The landscape of scientific research is shaped by global digital infrastructures that support critical databases in areas such as health, medicine, climate, and the social sciences. They are governed predominantly outside Europe; thus, European stakeholders and researchers remain significantly dependent on freely available non-European platforms for access to essential information. While Europe has made notable investments in infrastructures, questions persist about the resilience, autonomy, and integrity of its scientific data ecosystem. The dominance of external and commercial databases poses strategic vulnerabilities for academic freedom, innovation, and research continuity in Europe. The aim of the round table is to raise awareness about challenges to data sovereignty and resilience in Europe.

Programme

14.00 - 14.20 Science data in Europe: what is at stake?

Introduction: Christian EHLER, STOA Chair, Member of the European Parliament

Keynote speech "ScAInce vs science, dependencies and risks": Thomas HARTUNG, Professor and Chair, Bloomberg School of Public Health

14.20 - 15.20 Panel discussion

Moderator: Mehmet TORAL, General Counsel, Frontiers

• Signe RATSO, Deputy Director General, European Commission DG Research and Innovation
• Klaus TOCHTERMANN, President, European Open Science Cloud Association
• Anastase CHARANTONIS, Junior Professor, Chair, Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies du numérique (INRIA)
• Els LEFEVER, Professor, Department of Translation, Interpreting and Communication, University of Ghent

15.20 - 15.30 Closing

Christian EHLER, STOA Chair, Member of the European Parliament

The meeting room will be accessible only with European Parliament badges. You can follow the event in webstreaming via a link to be published here before the event.