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Virtual Event

Summer Workshop
EU Autonomy and Competitiveness: Agrifood, Health, and the Digital Sector

Brussels, 24 June 2026
Virtual Event


Nell’incertezza geopolitica attuale, per l’Unione Europea è fondamentale guadagnare autonomia strategica e garantire sicurezza ai propri cittadini in diversi ambiti. In particolare, nei settori dell’agroalimentare, della salute e del digitale, l’Unione sta elaborando iniziative molto ambiziose che avranno un impatto su diversi comparti dell’economia e della società. Sarà fondamentale partire con il piede giusto e non fare passi falsi.

L’appuntamento “estivo” di Connact sarà un contributo alla riflessione, in cui i rappresentanti delle istituzioni europee si confronteranno con gli operatori economici per un approfondimento sui principali dossier in discussione e sul loro impatto sul sistema Italia e in particolare sui settori economici maggiormente interessati.

I temi delle politiche per la salute e quello della sicurezza alimentare saranno al centro di due tavoli di lavoro, per discuterne le implicazioni sull’industria farmaceutica da un lato e sui comparti agricolo e alimentare dall’altro. Un terzo tavolo sarà dedicato alle politiche per il settore digitale, che si focalizzerà tanto sugli interventi infrastrutturali quanto sul quadro regolatorio necessari a garantire autonomia e sicurezza all’Ue anche in questo campo.

Programme

Time Connact summer workshop 2026
10:30 am

Introduction

Lorenzo Robustelli
Director of Eunews

Director and co-founder of Eunews, the first Italian publication with a central editorial office in Brussels and correspondents from Rome and other European capitals.

Marco Canaparo *
Deputy Permanent Representative of Italy to the EU

Born in Orvieto (Terni) on 27 December 1971, he graduated in Law from La Sapienza University in Rome.
He joined the diplomatic service in December 1999 and attended a professional training course at the Diplomatic Institute in 2000. In the same year, he was appointed Second Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, within the Directorate-General for European Integration. In 2001, he was assigned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
From 2002 to the end of 2003, he served as First Secretary at the Italian Embassy in Amman. In 2006, he served as First Secretary for Commercial Affairs at the Mission to the European Union in Brussels, and in 2009, he was posted to the Office of the Diplomatic Adviser at the Prime Minister’s Office. He was appointed to the rank of Councillor in July 2010 and, in 2012, was awarded the title of Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. From 2013 to 2015, he served as Diplomatic Adviser to the Home Secretary and the Deputy Prime Minister.
From 2015 to 2019, First Counsellor at the Permanent Representation to the European Union in Brussels, head of the Office for Relations with the European Parliament. Also in 2019, he became a member of the Cabinet of the President of the European Parliament, responsible for interinstitutional relations with the Council. In 2021, he served as First Counsellor at the Permanent Representation to the European Union in Brussels, where he was in charge of the Office for Relations with the European Parliament and the Press Office.
In 2022, he served as Diplomatic Adviser to the Ministry for European Affairs, the South, Cohesion Policy and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). In June 2023, he became Head of the Department for European Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office.
In December 2024, he was a member of the Cabinet of the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Cohesion and Reforms. In January 2024, he was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary. Since February 2025, he has been Deputy Permanent Representative and Ambassador to Coreper I at the Permanent Representation of Italy to the European Union.

10:35 am
* attendance to be confirmed.

Time Connact Agri & Food 2026
10:35 am

Food safety: from agriculture to the food industry

As part of its policy to simplify procedures and reduce the administrative burden on businesses, the European Union is updating its 2026 food safety measures, with a focus on a risk-based approach, regulatory simplification, and sustainability. To this end, the European Commission presented the Omnibus proposal in December 2025, aimed at simplifying EU rules on food safety, plant health, and controls, thereby reducing administrative burdens by 25–35%.  At the same time, work is underway to develop a new system to ensure that consumers receive adequate nutritional information about products.

The Agri-Food working group focuses on these two issues, without overlooking the impact of the disruption to global trade caused by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz—through which a third of the raw materials for fertilisers pass—leading to a 30–40% rise in fertiliser prices, the risk of a food crisis, and higher prices for basic commodities.

