Brussels, 07/01/2015 (Agence Europe) -The single digital market is a substantial source of economic growth and the communications networks must become a driving force for the economy and innovation in Europe, according to the Latvian presidency, in its priorities for the telecommunication sector, over the next six months. The essential priority will be to reach an agreement at the Council on the “connected continent” package. The previous presidency set itself the same goal but was unable to continue due to persisting disagreements between member states on certain sections in the proposal and the lack of willingness of some of them to go further on certain points. The two most problematic subjects identified by the Italian presidency involved “roaming” and net neutrality (see EUROPE 11206). The Latvian presidency explained that, “the presidency wants to obtain a global compromise on the proposal… The main thrust will be establishing a balance between high quality services and reasonable prices for European citizens”.
With the principle of a secure environment being the essential condition for building an efficient digital single market, the presidency would like to reach an agreement, during its mandate, with the European Parliament on the directive on Information Network Security (“INS” directive). Substantial progress has been made in this field by the Italian presidency and Latvia will need to establish the final compromise on the two remaining stumbling blocks: one being the scope of application of the directive and the other involving questions relating to strategic and operational cooperation. The Latvian presidency will also seek to reach an agreement with the European Parliament on the directive on access to public sector websites. It will also attempt to make “significant progress” on the decision to establish interoperability solutions for the public authorities, businesses and citizens. In addition to the on-going initiatives in the digital sector, the Latvian presidency will attempt to go further and comprehensively promote the digital economy and intends to organise discussions in this connection on what should be implemented to improve competitiveness in the European economy through the digital sector, by promoting the acquisition of digital skills and E-governance. In the realm of external relations, the presidency will closely follow the most recent developments in global Internet governance. (IL)