The second day of the All Digital Summit 2026 in Belgrade was opened by Slovenian MEP Irena Joveva, who delivered a keynote address that set a decisive tone for Europe’s digital future. Her speech challenged the growing narrative that simplification and deregulation are the keys to competitiveness, insisting instead that Europe’s strength lies in its protections and rights.
“Simplification is not the same thing as dismantling rights. Privacy is not red tape. Copyright is not red tape. A safe environment is not red tape and workers’ rights are not red tape,” Joveva declared.
She emphasized that Europe’s safeguards — from privacy and digital safety to workers’ protections — are not obstacles but rather a competitive advantage, providing legal clarity and predictability in a global environment where authoritarian regimes can change rules overnight.
Joveva warned against the illusion that cutting compliance costs could deliver innovation:
“You cannot deregulate your way into an AI cluster. You cannot simplify your way into a continental power grid. And you certainly cannot cut your way into innovation.”
Her keynote also recalled recent battles in Brussels, including the heated debate over e‑privacy derogations for detecting child sexual abuse. Joveva stressed that protecting children must never mean opening backdoors into encrypted communications, underlining that security must not come at the expense of universal privacy.
By opening the second day of the summit in Belgrade, Irene Joveva positioned rights and protections at the center of Europe’s digital transformation, warning that a “race to the bottom” would only weaken the continent before it even begins.
In an exclusive interview for ICJ, Joveva expanded on these themes, sharing her vision for the EU’s digital development, the balance between innovation and regulation, and her perspective on the newly adopted European Media Freedom Act, a landmark law designed to protect journalists across the Union.
🎥 Watch the full interview video here:
