TEN/574 - Digital Single Market Strategy
Remarks of the co-rapporteur for the 2nd study group meeting, to take place on 23 July 2015
1.1
The EESC supports the Digital Single Market Strategy of the European Commission.
However it is concerned that the implementation of the strategy might be burdensome and
restrictive in a domain characterised by innovation and enterprise and populated by SMEs.
1.2
The EESC notes that the prime ministers of some of the Member States1 that lead the EU in
digital progress and penetration have written to the President of the Council to express
caveats about the implementation of the strategy. They said, "We should regulate only where
there is clear evidence to do so, backed by the principles of smart regulation and thorough
impact assessment. It is very clear that a successful Digital Single Market will not be one that
stifles innovation, investment and entrepreneurship". The EESC shares these views.
4.
Specific comments
4.1
Better access for consumers and businesses to digital goods and services across Europe
4.1.1
Legislative proposals for simple and effective cross-border contract rules for consumers and
businesses
This is a welcome initiative, but language of the contracts is likely to remain an issue for
private individuals and SMEs.
4.1.2
Review the Regulation on Consumer Protection Cooperation
Every effort should be made to reduce the regulatory burden on SMEs.
4.1.3
Measures in the area of parcel delivery
Rapid response parcel delivery is the key to customer satisfaction in domestic e-commerce
markets. It is logical that cross-border e-commerces should be similarly supported, although
the Committee notes that major international parcels services already operate in Europe.
4.1.4
A wide ranging review to prepare legislative proposals to tackle unjustified geo-blocking
This applies to both e-commerce and audio-visual services.
1
The prime ministers of the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Netherlands and Poland.
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EN
In e-commerce, searches for goods and services rarely give results outside the searcher’s area.
At the other end of the scale, the provision of EU-wide results could be overwhelming.
Ideally, the searcher should be able to specify the areas in which the search should be
conducted.
Audio-visual blocking has 2 dimensions: restricting external access to travelling nationals
who have a right to access services domestically and restricting external access to nonnationals whose access claims are based on EU citizenship. In the former case, the EESC
recommends the introduction of digital identities to facilitate access. In the latter case, the
EESC is aware that most geo-blocking is either caused by rights restrictions or commercial
concerns. A streamlined rights framework would be helpful but care must be taken not to
disrupt business models linked to advertising and market access.
4.1.5
Competition sector inquiry into e-commerce, relating to the online trade of goods and the
online provision of services
The EESC welcomes market surveillance by competition authorities and a strict regime of
sanctions against the abuse of dominant positions. But, at the same time, the EESC notes that
the technology and the digital economy have been driven forward by large companies to the
benefit of the economy and society at large. Therefore the EESC urges that the enquiries
envisaged be based strictly on sound market principles and are not allowed to deteriorate into
some misguided "fortress Europe" vendetta against success.
4.1.6
Legislative proposals for a reform of the copyright regime
The Commission will make legislative proposals before the end of 2015 to reduce the
differences between national copyright regimes and allow for wider online access to works by
users across the EU, including through further harmonisation measures. The proposals will
include: (i) portability of legally acquired content, (ii) ensuring cross-border access to legally
purchased online services while respecting the value of rights in the audiovisual sector, (iii)
greater legal certainty for the cross-border use of content for specific purposes (e.g. research,
education, text and data mining, etc.) through harmonised exceptions,(iv) clarifying the rules
on the activities of intermediaries in relation to copyright-protected content and, in 2016, (v)
modernising enforcement of intellectual property rights, focusing on commercial-scale
infringements (the 'follow the money' approach) as well as its cross-border applicability.
See 4.1.4 The EESC supports these proposals so long as the various commercial business
models remain viable.
4.1.7
Review of the Satellite and Cable Directive.
See 4.1.4 above. It is essential to establish principles which keep the operators profitable.
Cross border access must be accompanied by cross border subscription.
