Brussels, 24/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - The Competitiveness Council will be largely devoted to matters digital on Thursday 26 may. Ministers are expected to reach political agreement in principle on cross-border portability of online content services. They will also adopt conclusions on the digitisation of industry. The meeting will continue the following day, focusing on innovation.
Portability for a limited period. This is the only legislative point on the agenda: ministers will seek to agree a general approach on the draft regulation to ensure the cross-border portability of online content services in the internal market. This regulation will allow consumers who have subscribed to online content - such as music or films - or who have acquired content of this type, to have access to it, not only in their country of residence but also whenever they are temporarily in another member state. It will also apply to free services, if that is wanted by the providers (for example, public administrations, etc.).
Over the course of the last few months, the main stumbling blocks in working group discussions have been the length of stay abroad (with some countries wanting to stipulate a limited number of days) and monitoring compliance (see EUROPE 11549). The proposed compromise to be put to ministers on 26 May does not set out a specific number of days to define what is meant by a temporary stay, as France and Italy wanted. It states, in Article 2, that the regulation is applicable to subscribers who are in a member state other than their country of residence “for a limited period of time”. With regard to monitoring compliance, the compromise says (in an Article and no longer in a recital) that rights holders will be able to authorise access to and use of their content without the member state of residence being checked by the operator. Place of residence may be identified by means of eight specific, non-cumulative criteria (for example, billing address, postal address, bank details, IP addresses, etc.). According to several sources, the draft compromise is likely to have the support of the member states. Some delegations - France, Portugal and Italy, for example - could speak to expand on their position.
Digitisation and competitiveness. Ministers will approve, without debate, conclusions in response to the Commission's proposals on the digitisation of industry (see EUROPE 11535). This document will call on the Commission to make clear how it intends to attract public and private investment of over €50 billion to support the digital transition of industry. It suggests consideration, by means, for example, of a quality audit, of how the regulatory framework can best support this digital shift.
Ministers will conclude their session on digital matters with a competitiveness check-up. In concrete terms, this means a discussion on the impact of digitalisation on productivity, particularly in the services sector. The discussion will be informed by data provided by the digital economy and society index (DESI). These data, published by the Commission on 23 May show that the EU has made progress in areas such as connectivity, digital skills and public services. Thus, 71% of households now have access to superfast broadband (at least 30 Mb/s), compared with 62% last year. The Netherlands, Estonia, Germany, Malta, Austria and Portugal are the countries which have made the fastest progress and recorded the best results. At the presentation of these data, Commissioner Günther H. Oettinger said that the EU is making progress but too slowly. This is no time for self-congratulation, he said: if the EU wants to catch up with Japan, the United States and South Korea it will have to move. The Commission will bring forward concrete recommendations in May, based on the index just published that will allow the member states to improve their national performances, he added.
The remainder of the Competitiveness Council will be given over to the posting of workers, the uptake of space data and innovation policy. These issues will be covered by EUROPE in a later article. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)