The European Commission has adopted new priorities for its Digital Agenda, with the focus on expanding broadband services. Adopted in 2010, the Digital Agenda sets targets for the period to 2020 on using ICT to expand the EU economy and meet social goals. The EC has adopted seven priorities from the Digital Agenda that it will focus on in the period 2013-14, of which broadband is number one. EC vice president Neelie Kroes, responsible for digital economy issues, said her top priorities will be increasing broadband investment and maximising the digital sector's contribution to the EU economy.
The main focus in 2013 will be finalising the regulatory framework for wholesale broadband access, currently under consultation with EU telecoms regulator Berec. The EC said it plans ten actions in 2013 on broadband; these include recommendations on stronger non-discriminatory network access and the new costing methodology for wholesale access to broadband networks, net neutrality, universal service and mechanisms for reducing the civil engineering costs of broadband roll-out. This will build on new Broadband State Aid Guidelines and the proposed Connecting Europe Facility loans to support infrastructure expansion.
The other six priorities for 2013-14 include expanding the electronic delivery of public services, skills development to ensure a qualified workforce for the ICT sector and support for start-ups, a new EU cyber-security strategy and directive, continued work on updating the EU's copyright framework for digital services, developing cloud-based public procurement services under the recently launched European Cloud Partnership, and a new electronics industrial strategy to develop micro- and nano-electronics sectors.
