Side-Events – Overview

17 November

The High-Level Forum on Public Procurement has been established in the framework of the Franco-German Economic Agenda. Its goals are strategic agreement on common key challenges and identification of future trends in IT procurement; development of cooperation and approaches for joint projects/standards/innovations; exchange of best practices.

Organisers: GovTech Deutschland and La French Tech

17 November, 17h00-21h00

Registration: invitation-only

The Future Builders Forum brings together leading figures from the German, French, and European start-up ecosystems and contributes their perspective as successful European start-ups and scale-ups to the summit. At the same time, this initiates a strong network that benefits from mutual exchange. It is the first format organised by the newly established Franco-German Forum for Future.

Organisers: KI-Bundesverband e.V., Fraunhofer IAIS

17 November, 10h00 – 18h00

Registration: invitation-only

Contact:joerg.bienert@ki-verband.de

The International Workshop on Pretraining and Posttraining of Sovereign Foundation Models brings together leading researchers, engineers, and institutions working on the core components of modern large-scale AI systems.

Organiser: eco - Association of the Internet Industry

17 November, 14h30-17h00

Venue: eco Capital Office (Französische Straße 48, 10117 Berlin)

Registration: Online (limited number of participants)

Contact:berlin@eco.de

On the eve of the European Summit on Digital Sovereignty, eco – Association of the Internet Industry invites guests to a warm-up event that will set the tone for the summit and offer a first opportunity to connect and network.

In addition to networking and preparing for the summit, there will be an opportunity to learn more about the importance of the ecosystem of digital infrastructures and services for artificial intelligence and for achieving a sovereign digital transformation in Germany. A keynote by Ivo Ivanov (DE-CIX) will introduce the topic by highlighting aspects of openness and interoperability “Made in Germany.”

The following discussion will focus on the importance of the digital infrastructure ecosystem in Germany and Europe, a topic that eco also explores in more detail in its study conducted in cooperation with Arthur D. Little. What impulses must policymakers in Berlin and Brussels provide to ensure that digital infrastructures benefit from favourable market conditions? How can a European digital infrastructure ecosystem contribute to promoting digital sovereignty in its various dimensions? We aim to explore these and other questions as part of our summit warm-up.

Organisers: Bertelsmann Stiftung, CEPS, AI & Society Institute, Polish Economic Institute

17 November, 15h00-17h00

Venue: Bertelsmann Stiftung, Haus Berlin, Werderscher Markt 6, 10117 Berlin

Registration: invitation-only; livestream

Contact: Martin.Hullin@bertelsmann-stiftung.de

The event introduces the European Network for Technological Resilience and Sovereignty (ETRS), an initiative serving as a key provider of knowledge and evidence to support Europe’s progress toward technological resilience and sovereignty (Knowledge Engine). It focuses on presenting the network’s mission, objectives, and structure, along with brief contributions from founding members about their roles and contributions. The event also includes opportunities for networking and discussion.

Organisers: Eurostack Foundation e.V and Merantix AI Campus

17 November, 16h00-18h00

Venue: Merantix AI Campus, Max-Urich-Straße 3, 13355 Berlin

Registration: invitation-only

Contact:cristina@ccaffarra.com

The EuroStack initiative promotes the vision that Europe must expand its technological capabilities and resources in order to reduce its technological dependence on external providers. Building on its exceptional skills and resources, Europe can reverse its decline as a digital superpower, thereby regaining its productivity, boosting its economic growth, and strengthening its defense capabilities. The discussion panel is organized in collaboration with Merantix AI Campus, Europe's leading center and network for AI and a strategic initiative of the Merantix Group, and brings together companies, start-ups, institutions, technology associations, investors, and policymakers from several member states and the European Commission for an informal discussion.

Organisers: iconomy, France Digitale, German Startup Association, European Startup Network, Innovate Europe Foundation

17 November, 18h30-21h30

Registration: invitation-only, application possible.

Contact:events@iconomy.partners

On the eve of the Franco-German Tech Sovereignty Summit, leading European founders and investors will convene in Berlin for “Scaling Sovereignty: VC & Startups Powering Europe’s Tech Future”, an official invite-only side event to the Summit. The evening will spotlight how Europe’s startup ecosystem is moving sovereignty from rhetoric to reality. Two panels with leading figures from the European tech ecosystem - followed by a network reception - will showcase concrete success stories of startups and VC securing Europe’s digital future by delivering state-of-the-art technology and enabling governments to provide trustworthy, efficient digital services.

