During the first half of 2018, a series of expert forums will be organised around Europe on topical matters and challenges facing the European Union, and will be conducted as the ALDE Party considers its manifesto for the 2019 elections to the European Parliament.

Experts in the respective fields from our member parties are warmly invited to participate in these meetings for sharing their views and actively contributing to the manifesto drafting process.

The third Manifesto Forum, organised by ALDE Party with the support of Keskusta took place in Helsinki on Saturday 7 April. The main topical focus this time was on digitalisation.

The Finnish Minister of Transport and Communications and Member of the Manifesto Drafting Committee, Anne Berner, gave an inspiring keynote speech emphasising the enormous potential digitalisation is bringing to our societies. She highlighted that the EU should create value to such innovation working on two assets: flows of data across sectors and trust in the new technologies.

The discussions on digitalisation focused on three main aspects: the future of the Digital Single Market beyond 2019; the future governance of innovative technologies; and the balance between rights, freedom and security in the digital era. You can watch the livestream of each of the panel debates below.

Keynote speeches by Taavi Roivas and Anne Berner + Panel debate on the Digital Single Market beyond 2019

After the discussion, we also had the opportunity to have a Facebook Live talk with Anne Berner, Finnish Minister of Transport and Communications and Member of the Manifesto Drafting Committee.

Panel debate on Governing Innovative Technologies + Panel debate on Balancing Rights, Freedoms and Security in the Digital Era

At the end of the event, we also discussed on a Facebook Live chat with Kalle Palling, Member of the Estonian Parliament.

Do you want to read a more thorough summary of the content of the discussions? Check it out here.

For an overview of all the expert forums coming up in spring , take a look here.