From putting a stop to “meat sounding” to digital sovereignty: here’s what will be discussed at the Connact summer workshop

Brussels – From the end of “meat sounding” to digital sovereignty, via the issue of medicine shortages experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic and which remains unresolved: all topical issues on which the European Union has been working in recent months and which will also be at the heart of the upcoming Connact – summer workshop, “EU Autonomy and Competitiveness: Agri-food, Health and Digital”, to be held on 24 June at the European Parliament. The event will bring together representatives of European institutions to discuss these issues with Italian associations, stakeholders, and companies. 

Agri-food focus. One session will be dedicated to “Food safety: from agriculture to the food industry”. In December 2025, the European Commission presented the Omnibus proposal, which aims to simplify EU rules on food safety, plant health and controls, reducing the administrative burden by 25–35 per cent. At the same time, work is underway in Europe to develop a new system to ensure consumers receive adequate nutritional information on products. The Agri-Food working group will focus on these topics, with the following participants: Elisabeth Werner, Director-General of DG AGRI at the European Commission; MEPs Stefano Bonaccini, Salvatore De Meo, Carlo Fidanza and Cristina Guarda; Flavio Facioni, member of the cabinet of EU Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi; Antonios Nestroras, founder and director of EPIC; Eugenia Palagi, Deputy Director of Antici and Coordinator of Antici Simplification at RPUE; Simona Caselli, Head of EU Affairs at Legacoop Agroalimentare; Leonardo Pofferi, Director of European Affairs and International Relations at Confcooperative; Romina Raucci, Head of European Affairs at Federalimentare; Graziano Scardino, member of the executive committee of CIA Agricoltori Italiani and President of the Agricultural Assistance Centre and of CIA Sicilia; Andrea Sorbello, Director of Public Affairs at Barilla, and Francesco Tramontin, Vice-President of Global Public Affairs at the Ferrero Group. The discussion will be moderated by Marco Liberati of the Agricolae press agency. 

Focus on Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices. The panel “EU policies on health and the pharmaceutical sector” the issue of greater integration amongst the 27 EU Member States in the field of health will be addressed. The proposals put forward and announced by the European Commission in the field of health place the emphasis on prevention, without, however, neglecting the pharmaceuticals and medical devices sector, with initiatives such as the Critical Medicines Act, the proposals for simplification regarding diagnostic and therapeutic devices, and the eagerly awaited Biotech Act II and Cardiovascular Plan. The following speakers will discuss the impact these will have on the sector and the measures needed to ensure autonomy, safety, the capacity to innovate and competitiveness with other global players: Csaba Kontor, policy assistant in the Cabinet of Commissioner Várhelyi at the European Commission; MEPs Pierfrancesco Maran, Ruggero Razza and Tomislav Sokol; Marco Salaris, coordinator for Agriculture and Fisheries, Health, Labour and Social Policies at RPUE; Joan Madia, Senior Research Fellow in Health Economics at the University of Oxford; Andrea Bonetti, Global Public Affairs and Head of the EU Office at the Chiesi Group, and Emanuele Degortes, global head of access policy and patient advocacy & engagement at the Menarini Group. Moderator: Lorenzo Robustelli, editor-in-chief of Eunews. 

Focus Net&Tech-Media. “Digital security and sovereignty: the EU’s challenges for autonomy and competitiveness” will be the focus of the Net&Tech panel. The discussion will cover available resources and regulations, with a focus on the Cloud and AI Development Act, as part of the Technological Sovereignty Package, whilst also addressing the ongoing debate on the DNA and its implications for digital infrastructure and services. Among the panellists, Lucrezia Busa, Head of the Markets, Competition and Roaming Unit at DG CONNECT of the European Commission; MEPs Brando Benifei, Gaetano Pedullà and Francesco Torsell; Alberto La Bella, Telecommunications and Transport Co-ordinator at the Permanent Representation of Italy to the European Union; Vincenzo Ferraiuolo, Head of EU Public Affairs at Fastweb+Vodafone; Angela Gargani, Director of Public Affairs at FiberCop; Carolina Lorenzon, Director of Media Policy and Regulatory Affairs at MFE-MediaForEurope; Francesco Nonno, Director of Regulation and European Affairs at Open Fiber; Fabio Parola, European and International Public Affairs Manager at A2A, and Giacomo Robustelli, Vice-President of European Affairs & Economic Studies at TIM. The discussion will be moderated by Stefano Da Empoli, of the Institute for Competitiveness, founder & president of I-Com.