Challenges and opportunities in the digital era
The “New Digital Domain” report released by the IE Centre for the Governance of Change analyses the implications of digital transformation, which has been accelerated during the Covid-19 crisis, and proposes a series of recommendations for global and economic governance, identifying opportunities to improve the social contract in the digital era.
The report reviews the main technological trends that were well in the making before pandemic, with implications in many different fields: from the new economic and geopolitics order to the redefinition of privacy or the need of a new social contract, policies and regulations.
According to the authors (Oscar Jonsson, Ulrico E.Campanella and Taylor Owen), questions about digital governance will be central to how we rebuild our post-pandemic world, especially if we consider that so far “for too long, about too many issues, governance of technology have been left solely to those who design it”.
Among the main proposals and conclusions of the report, the following stand out:
- European Union: The region needs to assert its strength as a geopolitical actor and its digital sovereignty, as geopolitical competition is increasingly playing out in a technological arms race involving private companies (for instance US-China tensions seen in the 5G-case)
- New digital governance: The report proposes a new forum for global coordination to overcome current geographic balkanization of data governance, a universal declaration on AI, a global protection against fake news and a new Digital Stability Board to shape global standards, regulations, and policies across the platform economy.
- Competition and digital disruption: It is necessary to create a level playing field for innovators and laggards through fair taxation of large tech and smart/agile regulations to tame the negative aspects of technological disruptions in more traditional sectors.
If we fail to address these challenges, according to the authors tensions within and between societies could be exacerbated, even more so considering that governments will emerge from the pandemic with historic levels of debt while the digital firms that have captured the majority of recent growth remain largely untaxed.
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According to IE University’s Center for the Governance of Change, deeper and more integrated financial markets would strengthen the euro’s global role. This requires, among other elements, resilient and interoperable payment systems and completing the banking union.
Partnerships between banks and private credit: The winners will be those that combine bank underwriting discipline, distribution, and customer access with private capital’s appetite for long-dated, illiquid risk, according to Oliver Wyman.
Lucrezia Reichlin (CEPR): A CBDC is not a prerequisite for monetary sovereignty. Confusing money with payments can risk misdiagnosing the problem and misaligning economic policy efforts.
According to the World Economic Forum´s Global Risk Report 2026, geoeconomic confrontation, mis- and disinformation and societal polarization make up the top three short-term risks, while environmental risks dominate in the long term.
According to the World Economic Forum, over the last few years AI has moved from experimentation to workflow integration, promising systemic gains in productivity while also raising critical questions around economic inclusion, values, trust and resilience.
According to AFME, a clearer, more coherent, and proportionate regulatory environment, without unnecessary layers and focuses on growth and competitiveness, is keyl to increase investor confidence, unlock private capital and deepen European capital markets
According to the Center for the Governance of Change at IE University, Europeans support technological progress if it reinforces security, inclusion, and social welfare; but resist it when change feels imposed, opaque, or misaligned with their values.
According to a recent report released by CEPS, European financial regulators should adopt competitiveness as a formal secondary objective, following the precedent established by the UK's Financial Services and Markets Act 2023.
According to the OECD. SMEs and start-ups that grow rapidly contribute significantly to job creation, economic growth and competitiveness. Indeed, SMEs that grow by one-third over a three-year period, contribute about as much to job creation as large firms.
According to @McKinsey, banks must prepare for a new growth curve. Strategic precision —the ability to combine technology, capital discipline, and deep customer insight— will distinguish the leaders from the laggards.
According to Kristalina Georgeva IMF Managing Director, lifting growth requires three things: one, regulatory housecleaning to unleash private enterprise; two, deeper regional integration; and three, preparedness to harness AI.
According to The European House – Ambrosetti, the European Union has an opportunity to boost competitiveness and growth by simplifying regulatory and supervisory frameworks, particularly in the areas of sustainability and the financial sector.