The European Commission appears to have taking into account the letter from 15 member states when it drafted its midterm review for the single digital market strategy (DMS).
As requested by these member states, its communication presented on 10 May does not announce any new legislative measure apart from on the free flow of data (see EUROPE 11785).
The letter is dated 2 May and is co-signed by Belgium, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Poland, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, Ireland, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania and the United Kingdom. It was addressed to the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, as well as the Vice President in charge of the digital agenda, Andrus Ansip, in view of the presentation of the midterm review for the DSM.
A very liberal vision...
Overall, the letter calls for a “market-based approach” or new legislative initiatives that are limited to a strict minimum. The ministers indicate that, “our regulatory efforts must concentrate on updating and reducing regulation. Do we really need these rules to protect the public interest in a changing world rather than extending the regulation?”
They also suggest that the European Commission list the projects that reduce charges and the projects that extend regulation or those that propose new regulation. It also urges them to take advantage of the mid-term review of the digital strategy to assess to what extent the different development areas have helped improve European business competition in the value chain of the digital economy.
Despite being opposed to all excessive regulation, the 15 member states do call on the Commission to legislate on the free flow of data. They emphasise the fact that, “almost all cross-border transactions now have a digital component that has to be strengthened by way of legal security”.
... taken up by the Commission
The DSM strategy midterm review therefore essentially takes up the message contained in this letter: it announces an initiative on the free flow of data and remains relatively evasive about the shape that other measures will assume. It mentions “guidelines” for the platforms and “proposals for complementary measures” involving cyber security standards, as well as the certification and labelling of cyber security related objects (see EUROPE 11785). (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)