Wednesday

31st May 2023

Leaders set to cherry pick EU digital strategy, again

  • Can EU rules keep up with digital development? (Photo: Sacha Fernandez)

EU leaders discussed a European Commission plan for a digital single market at the second day of their summit on Friday (26 June), but there are already signs that member states prefer to pick and choose from the list of initiatives which was supposed to be a package deal.

If national governments do end up stripping down the strategy, presented by commissioners Andrus Ansip and Guenther Oettinger last month, it will be a repetition of what happened to the previous commission's digital action plan.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

“Digital technologies bring immense opportunities for innovation, growth and jobs”, the leaders said in the summit's concluding document, published Friday afternoon.

“The Digital Single Market should be used as a vehicle for inclusive growth in all regions within the EU”, the text adds.

The Digital Single Market is the commission's horizon target which does away with the many barriers EU citizens still face online, barriers which have been removed in the physical world of border-free Europe.

Although the conclusions emphasize “the importance of all dimensions of the commission's strategy”, it highlights eight “key components”. The commission's strategy paper had 16 “initiatives”, some of which consist of multiple elements.

According to the leaders, “action must be taken” to end unjustified geo-blocking; guarantee that copyright-protected material can be accessed across borders; improve the investment climate; look at which ICT standards need to be introduced; ensure the free flow of data; investigate the role of large social media and other online platforms; and to improve digital skills.

Not specifically mentioned were commission plans to increase regulatory oversight of cross-border parcel delivery, and to create EU-wide rules for online purchases of digital content.

Most of the final text matched a draft of the text dated 24 June, seen by this website.

However, the action point “encourage e-Government” had only been added to the final version of the conclusions, published Friday afternoon.

Another last-minute addition was the phrase “we need to … ensure future-proof regulation”.

Earlier this week, the government leaders of eight EU countries signed a letter which warned against too tight regulation.

“We should regulate only where there is clear evidence to do so, backed by the principles of smart regulation and thorough impact assessment. It is very clear that a successful Digital Single Market will not be one that stifles innovation, investment and entrepreneurship”, said the letter, signed by the leaders of Ireland, Sweden, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, and the UK.

“We don’t want any additional burden for SMEs and start-ups”, a Polish diplomat told this website by email.

“And also we have to keep in mind that the digital environment is developing in such a speed that hard regulations may not catch up with the reality”, the source added.

Indeed, when on 17 June 2010 EU leaders first called for the creation of a digital single market, Apple's iPad was 75 days old. The now popular photo app Instagram did not exist yet, nor did video app Vine. Taxi app Uber and accommodation service Airbnb were only available in the US.

It's 2015. Where's my digital single market?

The target which EU leaders set at that summit five years ago, to create “a fully functioning digital single market by 2015” has clearly not been met.

But despite the fast pace of the digital developments, the member states have not been able to match that pace when it comes to finding agreement with the European Parliament on a previous commission plan called Connected Continent, also known as the Telecoms Single Market package.

The plan was introduced by then digital commissioner Neelie Kroes in September 2013. It aimed to introduce EU-wide rules for telecoms operators, increase consumer rights, and coordinate the assignment of radio spectrum at an EU level.

However, since Latvia took over as temporary EU chair on 1 January 2015, it has focused its negotiations with parliament on only two elements from the plan.

The package has been stripped down and the past six months’ discussions have been mostly about the proposal to end roaming charges and to set rules that would ensure the openness of the Internet - so-called net neutrality.

Progress has been slow, but Latvia is determined to close the file before its EU presidency ends next Tuesday. It has scheduled another round of negotiations with the EP and commission on Monday.

If they do manage to clinch a deal, then at least the authors of the EU Council conclusions can claim a little success of being listened to.

According to the conclusions, the EU leaders said that the TSM package - or what is left of it - “must be rapidly adopted”.

This article has been updated on Friday 26 June 17:11 to report on the contents of the final summit conclusion.

EU unveils '€415bn' digital strategy

Its blueprint foresees €415bn/yr in additional growth. But it's not the first time the EU commission has made big promises on the digital market.

What digital barriers do Europeans still face?

"Mom! I did something illegal!" - as the EU gets set to unveil its new strategy on liberalising the digital single market, what online barriers do Europeans still face?

Stakeholder

Challenges for a driverless future

Advancing towards a driverless future brings on a new set of challenges and questions on how connectivity and mobility will affect all aspects of life.

Opinion

How Europe can harness its digital economy

While other sectors fall apart, Europe's digital economy is booming thanks to smaller countries like Estonia, Finland and Ireland. They need to shout louder about their ambitions.

Latest News

  1. Germany unsure if Orbán fit to be 'EU president'
  2. EU Parliament chief given report on MEP abuse 30 weeks before sanction
  3. EU clashes over protection of workers exposed to asbestos
  4. EU to blacklist nine Russians over jailing of dissident
  5. Russia-Ukraine relations the Year After the war
  6. Why creating a new legal class of 'climate refugees' is a bad idea
  7. Equatorial Guinea: a 'tough nut' for the EU
  8. New EU ethics body and Moldova conference This WEEK

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. InformaConnecting Expert Industry-Leaders, Top Suppliers, and Inquiring Buyers all in one space - visit Battery Show Europe.
  2. EFBWWEFBWW and FIEC do not agree to any exemptions to mandatory prior notifications in construction
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us