On 15 December 2023, the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, in collaboration with the Spanish Presidency and the Spanish and Catalan Chambers of Commerce, held a hybrid Revitalise Retail workshop in Barcelona.
The event featured active participation from high-level speakers, including MEP Dolors Monserrat, the Spanish Secretary of State for Trade, the Mayor of Barcelona, and a representative from the Catalan government. Hubert Gambs, Deputy Director-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, was among the speakers for the opening session.
Over 150 participants on-site and over a 100 online discussed ways to support retail SMEs in their green and digital transition. The agenda included presentations on ongoing EU initiatives and showcased best practices from Spain.
The workshop is part of an ongoing stakeholder consultation process, contributing to the co-creation of a transition pathway for a more resilient, digital and green retail ecosystem.
See the event agenda.
Previous workshops
2021
On 7 December 2021, the European Commission and the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU held a virtual workshop on the green and digital transformation of small retailers, focusing on their role in rural areas.
It was an opportunity to exchange best practices between the different actors in the retail ecosystem and discuss how small retailers have been able to overcome the challenges of the COVID crisis and how they can build resilience for the future.
The event recording is available here (part 1; part 2).
See also the event agenda, the presentations and the summary of discussions.
2020
In October 2020, the Commission hosted two virtual workshops that examined what needs to be addressed for the retail sector (and in particular for small retailers), what may have been learned during the COVID-19 crisis, and what is needed in the short and long term to recover and build resilience.
2019
A series of workshops in 2019 explored the ideas in the Guide for revitalising and modernising the small retail sector. Watch the recordings of the workshops in Brussels, Madrid, Vienna or Bucharest.