In this online conversation, Philipp Lamprecht speaks to Raquel Jorge Ricart who is a Technology, Digital and Cyber Policy Analyst at the Elcano Royal Institute in Spain. They talk about how the D9+ initiative can expand the scale and scope of technological change in the European economy with a particular focus on the role of Spain. Moreover, they explore the main challenges and opportunities for the D9+ group when it comes to increasing their profile and organise its work more effectively.
Launched in 2016, nine countries with a particular interest in matters of the digital economy met to learn from each other and seek common ground on policy issues. On occasions, the D9+ Group has issued joint statements relating to regulatory initiatives in the EU. Since its founding, the group has expanded, and now also includes “guest countries”, but it remains fundamentally an initiative of small and mid-sized open-oriented economies with a strong interest to exploit the economic power of digitalisation and new emerging technologies.