Brussels, 11/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - At the end of the first half of 2015, the European Commission (at the end of the Latvian presidency) will present the first priority stages it will advocate for the European single digital market agenda. The Vice President of the European Commission for the Digital Single Market, Andrus Ansip, made this announcement on Thursday 11 December in Riga, during the LIKTA (Latvian Information & Communication Technology Association) conference.
Ansip said that they had an ambitious timetable and also revealed the Commission guidelines that the Commission would give to its digital policy. He underlined that trust was the basis of all developments in the digital economy and that, “building trust in the online world is at the top of the agenda”. He also said that he wanted to make progress in 2015 in the area of consumer protection rights, as well as simplifying and modernising rules governing the online purchases of digital goods and services, he would also like to conclude the negotiations on data protection and cyber security. The Commission is also examining ways of removing the barriers that prevent the digital economy developing in the European Union and tackle the blockages that prevent consumers from making online purchases outside their own national borders. The Commission is keen to modernise the regulatory framework on copyright and remove unjustified obstacles that restrict access to digital goods. Another area of action will be guaranteeing online access to all Internet users, improving connections and making investments in the digital field, “in order to build the digital economy and ensure that the digital single market counts in the business world”. Ansip explained that in the investment context, “the European Union will continue to invest in Internet broadband” and that good connections were the key to developing online activities. With regard to private investment, the Commission is seeking to facilitate this investment by removing barriers through its better regulation initiative. It also wants, “efficient rules, fewer charges borne by companies and consumers and high quality services in the European and other markets, as well as, above all, efficient competition”. On this final point, consumers must have the choice of changing providers easily.
The vice president of the Commission also welcomed the cooperation agreement concluded on 11 December in Riga between Estonia and Latvia on the development of digital cross-border services, similar to the agreement previously concluded between Estonia and Finland in the context of E-services. Ansip was delighted that this set a good example of what can be done in Europe and, “how we can work together, digitally, to promote information and communication technologies”. (IL)