Meeting informally in Louvain-la-Neuve on Friday 12 April, Europe’s telecoms and digital ministers used the occasion to discuss the EU’s ambitions in terms of digital sovereignty.
The discussions focused on two main areas and were co-chaired by Mathieu Michel, Belgian Secretary of State for Digitalisation, and Petra De Sutter, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Telecommunications: - improving the cybersecurity and resilience of infrastructures; - the measures to be taken to achieve a single European market that is harmonised, competitive and sustainable.
The ministers also discussed the broad guidelines listed in the Commission’s White Paper (see EUROPE 13355/8), which have been criticised by some Member States (see EUROPE 13388/5).
Harmonisation of the different rules at European level was a subject of debate, with some members opposed to what they see as a loss of sovereignty.
“We need to think about how our infrastructure can match our ambitions”, insisted Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market and Digital Affairs. Against a backdrop of international unrest, the ministers recognise that the EU’s critical infrastructures must remain in the hands of the Member States.
Following discussions on the white paper, which are due to last until the end of June, the Commission plans to produce a summary by the autumn.
We developed an overall picture of the situation and reiterated the importance of balance in our proposals, said Petra De Sutter. We need to see how we can move towards greater integration of the European market and give ourselves time to implement our existing regulations before considering new ones.
The EU27 also published the ‘Louvain-la-Neuve Declaration’, in which they unite around a common intention to equip themselves with tools to protect citizens online, particularly children, while guaranteeing their freedom of expression.
The next Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council will be held on 21 May in Brussels. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)