The debate on the digital simplification package in the European Parliament promises to be long, difficult and potentially explosive (see EUROPE 13755/2, 13755/3). Discussed in the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) with Renate Nikolay (Deputy Director-General at DG Connect), and in the Committee on Industry (ITRE) with the Executive Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty, Henna Virkkunen, on Wednesday 3 December, the various proposals in this ‘omnibus’ package are widely divisive in the European Parliament (see EUROPE 13757/9).
Many on the left suspect that the Commission’s declared simplification conceals a broader desire to deregulate and weaken the major pieces of digital legislation adopted in recent years, starting with the regulation on data protection and the one on artificial intelligence.
This concern is heightened by the geopolitical and economic context: US pressure on AI regulation, Chinese competition, difficulties in implementing the DSA and DMA. “We’re talking about freedom and security here”, Swedish MEP Hanna Gedin (The Left) recalled in the IMCO Committee, denouncing the package as a “step backwards under US influence”.
The Commission, for its part, firmly rejects these criticisms and the notion of US intervention. According to Renate Nikolay, the institution has not “yielded to any external pressure”.
“It’s not a question of lowering standards, but of clarifying the rules”, she insisted. The initiative to simplify legislative texts is part of the Commission’s work programme, which is itself based on Mario Draghi’s report to reduce regulatory fragmentation (see EUROPE 13756/22).
Also in the ITRE Committee, Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen had to face criticism and questions about this proposal, which comes in the middle of a power struggle between the EU and Washington and after an intense US lobbying campaign (see EUROPE 13741/19).
Rather than the Commission, it is the Parliament that is likely to be the most difficult to deal with. Kim van Sparrentak (Greens/EFA, Dutch) expressed her astonishment at the particularly enthusiastic position of the EPP, which she accused of taking up “almost word for word” the US arguments for simplification. “This will only benefit the large platforms”, she warned.
There are in fact two opposing groups. On one side, there is the EPP, ECR and some PfE members, who see this digital simplification package as an opportunity to make the European framework clearer and more coherent for businesses.
On the other, there is the S&D, the Greens/EFA and The Left, who fear a wholesale weakening of European regulation. Renew Europe remains divided: the group refers to “major concerns” raised by the package, but is satisfied with certain proposals relating to businesses.
The legislative package still has to be allocated to the relevant European Parliament committees and will be discussed at EU Council level. The forthcoming debate in the European Parliament will not only be technical, but also highly political. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)