Organiser: Stiftung Mercator

17 November, 18h00-21h00

Registration: invitation-only

Digital sovereignty is a hot topic in Europe right now. The debate centres on competitiveness, technological dependence and regional economic policy. However, digital sovereignty is more than an industrial and geopolitical challenge. It is a task of democratic governance and responsibility which will decide how capable, open and fair our society remains in the digital transformation. At our Side Event ahead of the European Summit on Digital Sovereignty, a select group of experts from academia, civil society and policymaking will engage in a closed exchange under the Chatham House Rule. The aim is to discuss how approaches from competition policy and the development of digital infrastructures in the public interest can be aligned with an overarching political strategy to strengthen digital sovereignty as a democratic endeavour. The event is invite-only and will be held in English.

Organisers: POLITICO in cooperation with Christ & Company

17 November, 19h30 (admission starts at 18h30)

Venue: JOURNALISTENCLUB, Axel Springer SE, Axel-Springer-Str. 65, 10969 Berlin

Registration: invitation-only

Contact:event@politico.eu

On the eve of the Summit on European Digital Sovereignty 2025, POLITICO and Christ & Company invite you to Sovereign Night – an evening of dialogue and orientation. Europe is at a strategic turning point. The question of how we secure digital strength and technological and economic freedom of action will determine our position in a world that is undergoing a realignment. Digital sovereignty is not purely a technical goal, but a political and economic necessity. Sovereign Night provides the framework to set the course for this – with strategic vision, open debate, and shared responsibility.

Organisers: Bitkom and Numeum

17 November, 18h00

Venue: Telegraphenamt, Monbijoustraße 11, 10117 Berlin

Registration: invitation-only

On the eve of the European Summit on Digital Sovereignty, Bitkom and Numeum are hosting a high-level reception in Berlin, welcoming over 500 distinguished guests.

Organiser: Initiative D21 e.V. - Netzwerk für die digitale Gesellschaft: Initiative D21 e.V. - Netzwerk für die digitale Gesellschaft

18 November: during the first coffee break

Venue: central coffee point at the Summit venue (EUREF-Campus Berlin)

Duration: ca. 20 min.

Registrationkontakt@initiatived21.de (spontaneous participation possible as well)

Start the Digital Summit with networking over coffee! A digitally sovereign society can only emerge through the interplay of various dimensions, e.g. Technology (infrastructure, innovation), Responsibility (rules, democratic governance), and Empowerment (competencies, participation). The meet-up brings together actors working on these different aspects – whether from politics, business, academia, or civil society. In an informal setting, you can easily meet other interested parties, exchange ideas, and make new connections – networking across perspectives and collectively contributing to linking these dimensions at the summit. The meet-up is a low-threshold, approx. 20-minute format and the perfect start to the summit.

Organisers: Das Quantum Technology and Application Consortium (QUTAC) – with support of Le Lab Quantique, Quandela, Fraunhofer, CEA, European Champions Alliance) and French Embassy in Berlin

18 November, 8h00-9h00

Registration: invitation-only

Contact: Karem Hadla, QUTAC Management (Hadla.External@infineon.com)

A high-level breakfast event (by invitation only) will bring together representatives from European, French and German corporations, as well as quantum start-ups and scale-ups, to highlight the importance of quantum technologies for Europe's future digital sovereignty. The event will emphasise the need for further European multi-stakeholder cooperation, as well as a Franco-German and European approach among quantum ecosystems, with a particular focus on end users (industry, corporations, high-performance computing centres). In this context, QUTAC will present its 'Quantum Computing Monitor' model, and the conclusions from the Franco-German dialogue on quantum technology will be officially made public. There will be a discussion directly aligned with the implementation of the Franco-German Economic Agenda, touching upon cutting-edge technologies.

Organisers: cyberintelligence.institute in cooperation with EUCRA-Partnerschaften

18 November, 8h30-9h30

Venue: EUREF-Campus Berlin (venue of the Summit), 10829 Berlin

Registration: invitation-only

Contact:info@cyberintelligence.institute

Breakfast-Reception with participants from politics, business and civil society and with announcement of the EUCRA.

Digital sovereignty in Europe requires the development of technological capabilities to reduce digital dependence via powerful solutions "Made in Europe". In fact, Europe already has a wide variety of digital technologies and services for cyber-secure and resilient solutions. However, these are often not taken into account because they are not sufficiently visible to procurers in the European market. In response to this initial situation, EUCRA is creating a smart register of technological capabilities that strengthens the transparency of existing solutions from Europe and makes it easily accessible to the provider landscape.

The event invites you to present EUCRA at a joint breakfast with around 100 invited guests, supplemented by brief impulses from politics, business and civil society.

Das Event lädt zur Vorstellung von EUCRA im Rahmen eines gemeinsamen Frühstücks mit rund 100 geladenen Gästen, ergänzt durch Kurz-Impulse aus Politik, Wirtschaft und Zivilgesellschaft.

