The European Commission has outlined plans for improving the digital single market in the EU. In a presentation in Brussels, the EC discussed its plans for action on the matter, to be introduced in May.
Three main policy areas will be addressed. The first is ensuring better access for consumers and businesses to digital goods and services. The EU wants to increase the amount of cross-border e-commerce in the region and encourage especially SMEs to sell online. Some of the areas for work include ensuring more efficient and affordable parcel delivery and ending geo-blocking, where potential shoppers cannot access online storefronts in other countries. In addition the EU will continue its work on updating copyright legislation and simplifying VAT administration for international sellers.
The second policy priority is providing a regulatory framework and market conditions for digital networks and services to flourish. The EC said it will review existing telecom and media rules to make sure they encourage investment and are adapted to new market challenges. This will focus especially on the consumer market, where new services such as VoIP and OTT video are bringing new competitors to the field. The EC will also revisit the issue of increased spectrum coordination in the EU. It said the roll-out of 4G has been delayed due to a lack of spectrum and this situation needs to change.
With an eye to the ongoing investigation of Google, the Commission also announced an increased focus on the importance of online platforms like search engines, app stores and social networks. This includes their role in the value chain as well as issues such as ensuring transparency and consumer trust and the takedown of illegal content. Completing work on the data protection directive this year is also part of this strategy.
Finally, the EC wants to build on the long-term growth potential of a further digitisation of society and the economy. This involves encouraging the adoption of new technological trends such as Industry 4.0, big data and cloud computing. A key part of the EU role's in this is ensuring interoperability standards. It will also continue to work on improving the population's digital skills and adoption of e-government services.
Work on the strategy in the coming month will be led by Andrus Ansip, Vice-President for the Digital Single Market, and include commissioners from a wide range of other policy areas. The EC is also consulting with industry stakeholders to help shape the strategy. Mobile industry group the GSMA called for switch action by the EC in order to keep up with the rapidly changing market and ensure a future-proof strategy. It noted that the last time significant EU legislation for the telecoms sector was passed, it was already outdated by the time it actually became law.
The operators' group ETNO published its own policy paper earlier in the week on proposals for the digital single market. It called for a renewed focus on investing in broadband networks as part of the policy, saying the EU will need both "speedboat measures" and a complete reform of the telecom regulatory framework.
