Competitiveness Council: Digital economy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth of the EU
Within the framework of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, a two-day Informal Meeting of Competitiveness Ministers (COMPET) will take place on 26-27 March in Riga.
It will bring together ministers from the European Economic Area responsible for internal market issues and industry, and representatives from the European Commission, the General Secretariat of the Council and the European Parliament. The meeting will be chaired by the Latvian Minister for Economics Dana Reizniece-Ozola. In order to have a fruitful debate, leaders from local and EU-level business communities have been invited as the keynote speakers.
As the EU must seize digital opportunities in order to deliver smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, the main theme for the informal meeting will be the EU digital economy. Discussions will be organised in three sessions covering the role of the EU Single Market in the digital economy, the digital transformation of industry and digital entrepreneurship issues.
Information for the media
Photo and video opportunities will be available at the meeting. After the meeting, a press conference will be held by the Minister for Economics Dana Reizniece - Ozola, and the Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Elżbieta Bieńkowska i, on 27 March at the National Library of Latvia, Mūkusalas iela 3, Riga at 15:00 (EET).
Working sessions, handshakes, doorsteps, tour-de-table as well as press conference will be livestreamed on www.eu2015.lv.
More information on photo and video opportunities is available in the Media Programme.
On 26 March the Single Market Forum will take place in Riga, linking the Single Market issues. The Forum in Riga (Radisson Blu "Latvija", Elizabetes iela 55) will bring together results of 20 local Single Market events organised by the European Commission in 2014. It will give an opportunity to review how Single Market legislation works on the ground, identify the remaining problems, and discuss the need for further action, through a debate between the EU institutions, SMEs and other stakeholders.
The proper functioning of the Single Market must be a shared endeavour given its importance for growth and jobs in the European Union. For the Commission, the results of the Single Market Forum will be an important input to its further work.
The event will be livestreamed.
Information for the media
Due to limited number of seats, journalists are asked to register with the password ‘forum’.