Public Interventions Debate on the digital economy

Today, in the European Parliament, MEPs Maria da Graça Carvalho and Pilar del Castillo co-hosted a discussion with Google on the digital economy: Kick-starting growth and jobs in Europe.

The event aimed at bringing together people from across the European Parliament, Commission, and Council, government and various businesses to demonstrate the importance of internet as a powerful economic engine in history, offering opportunities for innovation, business growth and productivity. 

During her intervention, Maria da Graça Carvalho spoke about the role of ICT in boosting economic growth and the Horizon 2020. 

Taylor Reynolds, senior economist at the OECD, presented the latest Internet Economy Outlook, an authoritative guide to the economic impact of the Internet across the global economy. The report demonstrates titanic shifts in the way businesses create value and drive productivity, the opportunities for public services to be delivered more efficiently thanks to the Internet. 

Bertin Martens, senior economist at IPTS, presented new groundbreaking research on measuring the digital economy, which shows that ICT value-added across all the sectors of the economy could reach as much as 10.2% of EU GDP. 

Megan Richards, Director Coordination at DG CNECT reflected on the role of the Internet in fostering growth and jobs in Europe - and delivering the policy goals of the Europe 2020 strategy.