Brussels, 21/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - The United Kingdom is calling for a genuine digital single market and is urging the Latvian Presidency to make significant progress on the connected continent package in the Council of Ministers.
Speaking at the Robert Schuman lecture, organised by the Lisbon Council think tank, on Tuesday 20 January, UK Business Minister Vince Cable regretted the patchwork of national rules on digital policy which are hindering the growth of innovative services and are costing the EU money.
A unified digital market would “boost the UK and eurozone economies by €340 billion” and would make online process fairer for consumers, enable start-ups to be formed within 24 hours and help businesses sell throughout the EU, he stated.
Clear, detailed rules would give consumers the confidence to buy online, no longer fearful of misuse of their personal data, added Cable, making the point that, currently, over half of British consumers choose to pay more to buy online in the UK rather than overseas, because they are unclear as to whether they can receive a refund if anything goes wrong. Noting that European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker had made the digital economy one of his top five priorities, Cable called on EU member states to be proactive.
The position of the UK government on the digital economy, along with recommendations, is available online (https://engage.number10.gov.uk/digital-single-market/ ). (IL)