Keynote Speech

Elisabeth Werner
EU Commission, Director General DG AGRI

Elisabeth Werner is Director-General for the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI). This department supports and promotes a knowledge and evidence-based green and digital transition towards a sustainable, competitive, and resilient EU agriculture, rural areas and food systems, including food security. It is responsible for developing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Ms Werner, an Austrian national, was Deputy Secretary-General at the Secretariat-General of the European Commission. Prior to this, she was Director for Land Transport at the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) where she was responsible for interinstitutional relations, communication and coordination. In earlier stages of her career, she was senior expert and then Head of Cabinet of Vice-President Georgieva (2014-2016) focusing on HR, budgetary matters and anti-fraud. She also took on several Head of Unit positions at DG MOVE and the Directorate-General for Budget (DG BUDG). Ms Werner joined the European Commission in 1996.

Speakers

Stefano Bonaccini *
MEP, member AGRI, INTA

Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament

Italy - Partito Democratico (Italy)

Member
AGRI Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development
D-US Delegation for relations with the United States

Substitute Member
INTA Committee on International Trade
D-UK Delegation to the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly

Salvatore De Meo
MEP, EPP/FI

Gruppo del Partito popolare europeo (Democratici cristiani)
Italia - Forza Italia (Italia)
Presidente
DNAT Delegazione per le relazioni con l'Assemblea parlamentare della NATO
Membro
CPDE Conferenza dei presidenti di delegazione
SEDE Commissione per la sicurezza e la difesa
AGRI Commissione per l'agricoltura e lo sviluppo rurale
AFCO Commissione per gli affari costituzionali
DSAS Delegazione per le relazioni con i paesi dell'Asia meridionale
Membro sostituto
IMCO Commissione per il mercato interno e la protezione dei consumatori
DANZ Delegazione per le relazioni con l'Australia e la Nuova Zelanda

Carlo Fidanza
MEP, ECR/FdI

Gruppo dei Conservatori e Riformisti europei
Italia - Fratelli d'Italia (Italia)
Vicepresidente
DLAT Delegazione all'Assemblea parlamentare euro-latinoamericana
Membro
AGRI Commissione per l'agricoltura e lo sviluppo rurale
DCAM Delegazione per le relazioni con i paesi dell'America centrale, incluso il comitato parlamentare di associazione UE-America centrale
Membro sostituto
AFET Commissione per gli affari esteri
CONT Commissione per il controllo dei bilanci
TRAN Commissione per i trasporti e il turismo
EUDS Commissione speciale sullo scudo europeo per la democrazia
D-CL Delegazione alla commissione parlamentare mista UE-Cile

Cristina Guarda *
MEP, GREENS/Verdi

Gruppo dei Verdi/Alleanza libera europea
Italia - Europa Verde - Verdi (Italia)
Vicepresidente
PETI Commissione per le petizioni
DAND Delegazione per le relazioni con i paesi della Comunità andina

Membro
AGRI Commissione per l'agricoltura e lo sviluppo rurale
D-AL Delegazione al comitato parlamentare di stabilizzazione e di associazione UE-Albania
DLAT Delegazione all'Assemblea parlamentare euro-latinoamericana

Membro sostituto
REGI Commissione per lo sviluppo regionale

Flavio Facioni
EU Commission, Member of Cabinet of Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi
Antonios Nestroras
EPIC, Founder and Director

Antonios Nestoras is a recognised European thinker at the crossroads of security, technology, and industrial strategy. With 20 years of experience in academia, think tanks, and public administration, he is an influential voice in EU policymaking whose work has been featured in the Financial Times, Politico, and Euronews, among others.

He has authored or edited over 40 publications, from policy reports to peer-reviewed articles and books, and is the Founder and Chief Editor of the Future Europe Journal. He holds a double PhD in Social and Political Science from VUB and the University of Antwerp and is a recipient of the prestigious Huygens Scholarship at Leiden University.

Antonios now leads the European Policy Innovation Council, EPIC: a next-generation thinking movement reshaping Europe with evidence-based policies.

Eugenia Palagi
Italy Permanent Representation to the UE, Deputy Coordinator Antici

Q&A with Connact organisers

Representative of Barilla
Representative of CIA Agricoltori italiani
Representative of Confcooperative
Representative of Federalimentare
Representative of Federvini
Representative of Ferrero
Representative of Legacoop

Moderate

Marco Liberati
AAP Group journalist

A journalist with the AAP Group, he has worked in the information sector for over 20 years and has gone through the transition from print to digital communication.

