European Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of a Europe fit for the Digital Age, held discussions with members of the European Parliament's Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) on Wednesday 16 March, on the current and future digital agenda.
Logically, the discussions focused largely on the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA) legislation, which are currently being negotiated between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU (see EUROPE 12912/15).
On the DMA, rapporteur Andreas Schwab (EPP, Germany) asked Ms Vestager in particular about the effectiveness of the implementation of the text without a strong commitment from the Member States in terms of investment.
“If it’s just words on a piece of paper, it’s useless. At the Commission, we are trying to see how to apply the text in the most effective way. I hope to be able to come back to you as soon as possible to tell you how it should work”, replied Ms Vestager. Adding: “I would also like to call on the Member States to contribute”.
For Christel Schaldemose (S&D, Denmark), rapporteur on the DSA, the questions are more about the adaptability of negotiated legislation to future technological developments.
On this matter, the Vice-President of the Commission argued for a constant monitoring of the developments, but she was aware that the texts will not be a ‘miracle solution’. “Even with the DSA and DMA, DG Competition is not likely to be out of work”, she conceded.
A large part of the discussion also focused on artificial intelligence (AI) (see EUROPE 12912/35). On this point, the Commission’s line has not changed: trust will be the key.
On this issue, some MEPs, such as Morten Løkkegaard (Renew Europe, Denmark), noted their commitment not to overburden small and medium-sized enterprises, which might otherwise leave the EU. The MEP also questioned the definitions of use included in the Commission’s proposal. On this issue, Margrethe Vestager said she was “open to discussion”.
Several MEPs also insisted on the need for a risk assessment of AI on fundamental rights.
In addition to the future digital ID wallet (see EUROPE 12901/15) and cybersecurity (see EUROPE 12903/18), several MEPs also put the future Data Act back on the table and asked for clarification on the issue of data ownership for industry. The Commission has opened a public consultation on the subject (see other news).
Finally, Andreas Schwab also questioned the Commission on how to harmonise the telecoms sector, when “108 operators are present in the EU”.
“It’s a headache”, agreed Ms Vestager. “I think it would be useful to focus on that as we did on digital”, she added. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)