Brussels, 23/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - MEPs on the European Parliament's ITRE Committee had lots of questions about the digital single market strategy presented by the European Commission on 6 May. In an exchange of views with senior Commission officials on Tuesday 23 June, several MEPs called for clarification about a number of specific points in the strategy. Evelyne Gebhardt (S&D, Germany) said: “There is still a whole range of important things to tackle”.
Speaking on behalf of the European Commission, Eric Peters (DG Connect) emphasised the need for group work at the European Commission, in order to put forward an ambitious digital strategy. He stressed that the project was the result of “significant arbitration that has already taken place at the Commission… This is the work of a group that has given things a lot of thought”. Certain elements in this strategy are ready to be the subject of proposals. This is the case with copyright, contract law and E-commerce. Other points will require more work, such as digital platforms. Peters also said: “We need more time. We are going to launch a more thoroughgoing assessment of the subject”. He added that permanent dialogue with the European Parliament and member states would be one of the conditions upon which the strategy's success depends and highlighted the importance of completing ongoing dossiers on the framework for telecommunications, private data and network security.
Several MEPs then took to the floor. Evelyne Gebhardt mentioned the many problems that still existed in E-commerce, particularly those affecting small businesses and explained: “The Commission has to make swift progress to impose the rules”. She also underlined the legal disparities affecting online and off-line shopping, as well as purchasing at national and cross-border levels. Philippe Juvin (EPP) highlighted the new copyright framework and said that he supported modernisation but not if it leads to creative content being controlled by the big economic operators. He also said that there was too much confusion regarding the territoriality concept and wanted to know whether they were going to leave it as it was or not. There were also a lot of questions by Vicky Ford (United Kingdom), speaking on behalf of the ECR. She highlighted the need for a targeted and practical approach and called for further clarification regarding geo-blocking, copyright, VAT, platforms and child safety. Kaja Kallas (ALDE, Estonia) said that enhancing trust was a crucial element on which the strategy had to be based. She also called for concrete proposals on platforms. Julia Reda (Greens/EFA, Germany), rapporteur on copyright, wanted to encourage the Commission to have a more extensive vision of digital union, which would not be restricted to trade deals but which would also target consumer rights. She also called for more concrete proposals on the platforms. Anna Maria Corazza Bildt (EPP, Sweden) highlighted the need to have more levelling out of VAT systems and said that they “need to get rid of complicated rules that hamper growth”. Sergio Gutiérrez Prieto (S&D, Spain) was concerned about the sectors that remained on the sidelines of the digital revolution and which were condemning large groups of the population to unemployment. He also made a heartfelt appeal for a single homogenous VAT system. Daniel Dalton (ECR, United Kingdom) said that the Commission approach remained obsolete and did not respond to the real situation. He said that they needed a more modern and radical approach. He also criticised the Commission's lack of ambition regarding geo-blocking. (Isabelle Lamberty)