Tech Summit, 5th Edition: Europe and the Tech Oligarchs, Reclaiming Democracy and Sovereignty in the Digital Age

This year, the initiative focused on Europe’s response to the challenges posed by the now well-established rise of a new class of tech oligarchs, increasingly capable of influencing the political and institutional dynamics of our democracies. Against the backdrop of Donald Trump’s return to the White House and the growing interdependence between political and corporate power in the United States, the Summit reflected on Europe’s role in countering the interference of these actors while maintaining a balance between innovation and regulation, security and freedom, and strategic autonomy and international cooperation. Among the main issues discussed were the threats to our democracies, the ways in which populist parties seek to legitimize these tech oligarchs, and the emergence of the latter as geopolitical actors in areas of strategic importance for Europe. The EU’s objective is twofold: to defend European technological and democratic sovereignty, and to preserve Europe’s ability to act as an autonomous normative and geopolitical power.

The initiative is organised by the Rome Office of ECFR, with the support of Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione CSF, and the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The discussion was held in English, under Chatham House rule.

Agenda

DAY 1 – February 25th, 2026

19:30 – 21:30 Dinner discussion: Who governs the digital world? European democracy in the age of tech empires
Technology is reshaping the foundations of democracy, changing how citizens engage and who truly holds power. With tech giants expanding their influence beyond the virtual sphere, European democracies face now a defining test. How can the EU and its Member States uphold their values in this context?

Welcome remarks: Nicolò Russo Perez, Director, Fondazione CSF/Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo; ECFR
Council Member

Alberto Alemanno, Jean Monnet Professor of European Union Law, HEC Paris; Founder, The Good Lobby
Jim O’Brien, Former US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs; Distinguished Visiting Fellow, ECFR
Valbona Zeneli, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Europe Center and Transatlantic Security Initiative of the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Atlantic Council; Senior Fellow, Friends of Europe

DAY 2 – February 26th, 2026

09:00 – 09:15 Welcome remarks

09:15 – 10:30 Panel 1: Tech power and the global order: is Europe already late?
From Starlink’s role in Ukraine to digital infrastructure deals across Africa, private Tech companies shape now security and development far beyond national borders. Tech oligarchs have become geopolitical actors and this should imply a response from Europe to protect its values and maintain its influence in the areas of strategic interest.

Alessandro De Pedys, Director-General for Cyber Security, Information Technology and Technological Innovation, Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Leo Litra, Senior Policy Fellow, ECFR
Katja Muñoz, Senior Research Fellow, Center for Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, and Technology, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)
Kalypso Nicolaïdis, Chair in Global Affairs, School of Transnational Governance, European University Institute (EUI); Director of Research, Transnational Democracy Programme, EUI; Emeritus Professor,
University of Oxford

Chair: Maria Tadeo, Head of EU News, Euronews

10:30 – 11:00 Coffee break

11:00 – 12:15 Panel 2: Private power, public risks: Tech oligarchs and Europe’s democratic challenge.
Who are today’s tech oligarchs, and what do they aim at? From elections interference and disinformation to the use of private digital infrastructures in conflicts, their influence already reaches deep into Europe’s democracy and security systems. How is the European political system reacting, and who is challenging it from the inside?

Mattia Caniglia, Affiliate Lecturer, University of Glasgow; Senior Intelligence Analyst, Global Disinformation Index (GDI); Pan European Fellow, ECFR
Jeremy Cliffe, Editorial Director and Senior Policy Fellow, ECFR
Teresa Coratella, Deputy Head, ECFR Rome Office and Policy Fellow, ECFR
Johannes Späth, Research Associate, Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP)

Chair: Eleonora Mongelli, Vice President and Secretary General, Italian Federation for Human Rights (FIDU)

12:15 – 13:30 Panel 3: Europe’s last frontier: Defending technological sovereignty in the age of corporate power.
The growing alliance between US polical power and its tech oligarchs poses new challenges for European autonomy. Defending technological sovereignty is no longer a technical matter but a democratic imperative. How can the EU resist tech and political coercion? Can it use regulation, investments, and diplomacy to defend its interests and preserve democratic control over technology?

Cornelius Adebahr, Co-Executive Director, Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD)
Vera Franz, Founder & Executive Director, Economic Democracy Project
José-Ignacio Torreblanca, Senior Adviser and Distinguished Policy Fellow, ECFR

Chair: Giorgos Verdi, Policy Fellow, ECFR

13:30 – 13:45 Closing remarks

13:45 Light lunch and departure of participants