Organisers: VOICE e.V. and Forum Digitale Technologien (FDT)

18 November, 15h15-17h45

Registration: online via registration portal

Contact: currently: entscheiderforum@voice-ev.org

VOICE – Federal Association of IT Users and the Forum for Digital Technologies (FDT) – run by DFKI, Fraunhofer and VDI/VDE – will show you innovative projects representing the state of the art and science from past and current federal funding programmes on AI, green tech, 5G, quantum computing, etc. The hand-picked projects bring demonstrators from their project assignments with them so that the results can be experienced in real life.

These projects showcase their business cases in live pitches:

• SMARTCHAIN – Simplified Management and Automated Regulation Technology
• AI Storytelling – AI-supported knowledge transfer to combat the shortage of skilled workers
• greenProd – Energy-optimised production with green digital twins
• QChallenge – Quantum-Classical Hybrid Optimisation Algorithms for Logistics and Production Line Management
• SECAI – Sustainable heating through Edge-Cloud-based AI systems
• MERCI – Media and event production through reliable communication based on IoT infrastructure

We believe in knowledge transfer and its importance for Germany as a business location. The target audience is digital managers from user companies, politics, science and the press.

Organiser: EU AI Champions Initiative

18 November

Registration: invitation-only

Contact: Nikolaus Pelinka (npelinka@generalcatalyst.com) and Linda Jäck (ljack@generalcatalyst.com)

EU AI Champions Initiative Roundtable – a high-level roundtable presenting partnerships between leading European AI startups and established industrial companies. The focus is on high-profile announcements and investments that demonstrate the practical implementation of European digital sovereignty: European AI technologies are being scaled in critical industries, creating economic value that remains in Europe. The event connects technological leadership with industrial application and demonstrates how cross-border innovation sustainably strengthens the European economy.

Organisers: 42 Berlin & 42 Wolfsburg

18 November, 19h00-21h30

Venue: 42 Berlin, Harzer Straße 42, 12059 Berlin

Registration: Registration open to Summit participants (Register here by Nov 11, 2025) and via direct invite.

Contact:Josef@42berlin.de

On the evening of the European Summit on Digital Sovereignty, 42 Berlin invites guests to an event celebrating the talent behind Europe’s digital future. Founded in Paris in 2013 and active in Germany since 2021, 42 operates non-profit, tuition-free coding schools that train the next generation of developers and tech innovators, redefining hands-on technology education.

The evening will feature the launch of the “Alliance for Innovation – 42 Berlin, 42 Wolfsburg & Industry Partners”, complemented by insights from the innovation network and a political keynote on the future of Europe’s digital sovereignty.

The program will conclude with a networking reception – offering conversations, drinks, and light refreshments.

Organisers: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Future of Tech Institute, Open Markets Institute

19 November, 9h00-13h00

Venue: Akademie der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Berlin

Registration: invitation-only; RSVP before 5 November to Pencho.Kuzev@kas.de

This roundtable addresses Europe’s growing dependence on non-European cloud providers and the urgent need to build digital sovereignty in cloud infrastructure. Policymakers, industry leaders, and civic experts will explore strategies to reduce reliance on dominant hyperscalers.

The discussion will be divided into two key sessions:

1. Procurement Reform and Cloud Policy: Leading European cloud providers and senior regulators will debate how to shift decentralized procurement away from hyperscalers, explore incentives for European solutions, and identify viable alternative cloud clusters for migration.
2. 2. Shaping the European Cloud Market: Policy specialists will examine enforcement and regulatory options to foster a competitive environment, the role of the Data Act and Digital Markets Act, and ways to align cloud infrastructure with European values while boosting domestic competitiveness.
    

The event aims to build consensus on practical technical, legal, and industrial measures that will secure Europe’s digital future and stimulate the growth of indigenous cloud alternatives.

Organisers: Eurosky in cooperation with Iconomy

19 November, 9h00-18h00

Registration:https://www.eurosky.social/eurosky-live

The all-day public event brings together founders, developers, media professionals, policymakers, and investors to discuss how a sovereign, interoperable social web infrastructure can be built in Europe.

It will take place on November 18 on the occasion of the European Digital Sovereignty Summit and will highlight concrete, short-term ways to achieve European digital sovereignty goals.

Confirmed speakers include Heike Raab (Representative of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate to the Federal Government and for Europe and Media), Alexandra Geese (Member of the European Parliament, Greens/EFA), and Catherine Tait (former President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada).

Organisers: KI Bundesverband and Embassy of France in Berlin

19 November, 13h00-15h00

Venue: Embassy of France in Berlin

Registration: invitation-only

Signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding between the German AI Association and the Hub France IA at the Embassy of France with an impulse of the German Digital Minister, Dr. Karsten Wildberger. - The agreement marks a key milestone in the Franco-German friendship toward a sovereign technological Europe for artificial intelligence.