French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said they were determined to “work together to defend Europe’s digital sovereignty” on Friday 29 August in Toulon, at the end of the 25th Franco-German Council of Ministers.
The way in which the European Union regulates its digital markets and imposes taxes on European companies is “an expression of European sovereignty” and “we are not going to accept threats”, said Mr Merz, believing that if the Europeans improve existing regulations, they will do so in their own interests. “We will not allow anyone other than ourselves to decide this”, said Mr Macron. And if other jurisdictions sanction EU players because the EU regulates digital markets, such measures “would be tantamount to coercion and would require a response from Europeans”, he added, praising the “very strong Franco-German convergence” on this point.
Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump threatened to sanction jurisdictions that regulate and tax digital services by imposing tariffs or export restrictions on US semiconductors and technologies (see EUROPE 13695/1). The digital services sector does not fall within the scope of the transatlantic trade agreement agreed at the end of July.
In the economic agenda they adopted on Friday, the French and German governments announced that they would be stepping up cooperation to help “evaluate” and “update” the ‘DMA’ regulation governing digital markets in the EU. They will be submitting a joint proposal to the European Commission “to simplify the existing EU legal framework, in particular regarding AI, cyber and data policy”.
Germany and France will be holding a summit on digital sovereignty in Berlin on Tuesday 18 November.
Sovereignty also means having “the players and the industrial solutions”, said Mr Macron. But “we are dependent when it comes to cloud technologies”, he noted.
In its economic agenda, the Franco-German tandem sets out eight priority market segments to strengthen competitiveness at national and European level: - energy; - trade and economic security; - industry; - cutting-edge technologies; - digital sovereignty; - competitiveness; - the single market and regulatory simplification; - convergence/cooperation in the field of labour markets, social policy and finance. Each area includes concrete projects and the launch of new processes aimed at improving bilateral cooperation.
Technological neutrality. The French President welcomed the fact that his country and Germany had resolved certain “differences” that were limiting the convergence of their positions and their ability to make proposals in Europe. He cited an agreement on the issue of “technological neutrality and non-discrimination with regard to low-carbon energies”, with France ardently defending the recognition of nuclear energy as an energy contributing to the decarbonisation of the economy.
The Franco-German text is more nuanced. It refers to the development of “common perspectives on the role of different energy technologies contributing to European climate goals”, which could lead to joint proposals for “the 2040 EU energy architecture, in order to ensure reliability and investor certainty as well as non-discrimination among all net-zero and low-carbon Energy technologies”.
For his part, Mr Merz stressed the importance of simplifying regulations and reducing the administrative burden on businesses. Germany and France are urging the European Commission to propose new initiatives to simplify “the entire acquis communautaire”, in particular to speed up authorisation and approval procedures. They support the creation of a European category of SME with “between 250 and 1,000 employees”, and look favourably on work on the creation of a 28th regime designed to make life easier for businesses within the single market.
Finally, Mr Macron praised the Franco-German convergence on the concept of “European preference” to facilitate the development of certain strategic industrial productions in the EU, including in the field of public procurement. He also announced a subsequent ‘roadmap’ for the automotive industry before a specific strategic dialogue is held on Friday 12 September.
Link to the Franco-German economic agenda: https://aeur.eu/f/i7i
Link to the flagship initiatives approved bilaterally (in French): https://aeur.eu/f/i7h
Link to the Franco-German declaration on defence: https://aeur.eu/f/i7e (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)