Raquel Jorge (Adigital) at Esade: “Economic security and tech sovereignty have become priorities for the European Union”
“Two years ago, discussions about Europe’s strategic self-reliance focused on three scenarios based on the availability of goods and technologies. The geopolitical conflict between the US and China, however, has re-written this context and transformed economic security and tech sovereignty into priorities for the European Union”. With these words, Raquel Jorge Ricart, director of European Affairs and the Brussels Bureau of the Spanish Association of Digital Economy (Adigital), opened the conference “Tecnología: gobernanza, disrupción y soberanía en tiempos de incertidumbre” (Technology: governance, disruption and sovereignty in times of uncertainty) on Esade Madrid campus.
The experts attending this lecture, organized by the Esade Center for Corporate Governance and EsadeGeo within the framework of the 3rd Lecture Series ‘Geopolitics on Board Agendas’, highlighted the strategic role that company boards must adopt in a scenario characterized by geopolitical fragmentation, tech competence, the bolstering of the EU regulatory framework, and also the need for a long-term outlook in order to safeguard corporate competitiveness.
As regards economic security, Raquel Jorge pointed out that “the European Union is committed to making supply chains more resilient, guaranteeing the security of critical infrastructures, protecting sensitive technologies and preventing leaks of information.” On the subject of technological sovereignty, she announced that the European Commission intends to publish a bundle of regulatory measures and several roadmaps on May 27 with a view to “reducing reliance on critical technologies from third countries, particularly the United States and China, and boosting industrial and innovation capabilities within the European Union.”
From the standpoint of business, “this new context calls for boards to look ahead and incorporate factors that are crucial today into their decision-making, such as revising contracts and dealings with suppliers, risks in the supply chain, and the presence of subsidiaries in third countries,” explained Jorge. She also underlined the importance of creating and improving public affairs departments, addressing the transition and migration of tech services, and handling the reputational risk stemming from possible cyber-attacks. Finally, she mentioned the key role of the SME and start-up ecosystem in delivering specialized services along the entire value chain.
Public-private partnerships and re-industrialization
Juan Moscoso del Prado, board member of Indra and senior fellow at EsadeGeo, is “more optimistic than a few months ago.” He pointed out that the new mandate of the European Commission has accelerated some processes such as public-private partnerships, particularly as regards safeguards and legal issues, and the re-industrialization of Europe. “The million-dollar question is whether Europe still has the instruments it needs to do this”, he said, adding that in his opinion, “we’re still midway between diagnosis and action,” with shortcomings in terms of investment self-reliance and the debate about priorities and investment levels.
As regards the concept of sovereignty, Maite Arcos, director of Enagás and director general of the ESYS Foundation, insisted on the importance of “remembering the basics”, i.e., the need for boards to identify risks correctly, define their appetite for risk, and have appropriate contingency plans for risk mitigation. Likewise, she warned that technological sovereignty “must not be confused with autarchy” because the latter has a cost for society and companies that must be quantified and allocated adequately. “Sovereignty is the freedom to choose,” she said, reminding the audience that “Europe is part of a highly interconnected world and specialization has been one of the keys to its prosperity since the 1950s.”
Also taking part in the conference were Mario Lara, director of the Esade Center for Corporate Governance and responsible for the opening address, and Emma Fernández, independent board member and member of the Advisory Board of the Esade Center for Corporate Governance, who moderated participants’ contributions.
