesses of each country and whether the RRP will effectively contribute to increasing competitiveness and a possible reorientation of national industrial strategies.
The event was held in a hybrid format at ISEG – Lisbon School of Economics & Management.
Please find as follows the programme of the event and the PPT Presentations shared during the event.
Speakers confirmed:

Mário Filipe CAMPOLARGO

Mário Filipe CAMPOLARGO, Portuguese Secretary of State for Digitization and Administrative Modernization
Mário Campolargo was born in Gafanha de Aquém, Ílhavo in 1956.
He graduated in Electrotechnical engineering from the University of Coimbra (1978), has a master’s degree in Computer Science from Imperial College of London (1983), a postgrad degree in Management from École Solvay of Brussels Free University (1992) and a diploma in European Studies from Católica University in Lovaina-a-Nova (1995).
He was a researcher at the Telecommunication Studies Centre (Aveiro) for 12 years and headed the Software Engineering division. He was the Portuguese representative at the International Telecommunication Unite and led several European projects.
In 1990, he joined the senior staff at the European Commission and was manager and scientific lead of the RACE research into telecommunication programme.
In 1999, he took on the role of Head of Unit of “GÉANT and e-Infrastructure” at the DG Information Society, and was charged with several R&D portfolios, focusing especially on implementing global e-Science infrastructures.
In 2008, as Director of “Emerging Technologies and Infrastructures at DG CONNECT, he was in charge of the Future and Emerging Technologies area, ICT-based Infrastructures for Science, Cybersecurity, and experimental research for the Internet of the Future.
In 2012, he headed the “Net Futures” department at DG CONNECT, focusing especially on the field of the Internet of the Future, including 5G, Cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IOT), Smart Cities and corporate innovation insitiaties, such as Startup Europe.
From 2016 to 2022 he was Deputy Director General and Director General of DIGIT (European Commission), in charge of the global strategic and operational coordination of the directorate-general, for the definition and implementation of the European Commission’s Digital Strategy, and the transition of the Commission’s services to working from home during the pandemic, focusing particularly on creating a digital culture and cybersecurity issues.
He also led European initiatives in the field of Interoperability (including the COVID digital certificate) and the Modernisation of European Public Administration.

Stefano DA EMPOLI

Stefano DA EMPOLI, President, I-Com – the Institute for Competitiveness
Stefano is the President and principal policy analyst at I-Com, a leading Italian think tank dealing with digital, energy and healthcare issues, which he co-founded in 2005, based in Rome and Brussels. He also teaches Economics at Roma Tre University. Between 2018 and 2020 he was a member of the Italian Government High-level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence.
He published many essays and articles on digital issues. His latest book is “Artificial intelligence: the last call”, published in Italian for Bocconi University Press in October 2019.
Stefano has also undertaken study and consultancy assignments for Italian and international public institutions, leading companies and non-profit organizations.

Sofia Moreira DE SOUSA

Sofia Moreira DE SOUSA, European Commission Representative in Portugal
Sofia Moreira de Sousa is the Head of the EU Commission Representation in Portugal, a position she took in September 2021 after ending her four years mandate as the EU Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Cabo Verde.
Prior to that she was Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to the Republic of South Africa. Until 2014 she was the senior adviser to the European Union’s Deputy Secretary General and Corporate Board member dealing with Iran negotiations and EU’s relations with Eastern Partners, a post she took after being the deputy head of the Unit in the European External Action Service dealing with policy coordination, working on the preparation of all foreign affairs Council meetings and political guidance for EU delegations around the world.
From 2009-2011 Ms Moreira de Sousa was political counsellor at the EU Delegation to the African Union in Addis Ababa, following closely African regional integration and the implementation of the EU-Africa strategic partnership. Prior to that she was detached to the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Lisbon, notably on the preparation and follow up of the EU-Africa summit in Lisbon in 2007 and the establishment of the EU-Africa partnership.
Before that, Ms Moreira de Sousa was senior adviser to the EU Special Representative for the Caucasus from 2005-2006 travelling extensively in the region, and worked in the close team of the EU High Representative Javier Solana from 2003 to 2007 on EU relations with Russia and relations with Ukraine, being part of the EU team involved in the facilitation of the mediation of the Ukrainian Orange Revolution in 2004.
Earlier in her career Ms Moreira worked at the international relations department of the European Space Agency, dealing with the external aspects of the Galileo satellite navigation system. Ms Moreira de Sousa also worked as course director at the European Law Academy in Trier, where she was responsible for training programs for judges and magistrates on European law and jurisprudence. Before that she worked two years in law firm in her home town of Porto, Portugal. Ms Moreira de Sousa studied law in Portugal and holds an LLM in International Law and International Relations by the University of Hamburg, Germany.

Eleonora FAINA

Eleonora FAINA, Director General, Anitec-Assinform (Italy)
Eleonora Faina is the General Manager of Anitec-Assinform, the Italian ICT association. She holds a degree in political science and has a Master in Antitrust and market regulation. For over 15 years she has been dealing with public policies and institutional affairs for trade associations and companies in regulated sectors, in Italy and in Brussels. In her professional career she has gained solid experience in advocacy and lobbying, working closely with institutions at all levels (Parliament, Government, regulatory authorities, local authorities). In addition, thanks to over 9 years in the Confindustria system (2008-2017), she has acquired specific skills in policy making, particularly in the areas of infrastructure, public procurement, industrial policies and digitalization. Until July 2019 she was Senior Manager Institutional Affairs at Italiana petroli S.p.A. and from August 2019 she was Head of Industrial Policies of FederlegnoArredo.

