Brussels, 17/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - Günther Oettinger, the commissioner for the digital economy, took part in the CeBIT exhibition and conference in Hanover on 16 March. The Commissioner used this occasion to underline the European Commission's determination to put an end to fragmentation in the national markets and build a digital single market, with standardised rules on net neutrality and a new framework for copyright and data protection.
The Commissioner pointed out that, “28 fragmented silos are a source of bureaucracy and a waste of time”. He emphasised that if the EU were able to speak with a single voice on digital subjects, it would become a substantial competitor to both the US and Asia in this field.
The Commissioner also illustrated that the current legislative framework on data protection was no longer adapted to the practices of the Internet giants. He criticised the fact that, “Google, Facebook and Apple no longer respect the national laws on data protection. They are able to choose the country with the lowest level of data protection to stock data there”. He did, however, acknowledge that the road to achieving a digital single market, which really did function, was a long one.
The Commissioner also touched on the subject of shortages in specialists in new technologies and the need for workers in traditional sectors to have permanent training in ICT because these skills would be used sooner or later in all sectors of the economy.
In a backdrop to the CeBIT event, Oettinger also met the German Minister for the Economy, Sigmar Gabriel, to discuss subjects relating to “digital sovereignty” and the shape a modern regulatory framework for the digital single market should take. He also met the German Home Secretary, Thomas de Maizière, with whom he discussed current challenges linked to cyber security. The German Minister indicated at this meeting that Germany had presented a raft of concrete measures to increase information technology security, as part of the discussions for higher EU level network and information security. (Isabelle Lamberty)