Brussels to the Bay: Shaping Europe’s Next Chapter: A Fireside Chat with Commissioner McGrath
EU
The livestream of this event is now available by clicking here.
This Brussels to the Bay session, “Shaping Europe’s Next Chapter: A Fireside Chat with Commissioner McGrath,” organised by the EU Office in San Francisco, explored key priorities in his portfolio at a pivotal moment for Europe’s competitiveness, innovation, and democratic resilience.
Hosted by James Dempsey (IAPP Cybersecurity Law Center), the discussion opened with the “EU Inc.” initiative, designed to turn Europe into a more unified, investable market by reducing friction in company formation, scaling, and access to capital. The proposal would enable companies to be set up fully online within 48 hours, using standardised templates at low cost, while facilitating equity financing and introducing a harmonised employee stock option framework.
On data policy, Commissioner McGrath emphasised that the priority for GDPR is not rewriting the rules but reducing legal uncertainty that hampers AI development and cross-border operations. He also highlighted the EU-US Data Privacy Framework as a critical pillar of transatlantic trade, supporting data flows underpinning around USD 1 trillion in economic activity annually.
Looking ahead, the Digital Fairness Act will aim to close gaps in online consumer protection, addressing issues such as dark patterns, addictive design, unfair personalisation, and the protection of children, without revisiting existing DSA provisions. In parallel, the proposed European Democracy Shield seeks to strengthen resilience against AI-driven foreign interference while safeguarding fundamental freedoms and fostering cooperation across institutions and civil society.
Across all areas, the direction is clear: reduce fragmentation, increase legal certainty, and anchor innovation in trust.
EU
KEY INFO
Date: Wednesday, April 15, 2026; Venue: EU Office in San Francisco - 1 Post Street, suite 2300
Meet our speakers:
Michael McGrath, European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection
Michael McGrath assumed the role of European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection on 1 December 2024, as a member of the European Commission led by President Ursula von der Leyen. As a member of the College of Commissioners, Commissioner McGrath contributes to delivering on the Commission’s political priorities, set out in the Political Guidelines underpinning the European Commission 2024 – 2029. Commissioner McGrath has specific responsibility for upholding the rule of law, protecting democracy and fundamental rights, tackling disinformation, improving criminal justice cooperation and strengthening the rights of victims of crime, and improving EU competitiveness through the reform of company law and civil law. Commissioner McGrath has lead responsibility for consumer protection policy for almost 450 million consumers in the EU, and works to ensure full enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation and promoting trusted data flows with international partners. Commissioner McGrath has been appointed by President von der Leyen as Chairperson of the Commission Project Group on Democracy and is a member of the Project Groups on Artificial Intelligence; Startups and Scaleups; European Savings and Investment Union; and European internal Security.
Commissioner McGrath is also member of the World Economic Forum’s Leaders for European Growth and Competitiveness group; he contributes to EU-level strategic work on productivity, innovation and the competitiveness of the Single Market, notably under the initiative’s Shaping the Intelligent Age pillar.
Prior to this, Commissioner McGrath served as Ireland’s Minister for Finance from 2022 to 2024, as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform from 2020 to 2022, and was an elected member of the Irish Parliament between 2007 to 2024. As Minister for Finance, he had a key role in decisions made across government, and was Ireland’s representative at the Eurogroup and Ecofin meetings of European Finance Ministers, and was Governor of a number of international bodies that Ireland is a member of, including the European Investment Bank, the IMF, the World Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Commissioner McGrath holds a Bachelor of Commerce from University College Cork, is a qualified Chartered Accountant and has undertaken studies with the London School of Economics and Political Science. He held senior roles in both the private and public sectors before entering politics full-time.
Jim Dempsey, Managing Director, International Association of Privacy Professionals’ Cybersecurity Law Center
Jim Dempsey is managing director of the International Association of Privacy Professionals’ Cybersecurity Law Center, lecturer at the UC Berkeley School of Law, and senior policy advisor at the Stanford Program on Geopolitics, Technology and Governance. From 2012 to 2017, Jim served, after Senate confirmation, as a member of the U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. Other experience includes executive director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, executive director at the Center for Democracy & Technology, and assistant counsel to the Judiciary Committee in the US House of Representatives. He is co-author, with John Carlin, of Cybersecurity Law Fundamentals (IAPP, 2d ed. 2024) and writes frequently on issues of cybersecurity law and policy.