On Tuesday 7 September, on the occasion of the Digital Summit in Tallinn, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the European Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, highlighted, beyond the importance of linking the digital transition to climate objectives, the geopolitical priorities of the European Union.
“Europe must strive for more influence and less dependency. This applies to both our digital strategy and our geopolitical strategy”, said Charles Michel, insisting at the same time on the importance of partnerships.
“We want to develop greater cooperation. This is true not only for the Western Balkans or the Eastern partners, but also for our partners in Central Asia, Africa and elsewhere”, he announced.
This position was supported by Mr Dombrovskis. “A coordinated approach with the US is needed. The EU has already called for more partnerships, with Singapore, Japan or South Korea, for example”, he said.
Security. Mr Dombrovskis and Mr Michel also stressed the need to build trust with citizens in digital matters, through increased security in data protection and transparency.
“Citizens want to know that the state budget is well spent. They want to know that new development projects respect their health and their environment”, said the President of the European Council.
The issue of the agenda was also raised. On this point, Charles Michel announced that the major texts, namely the Digital Services Act (DSA) (see EUROPE 12745/17), the Digital Markets Act (DMA) (see EUROPE 12780/2), the Artificial Intelligence Act (see EUROPE 12764/7) and the draft law on electronic identity (see EUROPE 12733/1), will be discussed at the next regular meeting of the European Council in October.
“The Digital Compass, requested by the European Council, with key targets for 2030, will also be on the agenda of this meeting”, he concluded. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)