On 29th of April 2024, FIIA organised a collaborative public event titled “Teknologiat ja EU:näkymiä seuraavalle vaalikaudelle” on technologies and the EU after the upcoming European Parliament elections. It was arranged together with the European Parliament Liaison Office in Finland and VTT Technical Research Centre in Finland.
The event, arranged in Finnish, featured a keynote speech by Ms Tuuli-Maaria Aalto, the former Finnish COREPER I-Ambassador of Finland. Ms Aalto set the scene by speaking about the regulatory steps taken by EU regarding in the digital and data field.
The keynote was followed by REMIT researcher, WP Lead Katja Creutz giving a presentation on how the EU is situated in the geopolitics of technology governance between the United States and China. Ms Creutz also presented findings from REMIT Working paper, “The EU and Military AI Governance: Forging Value-Based Coalitions in an Age of Strategic Competition”, co-authored with REMIT researchers Michal Onderco (EUR), Ville Sinkkonen (FIIA) and Mahmoud Javadi (EUR).
VTT Executive Director Antti Vasara presented his views on Finland’s role as a technology expert in the EU and what the country’s respective strengths are. The event also featured a panel with three candidates in the upcoming EP-elections: Ms Merja Kyllönen (Left Alliance), Ms Aura Salla (National Coalition Party) and Mr Atte Harjanne (Green League). Final remarks were provided by Director Jarmo Oikarinen from the EP Liaison office in Finland. The event was well attended with circa 50 participants in the audience and over 100 following the stream.
