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The informal meeting brought together ministers from the European Economic Area responsible for the internal market and industry, and representatives from the European Commission, the General Secretariat of the Council and the European Parliament. The Commissioner for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Elżbieta Bieńkowska, the EC Vice-President for the Digital Single Market, Andrus Ansip, and the Chair of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection to the European Parliament, Vicky Ford, also took part in the meeting. In order to facilitate the discussion, leaders from local and EU-level business communities had been invited as keynote speakers.
Europe must be competitive if we are to maintain long-term economic growth, the capacity to create new jobs and the standard of living in the EU. “The 21st century is shaping up to be a “digital century”. Our citizens and businesses are already seizing its opportunities. It is now up to decision-makers in Brussels and in EU capitals to act. We need to catch up with the digital economy leaders. We need to make our Digital Single Market a reality – and seamlessly integrate it with our existing Single Market. It is quite clear that it would serve as a strong driver for growth, and would ensure much greater access to, and lower prices for, goods and services for our citizens”, stresses Dana Reizniece-Ozola, the Latvian Minister for Economics.
Discussions during the informal meeting were organised in three sessions covering the role of the EU Single Market in the digital economy, the digital transformation of industry and digital entrepreneurship issues. Ministers were also invited to experience the Riga IT Demo Centre and to get acquainted with Latvian-designed IT solutions, ICT technologies and mobile applications for business and entertainment.
Role of the EU single market in the digital economy
E-commerce and other forms of online business are growing rapidly, but companies still face barriers in Europe. During this session, the Ministers had a discussion about these barriers and what policymakers can do to prevent and remove them. It became evident that the 4 main action areas should be around:
- tackling regulatory fragmentation when it comes to rights and obligations for consumers and businesses;
- removing territorial restrictions in online commerce and the cross-border portability of purchased content;
- ensuring fair and open access to the digital environment;
- ensuring interoperability between digital products and services.
Digital transformation of industry and digital entrepreneurship
Digital technologies play an essential role in value creation in all industrial sectors today. They bring change to every aspect of manufacturing and related services.
With the European Commission now working on the development of Digital Single Market Strategy, the participants exchanged views on priorities for the digital transformation of industry and the creation of an appropriate environment for digital entrepreneurship.
Some concrete activities and initiatives were highlighted by participants, including proper data protection as a basis for trust when doing business online, standards with respect to systems interoperability, and the provision of digital training models in order to ensure a highly-skilled workforce, etc.
More specific policy measures to complete the Digital Single Market will be proposed by the European Commission in the upcoming Digital Single Market package.
