Brussels, 27/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 27 October in Paris, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, met the President of France, François Hollande, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and representatives from the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT) to discuss the European Union's digital priorities.
He is expected to make a speech at the end of the day during the Franco-German digital conference on the theme of “Speeding up the Digital Transformation of our Economies” and take part in a joint press conference with President Hollande, Chancellor Merkel and the President of the ERT, Benoît Potier, before taking part in a working dinner with heads of state and ERT representatives. These discussions follow a first meeting between political leaders and industrialists in Berlin last June, as well as several preparatory meetings carried out by the Commission Vice-President for the Digital Single Market, Andrus Ansip (see EUROPE 11404).
The discussions between Juncker and the German and French leaders focused on aspects of the digital single market strategy presented on 6 May by the Commission (see EUROPE 11309). These include elements containing a strong added value for industry, such as a reduction in the barriers preventing the free movement of non-personal data and the creation of a European research “cloud” (European Open Science Cloud). The Vice-President is also expected to make a speech during the day on the progress made with the strategy and use this occasion to call on European businesses, start-ups and major European companies to take part in the public consultations launched in September (see EUROPE 11388, 11395 and 11399). On Wednesday 28 October, President Juncker is expected to address the European Economic and Social Council (EESC) and discuss the digital strategy. (Original version in French by Isabelle Lamberty)