In a document dated 21 May and presented to the press on Monday 27 May, the four countries of the ‘Innovation Club’ – Germany, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia – detail their vision of the next European digital agenda for the next five years.
The four countries are calling for a reduction in the administrative burden and for greater market freedom. Under the title Make it Simple, this document is presented as a blueprint of demands made for the future European Commission.
The signatories now want priority to be given to implementing regulations and creating an environment conducive to innovation, while reducing the burden and costs on businesses.
Data, infrastructure and innovation
On this last point, the document is very clear: the EU must absolutely meet its commitments to reduce reporting by 25%. The signatories also mention other avenues for reducing this ‘regulatory burden’: making full and systematic use of tools for assessing legislation, better studying the impact of the various delegated acts adopted by the Commission, continuing to develop information points for businesses by incorporating artificial intelligence, and promoting the circulation of data through interoperability.
Volker Wissing, Germany’s Minister for the Digital Economy and Transport, says that state regulation “should only be used to create favourable conditions for competition and expansion”.
Secondly, the countries propose ways in which the EU can equip itself with a “high-level” digital infrastructure that is resilient and ready to support the development efforts underway. They cite the possibility of putting in place a European legislative framework for digital connectivity and support the ‘White Paper’ on digital infrastructure regarding submarine cable security (see EUROPE 13355/8).
The document sets out the ambition for Europe to become a “data economy”, with a target of 10% of GDP coming from data by 2030.
The signatories call for the development of Common European Data Spaces and the recognition and integration of privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) to enable the re-use of sensitive and personal data.
They also call for the establishment of regulatory and technological “sandboxes” for businesses and the public sector, to test “innovative, data-driven solutions in a real-world environment”.
Finally, the four countries would like to see advanced “standardisation’ of standards at European level to avoid fragmentation that would be harmful to innovation.
“Faced with fierce global competition, we now understand that only the most adaptable economies, with the most favourable conditions, will reap the rewards of technological and digital change”, insisted Inga Bērziņa, Latvia’s Minister for Development and the Environment.
While fully approving the EU Council conclusions of 21 May on the future of EU digital policy (see EUROPE 13413/7), the ‘Innovation Club’ recognises that these conclusions do not cover all the areas deserving particular attention and therefore wants to back them up with its recommendations.
To see the document: https://aeur.eu/f/cdy (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)