In her State of the Union address on Wednesday 16 September, the President of the European Commission did not give details of her future Digital Services Act, considered to be the big digital issue of the legislature. On the other hand, she announced that 20% of the Next Generation EU Recovery Plan would be invested in the digital field.
“With new digital hubs springing up everywhere from Sofia to Lisbon or Katowice, there has never been a better time to invest in European technology companies. We have the people, the ideas and the strength of a Union to succeed”, said Ursula von der Leyen during her speech, generating a shower of positive comments from the sector's largest lobby, DigitalEurope.
Among the announcements, she also mentioned an “investment of eight billion euros in the next generation of supercomputers”, without giving further details.
Europe's ‘Digital Decade’
The President of the European Commission has repeatedly called for “making the coming decade Europe's ‘Digital Decade’”. This formula announces in particular a communication next year on the digital goals for 2030.
In her speech, Mrs von der Leyen cited three specific areas: data, technology and infrastructure.
On data first, she reiterated the importance of industrial data and reaffirmed her willingness to “create a European ‘cloud’ based on GaiaX”.
Then, on technology, she referred to legislation on artificial intelligence, planned for 2021, and a proposal creating a secure European e-identity. This proposal is moreover requested by the Member States for “mid-2021”, as reflected in the draft conclusions of the European Council of 24 and 25 September.
Lastly, the President of the Commission stressed the importance of ensuring universal access to a high-speed broadband connection. “That’s why we want to focus our investments on secure connectivity and the deployment of 5G, 6G and fibre”.
Digital sovereignty in question
For Mrs von der Leyen, it is a question of sovereignty.
This belief is shared by the president of the Renew Europe group, Dacian Cioloș (Romania), who called for a “digital law that will pave the way to independence in terms of data processing, encryption and cloud storage”.
“These everyday technologies will determine how we live in the future. It would be irresponsible to rely on foreign powers for strategic areas”, he added.
Work Calendar
In terms of timing, the Commission is due to present a regulation on high-performance computing and a recommendation on connectivity at the end of the week. According to its provisional agenda, it also foresees an action plan for digital literacy on 30 September and a directive on data governance on 14 October.
Next year's proposals are summarised in its letter of intent to the Presidencies of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.
On the legislative side, Ursula von der Leyen announces a proposal on the digitisation of cross-border judicial cooperation, a data law, a proposal for a digital fee and a review of the competition policy.
In the non-legislative field, she talks about updating the industrial strategy for Europe and mentions an initiative on platform workers, without any further details.
See the State of the Union speech: https://bit.ly/3iBviKK (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)