Brussels, 15/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - In Brussels on Tuesday 14 April, the European Union and the United States held their 13th meeting on issues relating to the digital economy and the information and communication technologies (ICT), which gave the stakeholders the opportunity to discuss topical subjects and ways of broadening their dialogue on these points.
The ambassador with responsibility for digital issues, Daniel A. Sepulveda, who chaired the American delegation, said that the United States would continue to work very closely with the European Union on digital issues. “It's a positive day for us, we hope to continue (…). We share common market values, values of democracy (…). We are probably closer to the EU than anywhere else in the world”, he stressed.
“I am very pleased with the good EU-US information society dialogue. Cooperation is essential”, tweeted the Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the digital single market, Andrus Ansip. For the EU, the discussions were led by the Director General of DG CONNECT, Roberto Viola.
The European and American senior officials discussed the following questions:
Digital single market: the Europeans presented their American counterparts with the three pillars which will form the basis of the digital strategy to be presented on 6 May, the main idea of which is to de-compartmentalise the national markets. The parties described this proposal as an “historic opportunity” for European and American industries and consumers;
Innovation, web-entrepreneurship and digital skills: the EU presented its initiative Startup Europe, which aims to help new businesses to cross national borders and acquire a global dimension, and the parties discussed ways to promote it in the United States. They also discussed support for start-ups and innovations on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as promoting digital skills;
Open Internet: the American delegation described the law recently adopted in the US to guarantee an open Internet and the EU informed the Americans of recent developments on this point in Europe. The parties believe that they share the same vision of the need to ensure an open Internet;
Data-based economy: both sides stressed the importance of big data as a key driving force to develop innovative services which will produce important and essential developments in sectors such as research, education and health, whilst taking note of the importance of protecting privacy. The Internet of things and cloud computing are also seen as major drivers of economic growth;
World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS): the EU and the United States will be taking part in the next meeting of the WSIS with regard to the post-2015 development programme of the UN, the participants argue that the objectives of the WSIS need to be redirected in favour of a more inclusive information society focusing on people and serving the objectives of the development programme.
Internet governance: the EU and the United States share the same vision of shared Internet management, which is “essential to preserving the free and open Internet and further developing the global economy”.
The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is also seen as an important discussion platform, bringing together global players to exchange opinions on all subjects relating to the Internet. Additionally, the European delegation supports the decision of the American government to move the management of the IANA, the body responsible for preserving the Internet's central coordination functions, towards a system of collective management. (Isabelle Lamberty)