Miquel FERRER

Miquel FERRER, Director of Strategy and Public Agenda, Adigital (Spain)
Miguel Ferrer, Law graduate from the University of Barcelona and Master in Intellectual Property Law and Information Society from ESADE. Director of strategy and public policy at the Spanish Digital Economy Association, Adigital.
12 years of experience in public and regulatory affairs in the technology and digital sector, he worked as a consultant for companies such as Airbnb, Apple, Tesla, Cabify or Betfair, as well as various business associations. He was Director of Public Affairs for the digital economy at the communication agency Kreab and until December last year he was global head of public policy at Glovo. Miguel is a professor on the Master of Institutional Relations at Pompeu Fabra University.

Steffen HOERNIG

Steffen HOERNIG, Professor, Nova School of Business and Economics and IPP - Lisbon
Steffen Hoernig is Associate Professor at Nova School of Business & Economics, Lisbon, Portugal. He obtained a degree in Management at the Universität Bielefeld in Germany; a Master in Applied Mathematical Sciences at the University of Georgia, Athens, USA; and a PhD degree in Economics at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. His research and publication area are Industrial Organization and Game Theory, with particular emphasis on electronic communications markets and the digital economy. He has published in the RAND Journal of Economics, Economic Theory, Journal of Industrial Economics and the International Journal of Industrial Organization. He is co-editor of the Portuguese Economic Journal, and associate editor of Information Economics & Policy and Review of Economics, and a consultant for regulators, companies and the European Commission.

Andrés ORTEGA

Andrés ORTEGA, Senior Research Fellow, Elcano Royal Institute
Andrés Ortega (Madrid, 1954) is Senior Research Fellow at the Royal Elcano Institute. He is also the director of Observatorio de las Ideas, a publication on current academic trends. He has been twice (1994-1996 and 2008-2011) Director General of the Department of Analysis and Studies (Policy Unit) at the President of the Government’s Office.
Graduate in Political Science (Madrid), and postgraduate as M.Sc. (Econ) in International Relations at the LSE (London School of Economics, 1979). He developed an extensive career in journalism as London and Brussels correspondent and columnist and editorial writer for El País.
He has published several books, among them La razón de Europa (The Reason of Europe, 2004) and La fuerza de los pocos (The power of the few, 2007). His latest book is La imparable Marcha de los Robots (The Unstoppable March of Robots, 2016).

Paulo TRIGO PEREIRA

Paulo TRIGO PEREIRA, Professor, ISEG/University of Lisbon and President of IPP - Lisbon
Paulo Trigo Pereira (PhD Economics, Leicester UK), is Full Professor of Public and Welfare Economics at ISEG/University of Lisbon.
He coordinates the Master of Economics and Public Policy, and has been teaching Public Finance, Institutional Economics and Law and Economics at ISEG University of Lisbon). Author of several books on Portuguese Public Finance and Institutional Economics and research papers in public choice, social choice and electoral studies. He has been visiting researcher at several universities: UvA (Netherlands), Leicester and London School of Economics (UK), Turku (Finland) New York and Yale Universities (USA).
He was Member of the Portuguese Parliament (2015-19). Vice-Chair of the Budget, Finance and Administrative Modernization Committee, a member of the European Affairs Committee and the Eventual Committee for Enhancing Transparency in the Exercise of Public Functions. He has been member of several working groups: on the revison of the Budget Framework Law, the working group of Personal Income Tax and Parenthood and the Public Debt working group.
He leads civil society projects on Budget Transparency in Portugal (the “Open Budget Survey” and “Budget Watch”), and has a regular presence in the Portuguese media (now writing in online newspaper Observador).

Joana VALENTE

Joana VALENTE, Head of EU office, Confederation of Portuguese Business (Portugal)
Joana Valente is Head of the EU office of CIP – Confederation of Portuguese Business, where she coordinates the work of the employers’ confederation in European Affairs since 2019. Previously, Joana worked in Brussels for over 10 years, at BusinessEurope, the leading confederation of European industry where she was Senior Adviser and Strategy Coordinator for the Director General. Joana started her career as a Research Analyst at the European Central Bank, holds a degree in Economics, and a Master on European Political Economy from the London School of Economics.

Michalis VASILEIADIS

Michalis VASILEIADIS, Head of Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy, IOBE
Michalis Vasileiadis is the coordinator of the Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy Unit of IOBE since November 2012. From February 2008 to October 2012, he worked as a research associate in the same unit. He holds a degree in Economics from the Department of Economics of the Athens University of Economics and Business (2003).
He also holds a postgraduate degree (M.Sc.) from the same department. He speaks and writes English very fluently (Cambridge Proficiency) and speaks and writes French fluently (Sorbonne 1). He participates in regular IOBE publications, such as the monthly Business and Consumer Surveys bulletin (on behalf of DG ECFIN, European Commission) and the Quarterly Bulletin on the Greek Economy (chief editor since November 2011 and responsible for macroeconomic forecasts since September 2008).
Since 2016, he has been the Deputy Representative of IOBE in the Advisory Committee of the Hellenic Statistical System, in EL.STAT. Since 2012, he is the IOBE representative at the regular annual, pan-European workshop of DG ECFIN (European Commission) for Business and Consumer Surveys. He also represents IOBE in conferences of the Ministry of Finance with institutions, on macroeconomic forecasts for the Greek economy. His main research interests are the developments in GDP and its components, especially investments and exports, public finances, trends in the Industry sector and its structural characteristics.
- PromethEUs_Event_Programme (190 kB)
- Spanish RRP (224 kB)
- Italian RRP (413 kB)
- Portuguese RRP (913 kB)
- Greek RRP (511 kB)