Our Digital Destiny

With the formation of the new Borroso II commission it quickly became apparent that the digital agenda was to take centre stage in Europe’s drive in reaching its goals set out for 2020 – so much so in fact that the Digital Agenda was appointed its own commissioner who in turn laid out 100 actions which will deliver digital action across the European spectrum that will impact on every aspect of European life.. Neelie Kroes speaks with William Davis.

William Davis: You have set out very clear objectives for the digital agenda over the next five years in terms of internet speed, a digital single market, digital security, interoperability, the involvement of the citizen and more R&D – but what exactly are the outcomes you want to see and just how can you ensure they happen?

Neelie Kroes: My main goal as Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda is to make positive changes to the daily lives of Europeans - to give people control over their health, improve the public transport they use to go to work, make sure they have access to the sources of information and entertainment they want, help them stay in touch with the people they love. This is therefore the desired outcome of my policy programme, the European Digital Agenda, and its 100 actions. Some of those actions I must take directly, but most of them are only actions that can be taken in partnership. To build the best base for these partnerships, I have consulted widely and will work closely with my colleagues in the Commission, Member States and all relevant interested parties. It will need to be a real movement for digital action. In addition, I intend to publish a progress report on the Digital Agenda at the end of 2011 with a scoreboard on how we are doing in terms of implementation. It will allow us to see how we are moving towards the achievement of our goals.

WD: Do you see your role as simply providing political support and endorsement to what is essentially an inevitable development of our digital world, or does this development need a strong guiding hand?

NK: I do not think that the development of the digital world to its full potential is inevitable. For it to happen, there will need to be the right combination of an appropriate regulatory framework and favourable investment conditions. For my part, I will support the digital world all the way and do my best to make sure it is anchored in European values.
My role is not to choose to provide support to this or that project or technology, it\'s more general than that. My objective as a policy maker is to make sure that the necessary conditions exist so that all citizens and businesses can benefit from digital technologies. I will therefore pay special attention to policy areas where contradictions between the different stakeholder groups exist and problems may arise. For example, the Commission has just launched a consultation on net neutrality, whose goal is to collect the opinions of all interested groups on the issue and come up with conclusions if targeted actions are necessary. In areas where progress has already been achieved, like the telecoms market, we will monitor the developments and only intervene if competition is insufficient to ensure suitable outcomes for customers.

WD: What do you see as the main challenges firstly you face in achieving these goals and secondly Europe faces in delivering the outcomes you want?

NK: Our main challenge to the implementation of the Digital Agenda is to get all interested parties – the European Commission, the other EU institutions, national governments, businesses, NGOs and even individual users – to work together to achieve its objectives National governments already showed their commitment to reach the Digital Agenda goals at the 17th June European Council in Brussels, which endorsed "the establishment of an ambitious action agenda based on concrete proposals" and called upon all EU institutions "to engage in its full implementation, including the creation of a fully functioning digital single market by 2015".This is a useful commitment to overcoming potential obstacles and getting every European digital. The European Parliament has also been influential in contributing to the Digital Agenda and now we need a concerted effort by all to ensure its successful implementation.

WD: You say you want more research and development – how will you focus the spending needed and can you guarantee that in times of great austerity, the money will actually be available to achieve all you set out to achieve?

NK: Firstly, while we want to double EU spending on ICT R&D by 2020, the biggest changes need to occur in private spending. It is the private spending that needs the biggest boost.
I agree that public sector organisations are currently under huge pressure regarding their budgets. But both the European Union and Member States acknowledge the role of ICTs to achieve economic growth and development. Investment in ICTs is responsible for 50 per cent of Europe\'s productivity growth, and is the way to reach many other policy objectives. At the same time, investments in R&D are essential to make sure that ICTs can meet the challenges of tomorrow\'s world. The Commission supports R&D in ICTs by allocating it the biggest portion of funds under its 7th research framework programme, or about €9 billion. Member States have committed to double their total annual spending to €11 billion by 2020. I therefore believe that the joint efforts of the European Commission and the Member States will help achieve our R&D goals, thus keeping on track with our global competitors.

WD: How do you intend to support the SME and entrepreneur over your tenure at the commission and what benefit will this support have for Europe and its digital agenda?

NK: Building a more entrepreneurial culture in Europe is a long held dream of mine, and that necessarily means we support SMEs.
Our main goal is to help SMEs, the backbone of the European economy, in their daily operations. One of our key targets in this respect is to establish a Single European Payment Area (SEPA) so that SMEs could conduct electronic payments and invoicing across borders by using safe and efficient payment methods online. Our objective is that one third of SMEs trade online by 2015.
Another goal is to improve the functioning of the eGovernment so that SMEs spend less time on administrative procedures and gain new business opportunities. We want to see the EU legislation on eProcurement and on eAuthentication for cross-border services fully implemented.
By 2011, EU countries should agree on a common list of key cross-border public services (for example, electronic certificates to qualify as a contractor in procurement processes) which would enable entrepreneurs to set up and run a business anywhere in Europe. These services should be fully available online by 2015.
The Digital Agenda for Europe aims to cut red tape and remove the barriers which prevent 99 per cent of all European businesses from taking full advantage of the opportunities available in the Digital Single Market.
Lastly, we need to assure interoperability and open standards so that SMEs could develop their services without any technical difficulties all over Europe.
In brief, our goal is to have various tools to facilitate the daily work of SMEs so that they could lift up the European economy.

WD: How will you encourage the private sector to invest more in R&D to bring Europe’s spending on it to the three per cent of GDP target set in the Lisbon Agenda?

NK: Europe\'s underinvestment in ICT-related R&D threatens the European manufacturing and service sectors (i.e. automobile, consumer appliances, health and medical). In the Digital Agenda, the European Commission has committed to leverage more private investment through the strategic use of pre-commercial procurement. The Commission will also support six ICT-based public-private partnerships in the EU\'s seventh framework programme for research (FP7) with a total funding of €3 billion (one third coming from the EU and two thirds from private funds). Since the private sector understands the importance of ICT-related R&D and has the necessary conditions to carry it out, I believe they will invest to boost their competitiveness and eventually the European economy.

WD: Finally, can high employment really exist in the economic model based on the knowledge and low-carbon economy that Mr Barroso talks about?

NK: Yes. Who is going to design and build and sell and install the technologies that will reduce our carbon footprint? People in real, skilled jobs of course. These investments and the jobs that go with them are crucial to our recovery.
Half of Europe\'s productivity growth over the past 15 years was driven by ICTs and this trend is likely to accelerate. We can\'t afford to ignore ICTs as a driver of our recovery. I am convinced that the Digital Agenda for Europe will deliver sustainable economic and social benefits. The use of ICTs often relates to the knowledge and low-carbon economy and it will certainly help to create new jobs and contribute to Europe\'s smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

Published: Wednesday, 1st September 2010 by William Davis