Mark Speich and a delegation from North Rhine-Westphalia visit ECAT

A delegation from the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, became the first stakeholder visit of 2024 in ECAT's Seville offices. The group was led by Mr. Mark Speich, State Secretary for Federal, European and International Affairs and Media, and he was joined by members of the independent Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia. Alberto Pena Fernández, Head of ECAT; Yves Punie, Deputy Head of ECAT; Emilia Gómez, Lead Scientist, and Josep Soler, Team Lead, hosted the delegation on behalf of the European Centre for Algorithmic Transparency.

With important milestones in the implementation of the Digital Services Act coming up, the visitors were interested in learning more about ECAT and the work our team is doing to support regulation and enforcement. The meeting had an intense and fruitful exchange of questions around DSA compliance, AI’s societal impact, and future implications of the evolution of these technologies.

As we gear up for an intense new year, we’re excited to continue building collaboration networks across Member States and strengthening our bonds with policy makers, civil society, and members of the community.