Events and Highlights of the Policy, Law & Regulations Division
In 2025, the Policy, Law & Regulations Division organised a large number of events, either at the eco Capital Office premises or at external venues. A total of around 1,350 participants took part in the 2025 events.
The events of the Policy, Law & Regulations division are primarily aimed at political representatives and interested stakeholders from the political arena in Berlin and Brussels, as well as eco member companies. The eco Association’s target group includes federal ministers, state secretaries, spokespersons on Internet policy from parliamentary groups, members of the German Bundestag and their colleagues, and representatives of the ministries and federal states.
As per tradition, the year 2025 also began with the New Year’s Reception in Berlin. Multiple additional events took place in 2025, such as the roundtables, polITalks, Alliance Talks and other well-known formats such as Policy Talks and Policy Breakfasts.
An excerpt of the event highlights from the division is set out below:
eco Election/Digital 25
Germany has voted. This also marks a fresh start for digital policy.
What challenges does Germany face as a digital hub? What opportunities and risks do digital technologies and services bring, and where should smart regulation be applied to ensure that Germany remains competitive and resilient, even in geopolitically challenging times?
On 9 July, eco hosted the event format “Election/Digital 25 – Digital Check”. Together with representatives of the new German federal government, experienced and newly elected digital policymakers, as well as stakeholders from ministries, public authorities, academia and civil society, the key strategic directions for the coming years were discussed.
The focus was on the following questions: How does the coalition plan to advance digital transformation in Germany? How is digital policy organised within the new German federal government? What Internet policy initiatives are included in the coalition agreement, and how does the opposition assess these plans?
We compare the new German federal government’s coalition agreement with the Internet industry’s own digital policy demands.
The principle of the event: digital policy distilled to the essentials. In five rounds of questions, with one-minute statements per speaker, the discussion focused on the essentials – supplemented by facts and figures, voices from the Internet industry and concise insights into Germany’s current digital landscape.
The 2025 Internet Policy Party Check revealed:
In five rounds of questions, Members of the Bundestag Henri Schmidt, Daniel Bettermann, Rebecca Lenhard and Sonja Lemke clearly and concisely presented their positions on digital policy.
2nd Digital Innovation Night
Digital transformation or business as usual? The new German federal government’s major mid-year review of digital policy!
As part of the 2nd Digital Innovation Night, a joint series of events organised by eco – Association of the Internet Industry and SAP, representatives from politics, business and the digital economy came together on 14 October 2025 to discuss the current state of digital transformation in Germany.
The focus was on an initial assessment of the German federal government’s digital policy after six months in office. Progress, outstanding issues and key challenges were all examined in equal measure. Discussions centred in particular on how Germany can position itself to be competitive and digitally sovereign in the future – for instance in the fields of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and cloud infrastructures.
Key insights were provided by, among others, Prof. Dr Luise Hölscher, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and State Modernisation, and Ana-Maria Stefan, Chief Revenue Officer at SAP Sovereign Cloud, who – together with other experts – offered diverse perspectives on the digital agenda. The importance of digital performance and sovereignty for both business and public administration was also emphasised.
In addition to the expert discussions, the event offered a wide range of opportunities for exchange and networking. Conversations were further deepened during the networking sessions. Overall, it became clear that while digital transformation has begun, it still requires consistent action and close cooperation among all stakeholders.
eco AI Future Tech Summit: What Artificial Intelligence Can Already Do Today
Perspectives and best practices from business and politics
Why are we actually using AI? By the evening of 25 June 2025 at the Microsoft Atrium at the AI Future Tech Summit organised by eco – Association of the Internet Industry and Microsoft Berlin, no one was asking this question anymore. The showcased corporate case studies presented by E.ON, FUNKE, Linklaters Germany and Commerzbank AG made the answer strikingly clear. In the subsequent panel discussion, Martina Farkas, Gerald Ertl and Dr Christian Essling shared their experiences in implementing real-world AI projects.
Dr Tina Klüwer, Head of the Department for Research on Technological Sovereignty and Innovation at the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, Member of the Bundestag Henri Schmidt, eco Chair Oliver Süme and Member of the State Parliament Björn Franken discussed the framework conditions needed to strengthen Germany as a competitive AI hub.
To close the event, Thomas Jarzombek, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Digital and State Modernisation, provided an outlook on the German federal government’s priorities for strengthening Germany as an AI and digital hub. He made it clear that Germany’s strong positioning in the international AI competition ultimately helps safeguard the state’s promise of prosperity to its citizens – and, in turn, democracy itself.
The summit also marked the conclusion of the AI Future Tech project, through which eco, in collaboration with Microsoft Germany, brings artificial intelligence from theory into practice. For impressions from the evening, visit our Flickr gallery here.
Further information about the project and all video reports on the company case studies can be found here in German: https://ki-futuretech.de/
Internet Policy Anniversary Forum 2025: 30 Years of eco – 30 Years of Digital Transformation
To mark its 30th anniversary, eco – Association of the Internet Industry hosted an Internet Policy Anniversary Forum under the theme “30 Years of the Internet – Digital Transformation and Societal Change”. During the festive evening event, guests from politics, business, civil society and academia came together to reflect on the current challenges of digital transformation.
The focus was on key developments in digital policy, strategic decisions shaping Germany’s position as a digital hub, and the shared responsibility for a high-performance, secure and sustainable Internet. At the same time, the event provided an opportunity to recognise three decades of Internet policy and to discuss perspectives for the future of the digital society.
Following a welcome address by Oliver Süme and an opening keynote by Thomas Jarzombek, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Digital and State Modernisation, two panel discussions were held on the topics “AI as a Driver of Innovation – Framework Conditions for Germany as an AI Hub” and “A Strong Ecosystem of Digital Infrastructures as the Foundation of Digital Transformation”.
The subsequent networking session also provided an opportunity to deepen discussions on digital transformation and how it can be shaped.
