Brussels, 29/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 28 May, EU ministers for the economy and industry held a “useful exchange” on the strategy for a digital single market (see EUROPE 11323). “Clearly, in order to create jobs and growth in the digital era, we have to digitise industry in the European Union, develop the full potential of entrepreneurship, digitise businesses, improve productivity and competitivity and help start-up-companies to emerge”, stressed Latvian Economy Minister Dana Reizniece-Ozola. This is the message she will send to European Council President Donald Tusk in a document which will be used as a basis for the discussions of the heads of state and government at the European summit of 25 and 26 June, where they are to take position on the strategy for the digital single market. “An exchange of views was held and the conclusions agreed upon fully correspond to the Commission's working priorities. The digital single market is a major element, an indispensable factor which will put us on the digital path”, said Commissioner for the Economy and the Digital Society Günther Oettinger.
Unsurprisingly, the question of cyber-security was discussed during the talks. The delegations stressed that businesses (and consumers) need to be able to trust network security in order to embrace the digital age. “Infrastructure security will be an important element, which will guarantee the security of data for everybody, businesses and consumers, because considerable amounts of data are exchanged”, Commissioner Oettinger acknowledged.
The ministers also discussed the creation of cross-border pan-European digital infrastructure. The commissioner said that the Juncker investment plan will be a vital tool for the financing of this infrastructure. “Within this framework (…), it will be possible to finance digital infrastructure and encourage private investors to undo their purse strings”, he said.
VAT. Another point which crystallised the discussions was the harmonisation of VAT rates for digital goods and services and, in particular, the difference between VAT rates on paper books and digital books, with VAT on the latter far higher. “It is unacceptable that there is still no harmonisation of tax rates for online trade. You have a paper book which is not taxed the same way as a digital book (…). If there is no harmonisation, we are making the transition (from the physical world the digital world) harder. This is completely incomprehensible to the younger generation”, Oettinger stressed.
The delegations also gave examples of the creation of digitised platforms in the production and services sector, which have been developed national level, illustrating the fact that businesses are moving towards digital. A few examples: “Usine du futur”, for France, “Smart Factories” for the Netherlands, “Fabbrica Intelligente” for Italy and “Industrie 4.0” for Germany. However, the real added value for the European Union on its road to digital will be to create European platforms, Commissioner Oettinger argued. “If we want a genuine digital single market, we need a European network and not just ten or twelve (national) networks in parallel to each other, developing their own standards and their own strategies”, he argued. In this framework, the commissioner announced that following the European summit at the end of June, he plans to hold a meeting of representatives of the member states and of industry to discuss the integration of the national networks, with a view to the creation of the European partnership to help develop European-scale standards and initiatives. (Isabelle Lamberty)