The Telecommunications Ministers of the EU Member States will meet on Friday 3 December to discuss ‘digital’ issues. Cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI) and electronic identity will be at the heart of the discussions.
To start the day, the competent ministers will be asked to adopt a common position on the high level of cyber security in the EU (NIS2) (see EUROPE 12842/3).
On this point, several Member States had expressed their concerns about the large number of entities affected by the revised directive. The Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU clarified this issue in its latest version of the compromise text.
Further clarifications were also added by the Council Presidency concerning the inclusion of entities of certain public administrations in the scope of the text and the exclusion of those active in defence or national security.
The issue of small and medium-sized enterprises is also expected to be raised by some Member States.
Artificial intelligence and the Path to the Digital Decade
Member State ministers will then take stock of progress on AI (see EUROPE 12842/4) and the Path to the Digital Decade (see EUROPE 12843/11).
The discussions on AI are expected to focus mainly on the possibility - or not - of using remote biometric identification and on the classification of high-risk AI systems. On this matter, several Member States have pointed out the lack of clarity regarding future requirements. Again, the issue of small and medium-sized enterprises is expected to be addressed.
Regarding the Path to the Digital Decade, part of the discussion will focus on the existing digital divide between the different Member States within the EU.
Several Member States expressed their concerns on this matter at a meeting of the Working Party on Telecommunications and Information Society on 16 November.
“The level of ambition was considered too high or too low, depending on the objectives considered”, the Slovenian Council Presidency summarised in a document published following the discussions.
The Slovenian Council Presidency will then inform the Telecommunications Ministers about the technical discussions on digital identity (see EUROPE 12843/10).
Finally, in addition to a debate also planned on digital rights and principles, the Council Presidency is expected to address the revision of the regulation on data roaming and data governance. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)