Slow progress on Digital Single Market: review

(BRUSSELS) - A review of the state of play of the EU's Digital Single Market strategy, published Wednesday, picks out the data economy, cybersecurity and online platforms as three areas where a further push is needed.

The mid-term review of the EU's Digital Single Market strategy, published by the European Commission, takes stock of progress made and calls on the EU Council and Parliament co-legislators to act swiftly act on all proposals presented.

The EU executive says the focus is on obtaining political agreements with the European Parliament and the Council on all proposals, but it picks out updated EU telecoms rules in particular, which it says will boost investments in high-speed and quality networks, seen as indispensable for full deployment of the digital economy and society.

The Commission has has also identified three main areas where further EU action is needed: (1) to develop the European Data Economy to its full potential, (2) to protect Europe's assets by tackling cybersecurity challenges, and (3) to promote the online platforms as responsible players of a fair internet ecosystem.

Digital Single Market Commissioner Andrus Ansip said that having presented all main initiatives for building a Digital Single Market, the Commission was now looking to the European Parliament and EU Member States to adopt the proposals as soon as possible - for "new jobs, business and innovation to take off across Europe."

The Commission also is proposing to update its strategy to reflect new challenges and technologies. "We need cyber-secure infrastructure across all parts of the EU so that everyone – everywhere – can enjoy high-speed connectivity safely," he said. "We have already agreed on strong EU rules for personal data protection; we now need to make sure that non-personal data can flow freely to assist connected cars and eHealth services. We need high-performance computing along with a digitally skilled workforce to make the most out of the data economy. "

The Commission's review maps out the way ahead in three key areas:

• On the data economy, the Commission is preparing a legislative initiative on the cross-border free flow of non-personal data (Autumn 2017) and an initiative on accessibility and reuse of public and publicly funded data (Spring 2018). In addition, the Commission will continue its work on liability and other emerging data issues.
• In cybersecurity, by September 2017, the Commission will review the EU Cybersecurity Strategy and the mandate of the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA), to align it to the new EU-wide framework on cybersecurity. The Commission will also work to propose additional measures on cyber security standards, certification and labelling to make connected objects more cyber secure.
• In the area of online platforms, by the end of 2017, the Commission will prepare an initiative to address unfair contractual clauses and trading practices identified in platform-to-business relationships and has also taken recent competition enforcement decisions related to this. The Commission has developed several dialogues with online platforms within the Digital Single Market (e.g. EU Internet Forum, Code of Conduct on illegal online hate speech, and Memorandum of Understanding on the Sale of Counterfeit Goods over the Internet) and plans to coordinate these better. One of the aims is to move forward with the procedural aspects and principles on removal of illegal content – notice and action – based on transparency and protecting the fundamental rights.

In addition, the Commission addresses the need for further investment in digital infrastructure and technologies in areas where investment needs to go far beyond the capacity of single Member States, such as high-performance computing.

Communication A Connected Digital Single Market for All

Overview table on the proposals made under the Digital Single Market strategy

Questions and answers on the mid-term review of 
the Digital Single Market strategy

Factsheet: overview of the progress of Digital Single Market strategy