On Tuesday 9 June, the Council of the EU adopted by written procedure conclusions on the digital future of Europe that address all the major issues such as technological sovereignty, the development of 5G/6G and the regulation of platforms.
In this text, the ministers of the Member States reiterate the importance of strategic autonomy, in particular with regard to microelectronics “made in Europe”.
They also stress the importance of the gigabit society in 2025, with rapid deployment of 5G. They also took this opportunity to support a revision of the Roaming Regulation, to call for recommendations to reduce network roll-out costs, and to facilitate the deployment of high-capacity infrastructure. Aware of the limited public success of 5G, particularly with regard to health concerns, they stress the importance of “combating the spread of false information related to 5G networks, with particular attention to allegations that such networks pose a health threat or are linked to Covid-19”.
On the issue of platforms, they support the Commission’s intention to explore ex-ante rules for platforms that have a significant network effect and that play a “gatekeeper” role.
These conclusions, briefly mentioned at the Telecommunications Council, were adopted by written procedure because of safety restrictions (see EUROPE 12500/9).
Link to the text of the conclusions: https://bit.ly/2UrAQ09 (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)