Commission’s Vice President in charge of Digital Single Market Mr. Ansip, presented, Tuesday May 19th, the Single Digital Market Strategy to the members of the European Parliament during the plenary session hold in Strasbourg. The long awaited strategy, unveiled Wednesday May 6th, was positively welcomed by the MEP, who agreed on the urgent necessity to implement a real Single Digital Market in order to lead the EU back to a dominant market position in the digital age.
In his speech to the deputies, Ansip reviewed and discussed the essential points of the strategy, which is based around three interlinked policy pillars and encompasses 16 central measures to be implemented by the end of the year 2016.
Opening statements by Andrus Ansip:
“The Single Digital Market Strategy is the fruit of six months of constructive work within the European Commission and with all of the members of the EP. During this time I had many contacts with different EP Committees expressing their support for building a Single Digital Market. We all recognize the importance and benefits that it will bring, for both people and businesses in creating economic growth and employment. Our strategy has a clear timetable with 16 ambitious initiatives based around 3 interlinked policy pillars:
Better access for consumers and businesses to digital goods and services across Europe;
- High quality infrastructure that works smoothly across Europe;
- Create the right and fair conditions in the underlying environment preparing for the future to maximize to growth potential of the digital economy.
I will highlight few initiatives under each pillar:
An urgent first task is to secure and warrant free movement of goods and services in a unified digital space and to improve online access generally. The Digital Single Market aims to boost cross-boarder e-commerce by encouraging SMEs to sell across boarders. One of our first initiatives will be to bring rules for online purchases more into line across the European Union. People could save 11.7 billion € per year if they could choose from a full range of EU good and services when they shop online. We want to improve people’s access to cultural content online while opening new opportunities for creators and the content industry. This will also promote cultural diversity. We will present legislative proposals before the end of 2015 to reduce the differences btw national copyright regimes and allow worldwider online access to works across the European Union.
Under its second pillar the strategy will look to improve conditions for digital networks and services to underbin the digital single market. The Commission will propose an ambitious reform of EU-telecoms rules. This will include more effective spectrum coordination, it will also tackle regulatory differences around Eu national markets and create better incentives for investments in high-speed broadband.
The Commission will also conduct a comprehensive analysis of the role of online platforms, it will focus on transparency liability and equal conditions for competition. Lastly we will build a solid foundation for long-term growth. Europe needs to take full advantage of the digital economy, where data is becoming more and more important and where the people have the skills to fill new jobs. They must also have trust and confidence when they go online. Common standards and interoperability are essentials to make the best of fast growing sectors such as cloud computing and the Internet of things. We also need them in the context of promoting e-government services around Europe and a more inclusive e-society. Together this initiatives form a realistic roadmap for us to work together over the next four and a half years. They will prepare Europe for a bright digital future, they will help people and companies to get the best from the online world. I want Europeans to have better protection when buying online, lower cost for deliveries, more choice and better access to content goods and services from other Eu countries. With the Digital Single Market strategy the European Commission looks at the opportunities that our citizens could enjoy to help us create a vibrant creative Digital Economy and society in Europe.
For businesses the Commission will focus on bringing opportunities to create new innovative products for a Single Market of 500 million people not 28 splinted different national markets. European companies and industries must be at the forefront of the Digital Revolution, using the Digital Single Market to scale up not to move out. We need equal conditions for all to compete openly and fairly in this digital market. Every company, large or small, plays by the same rules: no discrimination, no favouritism.
Finally I will not go into detail of each initiative we are planning, but I can tell you that these initiatives must be taken together as a coordinated and balanced package. If we only succeed in putting half of them into effect, we will not end up with a true Digital Single Market. “
Patrick Zingerle
Pour en savoir plus:
– EU-LOGOS, “DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET STRATEGY UNVEILED!”
http://europe-liberte-securite-justice.org/2015/05/19/digital-single-market-strategy-unveiled/
– EU-LOGOS, “COMMENTS ON THE DSM (DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET STRATEGY”
– EU-LOGOS, “THE DIGITAL EVOLUTION: IDENTIFYING KEY BARRIERS ON THE DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET”
