29–30 September 2025, Copenhagen, Denmark

Under the Danish Presidency of EUPAN (European Public Administration Network), senior officials, experts, and practitioners from across Europe gather in Copenhagen to exchange knowledge and shape the future of public administration. The two-day EUPAN Working Level Meeting placed a strong focus on artificial intelligence (AI), IT governance, and leadership development in the public sector.

The meeting opened with Line Nørbæk, Director General of the Agency for Public Finance and Management, Ministry of Finance, followed by a presentation on the Danish administrative system by Thomas Stoltenberg-Gloy, Deputy Director General.

The first keynote, delivered by Brian Arreborg Hansen, Head of Division for New Solutions and Security, addressed “Piloting AI in Administrative Processes: Successes and Systemic Barriers.”

A session on EUPAN’s survey on IT Management featured insights from Sander Andreas Schwartz, Special Advisor on IT governance, and Prof. Gerhard Hammerschmid, University of Governance in Berlin, sparking debate on digital transformation challenges.

The afternoon breakout sessions explored:

• IT governance, hosted by Danish ICT management experts, Sander Andreas Schwartz, Jens Nonboe Andersen, Chief Advisor and Thomas Schou Eistrup Chief Adviser at Division for Government ICT Management within the Danish Agency for Public Finance and Management at the Danish Ministry of Finance
• European values and progress in AI for public administration, led by data scientists Carl Floris Halberg and Kristian Severin Mengel-Niemann,
• Situational leadership in theory and practice, showcasing Denmark’s “Talent for Leadership” programme, presented by Kristian Herdal Molbech.

The first day concluded with a panel discussion on leadership values and development, introduced by Christian Liebing, Director General of the Danish Employee and Competence Agency, and hosted by Kristian Herdal Molbech.

Day two began with a keynote by Jonas Gillett, Chief Consultant in the Digital Taskforce for Artificial Intelligence, titled “The Why, the How, and the What”, followed by a panel debate on AI and the challenges it poses, with contributions from data scientists Kristian Severin Mengel-Niemann and Carl Floris Halberg.

Our colleague, Ivana Petričević, Partnership and Knowledge Management Officer at ReSPA, delivered a presentation, “From the Western Balkans to Europe: Shaping a Common Administrative Future,” highlighting regional cooperation in building a shared European administrative space, followed by the session on strategic workforce planning hosted by Tomislav Horvat, Head of Unit, DG Human Resources & Security, European Commission.

Lech Marcinkowski (SIGMA) presented the Top Public Management Toolkit by SIGMA, while the EUPAN–EIPA partnership was presented by Gracia Vara Arribas and Tihana Puzić from the European CAF Resource Centre.

The meeting closed with the presentations by the upcoming EUPAN Presidencies, Ireland and Cyprus, followed by a joint summary.

The Copenhagen meeting enriched participants with cutting-edge insights on AI applications in governance, best practices in IT governance and digital transformation, and practical models for leadership development and workforce planning, while strengthening partnerships between EU members, candidate countries, and European institutions. By combining strategic debates, expert insights, and hands-on experiences, the event reaffirms EUPAN’s role as a central forum for shaping the future of public administration in Europe.