At their next meeting in Luxembourg on Tuesday 9 June, the European Telecommunications Ministers are expected to reach an agreement on the European Business Wallet (EBW), designed to offer businesses a digital solution enabling them to identify themselves, authenticate themselves and exchange data securely throughout the Union, by introducing an obligation for public sector bodies to use the EBW.
This is the first concrete result of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU under the ‘One Europe, One Market’ roadmap (see EUROPE 13874/12).
The ministers will also examine the state of progress of other digital legislative dossiers and debate the strengthening of European technological sovereignty.
European portfolio of companies. “A very large majority of Member States will support the general approach” [on the European corporate portfolio], explained a senior European diplomat. The compromise text drawn up by the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU, he added, reflects “a series of adjustments aimed at guaranteeing legal clarity, security and interoperability with existing national systems”, while allowing “the development of cross-border digital services for businesses, while respecting national administrative frameworks”.
More than 20 countries, including Germany, Sweden, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Belgium, have expressed their support for the general approach, which includes a degree of “flexibility” allowing Member States to maintain their national systems while guaranteeing interoperability.
This approach also clarifies issues such as the principle of equivalence, coexistence with national procedures, the requirements applicable to EBW providers, their self-assessment, and a strengthened role for supervisory authorities in the event of systematic non-compliance by EBW providers, an EU source told Agence Europe.
Despite these flexibilities, Estonia and Malta have expressed reservations. Estonia, in particular, questioned the added value of EBW, arguing that there are already national systems offering compatible solutions. The additional costs for both businesses and public authorities were also highlighted.
Other countries, while generally supporting the proposal, such as Spain, Belgium, Italy and Germany, have expressed concerns about the risk of legal uncertainty. Austria and Spain in particular insisted that EBW should not replace existing national solutions, while Italy felt that the planned interoperability did not go far enough.
Other countries, such as Germany, France, Belgium and Poland, have emphasised the need to maintain strict cyber security requirements. This means that third-party experts will have to carry out the risk and compliance assessments, and not the EBW providers themselves, as the Commission had initially planned.
Progress reports on digital files. The ministers will also examine the progress made on other digital files, on the basis of reports prepared by the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU.
In the case of the Digital Networks Act (DNA) (see EUROPE 13791/8), which aims to modernise and consolidate existing EU telecoms legislation into a single text, the report “reflects the state of ongoing technical discussions on a number of key policy issues, including investment incentives, regulatory simplification, network resilience and the proper functioning of the single market”, said a senior EU diplomat.
For its part, the report on the Cybersecurity Act 2 describes “substantial progress”, including the completion of the initial examination of the text and the preparation of the first compromises on key elements such as ENISA’s mandate and the European cybersecurity certification framework.
On the other hand, work on the security of information technologies and supply chains, aimed at strengthening the resilience of critical digital infrastructures while maintaining a balance between European coordination and the responsibilities of the Member States, remains a more sensitive issue and is progressing more slowly. This concerns, in particular, the obligation for Member States to phase out high-risk vendors within 36 months of the adoption of the Regulation following the adoption of the implementing acts by the Commission.
For its part, the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU will also be taking stock of discussions on the ‘Digital Omnibus’ - the simplification of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (see EUROPE 13881/5).
Debate on the technological sovereignty of public administrations and satellite connectivity. Although the recent technological sovereignty package proposed by the European Commission (see EUROPE 13880/1), aimed at reducing Europe’s dependence on external suppliers in the fields of semiconductors, cloud and artificial intelligence (AI), as well as its recent proposal to allocate the 2 GHz frequency band to mobile satellite communications (see EUROPE 13875/6), are not officially on the agenda, the ministers will nevertheless discuss the technological sovereignty of European public administrations, particularly in the areas of the cloud, data, AI, software and digital platforms, while preserving openness and cooperation with trusted partners.
Over an informal lunch, they will discuss ways of strengthening the Union’s sovereignty and competitiveness in the field of satellite connectivity.
International cooperation. Together with the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Doreen Bogdan-Martin, the ministers will discuss ways of strengthening international cooperation to promote an “inclusive, secure and sustainable” digital transformation in the current geopolitical context. (Original version in French by Ana Pisonero Hernandéz)