Brussels Economic Forum 2026

Programme

The EU’s AI Economy in the Global Race

  1. 9:30
    Doors open
  2. 9:30 - 10:30
    Welcome coffee
  3. 10:30 - 10:40
    Introduction by moderators
    Méabh Mc Mahon, Euronews & Sasha Vakulina, Euronews

    Welcome
    Maarten Verwey, Director-General, DG Economy and Finance, European Commission
  4. 10:40 - 10:50
    Opening speech
    Luc Frieden, Prime Minister of Luxembourg
  5. 10:50 - 11:00
    'Tommaso Padoa Schioppa' address
    Philippe Aghion, Professor, Collège de France, INSEAD and at the London School of Economics, Nobel Prize winner in Economics 2025
  6. 11:00 - 12:15
    Panel discussion: Economic impact of AI: how to make an AI Economy work in Europe
    Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner for Economy and Productivity; Implementation and Simplification [Speech]
    Louise Burke, CEO, Open Data Institute
    Stefan Hartung, Chairman of the Board of Management, Robert Bosch GmbH
    Martin Sandbu, European Economic Commentator, The Financial Times
    Isabelle Schömann, Deputy General Secretary, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)
  7. 12:15 - 14:00
    Networking Lunch
  8. 14:00 - 15:00
    Visions for Europe
  9. Digitalisation, AI, and economic evolution
    Daniel Susskind, Mercers’ School Memorial Professor of Business at Gresham College
  10. What are the effects of the AI revolution on our societies and the Future of Work?
    Milagros Miceli, Research Lead, Distributed AI Research Institute, Weizenbaum Institute
  11. Can we harness AI without compromising environmental sustainability?
    Philipp Hacker, Chair for Law and Ethics of the Digital Society, European University Viadrina
  12. Q&A round with the speakers in the panel
  13. 15:00 - 15:30
    Coffee break
  14. 15:30 - 16:45
    Panel discussion: Geoeconomics of AI: Europe’s place in the Global Race
  15. Jochen Hanebeck, CEO, Infineon Technologies AG
    Noreena Hertz, Honorary Professor, UCL Policy Lab
    Frank Karlitschek, Founder and CEO, Nextcloud GmbH
    Mārtiņš Kazāks, Governor, Bank of Latvia
    Eva Maydell, Member of the European Parliament
  16. 16:45 - 17:15
    Oxford-style debate on the motion: 'This forum believes that regulating AI is necessary to ensure that the benefits are distributed fairly’
    Speaking in favour of the motion: Marietje Schaake, Non-resident Fellow, Cyber Policy Center and Institute for Human-Centered AI, Stanford University
    Speaking against the motion: Fredrik Erixon, Director, European Centre for International Political Economy
  17. 17:15 – 18:15
    Networking cocktail