While the Covid-19 pandemic has drastically reversed any sense of economic and social “normality”, governments and international institutions are increasingly focusing on easing the economic impact of the lockdown and, at the same time, defining and achieving a “new normal”. The EU recovery fund along with a series of government-funded measures and stimuli are parts of this effort. The pandemic has demonstrated the need to build a more resilient growth model and has accelerated digital transformation in many sectors, under the pressure of the unprecedented social distancing. Nevertheless, governments, the EU, international institutions and the civil society have now to shape new strategies in order to restore confidence in global co-operation, enhance sustainable growth and support social cohesion. Technological disruption and energy transition will undoubtedly have central role in these strategies. 

During the recent years Romania has been successful in transforming into a technology hub for central and eastern Europe and in attracting foreign investment. With its significant geopolitical position at the crossroads of Europe, the country can contribute remarkably to EU’s strategy for the coming period.

Against this backdrop, The Economist Events in partnership with Oxygen and the support of Romania-Insider.com have great pleasure in announcing the organisation of a virtual event entitled “EUROPE’S LANDSCAPE IN THE SHADOW OF THE PANDEMIC ● Romania: Transformation - Recovery - Resilience” scheduled to take place on October 22nd, 2020 - 11:00 EEST (10:00 CET). The objective of this important event is to provide a unique platform for the analysis and evaluation of the current situation in Romania, Europe and globally.

Watch it live here.

With an enviable reputation for excellence and editorial integrity, The Economist aims to deliver a first class programme, once again featuring exceptional thinkers and cutting-edge insights.

Prominent personalities from the international institutions, business, politics and the banking sector will be invited to brainstorm, openly debate and put forward new proposals on the issues that the conference will be addressing.  Speakers include:

Distinguished speakers who will be joining us for a meaningful discussion include:

• Wolfgang Schüssel, former federal chancellor, president, Foreign Policy and United Nations Association, Austria
• Virgil-Daniel Popescu, minister of economy, energy and the business environment, Romania
• John Bruton, former prime minister, Ireland
• Simone Mori, head of Europe and executive vice - president, Enel Group
• Charlotte Ruhe, managing director, central and south eastern Europe, EBRD
• Luca Lazzaroli, director general, deputy head of operations, European Investment Bank
• Colin Ellis, chief credit officer, EMEA, Moody’s Investors Service
• Michail Bletsas, director of computing, MIT Media Lab, USA
• Violeta Luca, CEO, Microsoft, Romania
• Dirk Hendricks, secretary general, European Renewable Energies Federation
• Radoslaw Kedzia, VP CEE & Nordic Region, Huawei 
• Aris Dimarakis, chief technology officer, Betano

Important topics to be covered:

• The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic and the European Union’s Response
• How has the Pandemic affected our Perception of Sustainability?
• Building Resilience in the European Financial Services Sector
• The Crucial Role of Technology

Join us online here where the event will be livestreamed.We are extremely grateful to our sponsors for their valuable contribution which has enabled this event to take place:

Official partner: Oxygen 

Gold sponsors: Enel, Huawei, Kaizen Gaming

Academic partner: ALBA Graduate Business School-The American College of Greece

Media Partner: Romania-Insider.com

Contributors: Artecniko

(p) - This article is an Advertorial.