As a communication manager, he deals with integrated communication plans and offers advice as a SEO copywriter, both for small and medium-sized companies in need of a fast and effective migration to the technological era.

* attendance to be confirmed.

Time Connact Pharma 2026
3:00 pm

EU policies on health and the pharmaceutical sector

The drive towards greater integration among the 27 Member States in the field of health, which arose from the fight against COVID-19, did not fade once the pandemic had passed but has maintained its momentum, recognising that new common challenges will need to be addressed, starting with the strengthening of autonomy in the pharmaceutical sector.

The proposals announced by the European Commission in the field of health place the emphasis on prevention—which involves healthy eating and lifestyles as much as advanced diagnostic capabilities—without, however, neglecting the pharmaceuticals and medical devices sector, with initiatives such as the Critical Medicines Act, proposals to streamline regulations on diagnostic and therapeutic devices, the anticipated Biotech Act II and Cardiovascular Plan. What impact will this have on the sector? What other measures are needed to ensure autonomy, security, the ability to innovate, and competitiveness with other global players?

Keynote speech

Csaba Kontor *
EU Commission, Policy Assistant at Commissioner Várhelyi's Cabinet

Speakers

Ignazio Marino *
MEP, GREENS/Verdi

Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance
Vice-Chair

Italy - Independent (Italy)

Member
BUDG Committee on Budgets
ENVI Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety
SANT Committee on Public Health
D-US Delegation for relations with the United States
DACP Delegation to the OACPS-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly

Substitute Member
DAFR Delegation to the Africa-EU Parliamentary Assembly

Alessandra Moretti *
MEP, S&D/PD

Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament

Italy - Partito Democratico (Italy)

Vice-Chair
D-RS Delegation to the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee
D-AF Delegation for relations with Afghanistan

Member
ENVI Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety
SANT Committee on Public Health
FEMM Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality
D-IR Delegation for relations with Iran

Substitute Member
AFET Committee on Foreign Affairs

Valentina Palmisano
MEP, LEFT/M5S

Il gruppo della Sinistra al Parlamento europeo - GUE/NGL

Italia - Movimento 5 Stelle (Italia)

Membro

SANT Commissione per la sanità pubblica

REGI Commissione per lo sviluppo regionale

PETI Commissione per le petizioni

DARP Delegazione per le relazioni con la penisola arabica

D-IN Delegazione per le relazioni con l'India

Membro sostituto

ENVI Commissione per l'ambiente, la sanità pubblica e la sicurezza alimentare

Ruggero Razza
MEP, ECR/FdI

European Conservatives and Reformists Group

Italy - Fratelli d'Italia (Italy)

Chair
DMAG Delegation for relations with the Maghreb countries and the Arab Maghreb Union, including the EU-Morocco, EU-Tunisia and EU-Algeria Joint Parliamentary Committees

Member
CPDE Conference of Delegation Chairs
BUDG Committee on Budgets
SANT Committee on Public Health

Substitute Member
D-TR Delegation to the EU-Türkiye Joint Parliamentary Committee
DMED Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean

Marco Salaris
Italy Permanent Representation to the EU, Coordinator for Agri-fish, Health, Labour and Social policies

A career diplomat, he currently serves as Embassy Counsellor at the Permanent Representation of Italy to the European Union (RPUE) in Brussels.
 
Within the RPUE, Salaris coordinates key areas that primarily relate to the EU Council configurations known as AGRIFISH (Agriculture and Fisheries) and EPSCO (Health, Labour and Social Policy).

Armando Magrelli
AIFA, Head of International Relations
Joan Madia
University of Oxford, Senior Research Fellow in Health Economics

Joan is a Senior Research Fellow in Health Economics and Policy Evaluation at the Center for Health Economics Services and Organisation (CHSEO) and the Health Economics group in the Nuffield Department of Primary Health Care Sciences. Additionally, he holds a non-stipendiary affiliate membership at the Institute for the Evaluation of Public Policies (FBK-IRVAPP) in Italy.


His research interests focus on drawing causal inference from non-randomly selected samples; especially in settings of imperfect compliance, the analysis of inequality in health and human capital development, and the evaluation of public policies.

Q&A with Connact organisers

Representative of Bracco
Representative of Chiesi
Representative of Menarini

Moderate

Lorenzo Robustelli
Director of Eunews

Director and co-founder of Eunews, the first Italian publication with a central editorial office in Brussels and correspondents from Rome and other European capitals.