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4.1.8
Legislative proposals to reduce the administrative burden on businesses arising from different
VAT regimes The Commission will make legislative proposals in 2016 to reduce the
administrative burden on businesses arising from different VAT regimes including (i)
extending the current single electronic registration and payment mechanism to intra-EU and
3rd country online sales of tangible goods, (ii) introducing a common EU-wide simplification
measure (VAT threshold) to help small start-up e-commerce businesses, (iii) allowing for
home country controls including a single audit of cross-border businesses for VAT purposes
and (iv) removing the VAT exemption for the importation of small consignments from
suppliers in third countries.
The EESC supports these proposals in principle. It may involve VAT rates for internet
operations different from other national rates because Member State autonomy in tax matters
will prevent general VAT harmonisation
4.2
Creating the right conditions for digital networks and services to flourish
4.2.1
Legislative proposals to reform the current telecoms rules
The obvious difference between Europe, Asia and America in the telecoms domain is the
fragmentation of the European market. In order to create organisations with the scale of
investment and research to compete globally, any review should also consider the capacity of
the various tiers of fibre broadband capacity in view of the exponential growth of digital
traffic.
4.2.2
Review the Audiovisual Media Services Directive
See 4.1.4 and 4.1.7 above. The AVMSD dates back to 2010 and has been in preparation since
2008. Given the pace of change in the industry, a review will be timely.
4.2.3
Comprehensive analysis of the role of platforms in the market including illegal content on the
Internet.
The Commission will launch before the end of 2015 a comprehensive assessment of the role of
platforms, including in the sharing economy, and of online intermediaries, which will cover
issues such as (i) transparency e.g. in search results (involving paid for links and/or
advertisement), (ii) platforms' usage of the information they collect, (iii) relations between
platforms and suppliers, (iv) constraints on the ability of individuals and businesses to move
from one platform to another and will analyse, (v) how best to tackle illegal content on the
Internet.
See 4.1.5 above. It is clear that the EU digital agenda relies heavily on platforms and is driven
forward by platforms, as is also the case in other regions of the world. The success of the
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major platforms has given them a dominant position, and that position must not be abused.
However, the EESC cautions the Commission that it should not inhibit the operations of these
companies just because they are both big and American. To do so runs the risk of putting
obstacles in the way of developing the digital single market in Europe.
4.2.4
Review the e-Privacy Directive
The Commission proposes to review the ePrivacy Directive with a focus on ensuring a high
level of protection for data subjects and a level playing field for all market players.
The EESC is aware of a conflict in the "bif Data" environment between the security of
personal data and the need to aggregate personal data sets into mega analyses for economic,
social and medical purposes. The EESC urges the Commission to use the planned review to
resolve this conflict. In this context the EESC also welcomes the following proposals:
4.2.5
Establishment of a Cybersecurity contractual Public-Private Partnership
4.3
Maximising the growth potential of the Digital Economy
4.3.1
Initiatives on data ownership, free flow of data (e.g. between cloud providers) and on a
European Cloud
The Commission will propose in 2016 a European ‘Free flow of data’ initiative that tackles
restrictions on the free movement of data for reasons other than the protection of personal
data within the EU and unjustified restrictions on the location of data for storage or
processing purposes. It will address the emerging issues of ownership, interoperability,
usability and access to data in situations such as business-to-business, business to consumer,
machine generated and machine-to-machine data. It will encourage access to public data to
help drive innovation. The Commission will launch a European Cloud initiative including
cloud services certification, contracts, switching of cloud services providers and a research
open science cloud.
The EESC wonders whether the "European Cloud" is not a contradiction in terms. Otherwise,
it endorses the direction of these proposals.
4.3.2
Adoption of a Priority ICT Standards Plan and extending the European Interoperability
Framework for public services
The EESC supports this initiative.
4.3.3
New e-Government Action Plan including an initiative on the "Once-Only" principle and an
initiative on building up the interconnection of business registers
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Responsibility for e-government lies with Member States. There are leaders and laggards.
Perhaps it is time for the Commission to "name and shame" the laggards.
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