Meeting on Tuesday 21 May at the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council, the EU27 ministers responsible for digital affairs took stock of the policy the EU has pursued over the last 5 years and the implementation of key legislation, and established an overview of the major guidelines to follow for the next legislative cycle.
The majority of Member States once again reiterated the need for the EU to focus on implementing legislation in a way that is “coherent” and “inclusive”.
Citing the flagship Digital Services and Digital Market Acts (DSA and DMA), the ministers stressed the crucial importance of a European approach to implementation centred on cooperation between countries and analysis of these regulations’ future impact.
However, Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton pointed out that sixteen Member States - more than half - had still not appointed a national coordinator for the DSA (see EUROPE 13385/11). “We’re late”, he insisted. “There can’t be any talk of rapid implementation without these appointments. Everyone needs to assume their responsibilities”.
Guidelines for the next legislative act
The ministers also adopted conclusions on the Union’s next digital policy. These conclusions show that recent regulations, particularly those on artificial intelligence (see other news), are an important, even historic, step forward.
For Petra De Sutter, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Telecommunications, “the EU must now move towards a common European approach to innovative digital technologies”, with the aim of “protecting European competitiveness”.
Roberto Viola, the European Commission’s Director General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, congratulated the Belgian Presidency for its work on digital issues: “All the remaining major digital projects have been completed, and it hasn’t been an easy task”.
The conclusions also stress the importance of ensuring a secure and resilient digital infrastructure across the EU, but make no mention of the Commission’s ‘White Paper’ on telecommunications, following opposition from several Member States (see EUROPE 13388/5).
See the conclusions on the future of EU digital policy: https://aeur.eu/f/ca5 (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)