* attendance to be confirmed.

Time Connact Net & Tech e Media 2026
4:45 pm

Digital security and sovereignty: the EU’s challenges regarding autonomy and competitiveness

Digital security and sovereignty are crucial issues for the European Union’s strategic autonomy and progress, all the more so in the context of the current geopolitical instability. Both infrastructure investment and regulatory decisions in the sector are essential to drive economic and social development, ensure public safety and boost business competitiveness.

The Net & Tech working group focuses on available resources and regulations, with particular attention to the Cloud and AI Development Act, as part of the Technological Sovereignty package, while also addressing the ongoing debate on the DNA and its implications for infrastructure and digital services.

Keynote speech

Lucrezia Busa
EU Commission, Head of Unit Markets, Competition and Roaming

Head of Unit Markets, Competition and Roaming of the EU Commission.

Speakers

Brando Benifei
MEP, S&D/PD

Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament

Italy - Partito Democratico (Italy)

Chair
D-US Delegation for relations with the United States

Member
CPDE Conference of Delegation Chairs
INTA Committee on International Trade
AFCO Committee on Constitutional Affairs
D-BR Delegation for relations with the Federative Republic of Brazil

Substitute Member
IMCO Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection
JURI Committee on Legal Affairs
DMER Delegation for relations with Mercosur
DLAT Delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly

Michał Kobosko *
MEP, RENEW
Gaetano Pedullà
MEP, LEFT/M5S

The Left Group in the European Parliament - GUE/NGL

Italy - Movimento 5 Stelle (Italy)

Member
ECON Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
D-CN Delegation for relations with the People's Republic of China

Substitute Member
ITRE Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
IMCO Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection
LIBE Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
D-UK Delegation to the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly

Massimiliano Salini *
MEP, EPP/FI

Gruppo del Partito popolare europeo (Democratici cristiani)
Vicepresidente
Italia - Forza Italia (Italia)
Membro
ENVI Commissione per l'ambiente, la sanità pubblica e la sicurezza alimentare
DMED Delegazione all'Assemblea parlamentare dell'Unione per il Mediterraneo
Membro sostituto
AFET Commissione per gli affari esteri
ITRE Commissione per l'industria, la ricerca e l'energia
DMAG Delegazione per le relazioni con i paesi del Maghreb e l'Unione del Maghreb arabo, comprese le commissioni parlamentari miste UE-Marocco, UE-Tunisia e UE-Algeria

Francesco Torselli
MEP, ECR/FdI

European Conservatives and Reformists Group

Italy - Fratelli d'Italia (Italy)

Member
INTA Committee on International Trade
EMPL Committee on Employment and Social Affairs
D-MX Delegation to the EU-Mexico Joint Parliamentary Committee
D-UK Delegation to the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly

Substitute Member
ITRE Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
DLAT Delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly

Alberto La Bella
Italy Permanent Representation to the EU, Coordinator for TLC and Transport

Alberto La Bella is an Italian diplomat who currently serves as First Counsellor at the Permanent Representation of Italy to the EU in Brussels.
 
Within the Representation, he serves as Coordinator for the Telecommunications and Transport sectors.

Giacomo Lasorella *
AGCOM, President

He was appointed President of Agcom by Presidential Decree of 15 September 2020 on the proposal of the Prime Minister, in agreement with the Minister of Economic Development.

He has been Deputy Secretary General of the Chamber of Deputies since March 2015, culminating a long career as General Professionalism Advisor.

Q&A with Connact organisers

Representative of Fastweb+Vodafone
Representative of FiberCop
Representative of Inwit
Representative for MFE – MediaForEurope Group
TBD
Representative of Open Fiber
Representative of Tim
Representative of Windtre

Moderate

Stefano Da Empoli
I-Com, Institute for Competitiveness, Founder & President

Stefano Da Empoli is an economist, founder and current President of the Institute for Competitiveness (I-Com), a think tank with offices in Rome and Brussels specialising in innovation, digital technology, energy and health.
 
He is a lecturer in political economy and economic policy at the Roma Tre University.

* attendance to be confirmed.

Relive the edition of the Annual Meeting

Location

European Parliament
Brussels, 1047 Belgium + Google Map

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