EC Pushes Brussels, National Governments to Take Bolder Steps to Boost Digital Economy

Europe’s digital agenda is going well but “it’s not enough” because the digital economy is growing seven times faster than the rest of the economy, Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes said at a Tuesday press briefing. She set out revised priorities for 2013-2014, and warned that risk-avoidance in Brussels and national governments must stop. “I'm in a fighting spirit” about showing that Europe isn’t just about accounting and rules, but about giving people opportunities, she said. The European Commission also listed the actions it will take by the end of this legislative cycle in 2014 to modernize copyright laws for the online world.

The top “to-do” list priority is to create a new, stable broadband regulatory environment, the EC said. It’s finalizing 10 actions that include recommendations on stronger non-discriminatory network access and new costing methodologies for wholesale access to broadband networks, net neutrality, universal service and mechanisms for reducing civil engineering costs of broadband rollout. With the support of the Council of Ministers, the EC will implement the second item on the list: fast-track deployment of services such as e-identification, e-signatures, electronic health records and e-procurement, it said.

A third emphasis is the launch of a series of public and private sector actions to, among other things, boost information technology training and promote skills certification to help job mobility, the EC said. A fourth goal is to announce an EU cybersecurity strategy to set a minimum level of preparedness at the national level, it said. Another priority is to accelerate take-up of cloud computing through public sector buying power; and the EC also plans to propose an industrial strategy for micro- and nano-electronics, it said.

Europe needs a “wake-up call” on high-speed broadband, the EC said. Without fast Internet, essential services such as audiovisual services and cloud computing won’t happen and their benefits will be lost, it said. In addition to proposals aimed at tackling market investment incentives and lowering rollout costs, the EC said it plans to lay out an action plan on wireless communications next year. The digital world is limitless and Europe can achieve industrial success by thinking across borders, Kroes said. Why not have a “digital Airbus” or an “Airbus for the chip sector?” she said. Airbus is a pan-European consortium of aerospace manufacturers that has successfully sold jetliners worldwide.

Asked whether more broadband investment incentives will mean higher prices for consumers, Kroes said yes, but not in every country. She said she doesn’t mind if rates go up as long as markets are competitive. Consumers want good prices but they also want better networks, she said.

Following an “orientation debate” on troublesome online content issues earlier this month (CD Dec 6 p7), the EC Tuesday also pressed industry to come up with innovative ways to give users better access to content. Kroes, Internal Market and Services Commissioner Michel Barnier and Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou will begin a structured stakeholder dialogue next year to speed progress in four areas: (1) Cross-border access and portability of services. (2) User-generated content and licensing for small-scale users of copyright-protected material. (3) Making films more accessible on the Internet. (4) Promoting efficient text- and data-mining for scientific research. Work is also continuing on possible legislative changes to EU copyright law, the EC said. The dialogue is expected to present its results before the end of 2013.

The new priority list was cheered by the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association. The upcoming recommendation on a broadband regulatory approach should fully reflect the need for stable copper wholesale prices and pricing flexibility to develop more innovative offers for new high-speed networks while guaranteeing consumers a wide choice, said Executive Board Chair Luigi Gambardella. ETNO also applauded the EC’s plan to update the copyright systems.

In every EU country, at least half of households now have a broadband connection, Eurostat reported Tuesday. However, while the level of Internet access increased in every EU nation between 2006 and this year, differences “remain significant,” with the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark and Sweden having broadband access rates over 90 percent, and Bulgaria, Greece and Romania around 50 percent, it said. Portuguese users are the most active in posting on social media sites, while Finland led on Internet banking and online travel services, it said.