The Telecommunications Ministers of the EU Member States met on Friday 3 June in Luxembourg to review the progress of work on the major digital dossiers.
The ministers began by discussing the future regulation for harmonised rules for artificial intelligence (AI) (see EUROPE 12957/17).
On this issue, the French Presidency of the Council of the EU has insisted on the support necessary for innovation and the importance of using AI in the industrial sector.
Several Member States called for clarification on issues such as the qualification of high-risk applications and the articulation of the text with existing rules, such as the General Data Protection Regulation.
In addition, the issue of the future European Digital Identity wallet was also discussed (see EUROPE 12961/8). Several Member States have indicated their willingness to opt for a “highly secure” solution, allowing “citizens to maintain control of their data”, a diplomatic source said.
In addition, some ministers also called for work on the future European wallet to be based on existing national solutions.
The ministers also discussed the future Data Act (see EUROPE 12923/26), which should lead to the unlocking of industrial data.
Here again, several Member States have asked for clarification, in particular on the data sharing framework, while bearing in mind the importance of “building reliable and fair competition” and taking into account security issues.
Finally, the Member States also returned to the impact of digital in the context of the EU’s green and digital transition.
“While digital technology has an environmental impact, it can also play an important role”, said French Minister for Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, Gabriel Attal.
Several Member States have called for a common - or even global - methodology to assess the real environmental impact of digital technology. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)