On Monday 29 May, the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the EU and representatives from the European Parliament obtained an inter-institutional political agreement on the Wifi4EU initiative. This initiative seeks to provide support for at least three years in the installation of free Internet access in public buildings and places throughout the European Union.
The inter-institutional agreement endorses the €120 million budgetary envelope initially proposed by the European Commission in September 2016 (see EUROPE 11624). The budget lines mobilised, such as the Connecting Europe Facility, for financing this initiative, will be clarified in the mid-term review for the 2014-20 multi-annual financial framework.
In practice, potential beneficiaries from the entire public sector (e.g. local authorities, libraries, hospitals) will have to submit their candidacies directly through a dedicated website that the Commission puts online at the end of this year, so that the first projects can be put into practice at the beginning of 2018. Financial aid will be granted on the basis of the “first come, first served” principle. It will help to acquire the equipment needed from the telecommunications operators, whilst beneficiaries will be committed to covering the infrastructure operating costs.
Carlos Zorrinho (S&D, Portugal), Parliament's rapporteur explained in a press release that, “Yesterday night we reached an agreement that will ensure a geographical balance between and within member states and will promote digital inclusion and create a blueprint for a European digital identity”. The Commissioner for the Single Market, Andrus Ansip, described the agreement as “a first welcome step” but also said that, “much more needs to be done to achieve high-speed connectivity across the whole EU territory - such as improving Europe-wide coordination of spectrum and stimulating investments in the high-capacity networks”. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)