Implementing tech rulebooks should be top digital policy priority, EU countries urge

A document sent by the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council to the EU delegations on the future of the bloc’s digital policy, dated 19 February and seen by Euractiv, argued that the implementation of already-adopted regulations should be prioritised over the creation of new laws.

The draft conclusions by the Council of the European Union on the future of EU digital policy touch upon the digital acts of the past years, cutting-edge technologies, cloud infrastructure, and digital transformation.

Fewer digital legislations

The most notable part of the document highlights the “significant number of EU legislative acts that have been adopted in the digital field in recent years”.

The text stressed that the acts’ “effective and efficient implementation” should be prioritised and “any new legislative act with a view to preventing the risk of hampering the establishment of an agile and innovation-friendly European ecosystem” should be carefully assessed.

The document also notes that there is “a delicate balance” between fostering innovation and establishing safeguards and stresses the need for obligations for online platforms and online search engines, through the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, and that the Commission should enhance the implementation and enforcement of these landmarks.

However, the text also advocates for the creation of “common European data spaces in order to further promote and stimulate the adoption of digital technologies aligned with European legislative requirements”, the text reads later on.

When adopting these regulations, the document encourages a holistic approach, with careful attention paid to legal clarity and security, and the reduction of “the administrative burden, in particular for SMEs”.

AI Act

The text mentions that for the implementation of the AI Act, “a close cooperation between the AI Office, the AI Board and the advisory forum is key” and an efficient implementation is important to “develop and promote trustworthy” AI technologies.

According to the draft conclusions, the Commission should also reflect upon “the future role of the European Centre for Algorithmic Transparency beyond the Digital Services Act”.

Cutting-edge technologies

For technologies, such as virtual worlds, advanced semiconductors, generative AI, quantum technologies, blockchain infrastructure, or digital twins, a common European approach is essential, according to the document.

The draft conclusions also encourage investing more in EU quantum companies from the public, academic and private sectors.

Effects of digitalisation

Member states invite the Commission to examine potential gaps in current legal frameworks, to maintain the privacy of electronic communications.

The Commission should also implement measures against online tracking, data harvesting, and protecting children’s data and safety online, as “in return for access to digital services, users often provide vast amounts of data without fully understanding how their data is used and the implications thereof”.

The text calls for the development of tools “to support users, online platforms and national authorities in the verification of digital identities, such as a system of verified and non-verified users”.

Cloud and digital infrastructure

The draft conclusions support the Commission’s efforts to ensure secure European cloud services, through working on developing new EU cloud services and “further assess the way to promote interoperability and portability and to ensure a fair and balanced access to cloud solutions among business and SMEs”.

The text also stresses the importance of attaining the Digital Decade Programme targets, for example, “to ensure all EU households have access to Gigabit speeds and 5G or equivalent mobile technology by 2030”.

However, the Commission should also “establish an attractive policy framework for 6G research, development and deployment, based on the appropriate assessment of coverage and capacity requirements for 6G use cases and the early identification of spectrum needs”.

Digital transformation and sustainability

The text emphasises the importance of a digital transformation, for which trust between companies, international digital partnerships, coordinated investments on the EU level, and such principles as transparency, accountability, and inclusiveness are needed. However, digital sovereignty should also be an important aspect, the document says.

The text also highlights the EU’s ambition of playing “a global leading role” in the digital transformation.

The digital transformation “should go hand in hand with the green transition” but computing technologies and the establishment of data centres require “large amounts of resources including energy and critical raw materials”.

Therefore, the document supports the urgent reduction of “the environmental footprint of the ICT sector and to support its transition to climate neutrality by 2050”.

Businesses, public sectors, and consumers should have the ability to “reduce their digital footprint and e-waste in order to avoid inefficient consumption and in line with the principle to reduce, reuse and recycle”.

Next steps

The Presidency plans to discuss the draft conclusions on 27 February during a meeting of the Telecommunications and Information Society Working Party.

According to the document, delegations can comment on the draft by 5 March, based on the guidelines and template which were circulated by e-mail.

Théo Bourgery-Gonse contributed to the reporting.

Read more with Euractiv