On Wednesday 11 May, the Council of the EU adopted its position for future inter-institutional negotiations with the European Parliament on ‘the Path to the Digital Decade’ (see EUROPE 12877/2).
As a reminder, the 2030 policy programme ‘Path to the Digital Decade’ aims to strengthen the EU’s sovereignty and leadership in selected digital areas by promoting “inclusive and sustainable policies that serve citizens and businesses”.
Several objectives are set out in the text, including industrial objectives and increased cooperation between the Commission and the Member States to ensure that the various stakeholders can achieve the ambitions set out in the text.
In addition to changes in the scope, the degree of collaboration and a desired reduction in the administrative burden, several points have been changed in the latest version of the text, notably on the issue of governance. On this point, the EU Council text proposes that the cooperation cycles between the Member States and the EU should last 2 years. However, the text proposes to keep the annual rhythm of the “state of the digital decade” report.
In addition, the text also aims to give greater flexibility to Member States in defining roadmaps, “taking into account differences between countries and in levels of ambition”.
Negotiations with the Parliament can start once the Parliament has also adopted its position on the report by Czech MEP Martina Dlabajová (Renew Europe) (see EUROPE 12936/25). (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)