Fællesbrev forud for mødet i Det Europæiske Råd vedr. digitale indre marked

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20 June 2017
Mr Donald Tusk
President of the European Council
Dear President,
The Digital Single Market mid-term review, after two years of constant progress following the
publication of the Strategy, is a perfect opportunity for the European Council to reaffirm our
political priority to the digital agenda, indicate directions of its further development, and commit
ourselves to regularly discuss its progress.
The European Single Market with its four freedoms has brought enormous benefits for the European
Union and its citizens. Our joint effort and the way it has shaped the Union presents a success story,
which the undersigned and the EU Member States they represent are proud of.
By the constant urge towards development and expansion, the Single Market has brought down
numerous barriers to allow even greater cooperation, unlocking new potential and providing new
opportunities.
Taking into account the continuous digital transformation, we have already managed to take some
timely decisions to strengthen the Single Market to the new digital era. We have also continued our
efforts to break down barriers in the European Union, be it with the abolition of roaming surcharges
as the most recent example or cross-border portability of online content.
However the main challenges to fully embrace the opportunities of digitization are still ahead of us.
Therefore, next steps are necessary. It is our firm belief that to continue enhancing European unity
and prosperity, and in order to have a sustainable Europe, we need to strongly embed the idea of
a strong, connected and developing Single Market of which the digital dimension is the main engine.
We are convinced that this principle, adopted in the Rome Declaration, should be of priority
interest, and that it needs our strong and continued political support at the highest level.
Even though the digital agenda consists of many separate initiatives, which may seem too technical
to e a su je t of the Europea Cou il’s o er , the cumulative effect of the Digital Single Market
is of key importance for the future of the European society and economy.
That leaves us with the need for a new digital driven mind-set that uses digital economy and
information society to become a more coherent, innovative, open, fair and sustainable European
Union, a d to e sure Europe’s global competitiveness. To achieve that, we need to focus on the
following measures:
 We need to be there for business. To achieve this we must think horizontally and deliver in the
most comprehensive way. We need to support industry and our companies. We share the
ambitions for digitising European Industry. But we also need to do more for SMEs, which are the
backbone of the European economy, so that they take part in the digital transformation, to
become a central element of European digital eco-system, and to make the European market
a first choice for our start-ups and scale ups. For that we need a future oriented and positive
approach to emerging technologies such as Blockchain, big data, artificial intelligence, supporting
both their development, as well as their implementation by our companies. We should also keep
in mind the need for proper investment in digital technologies and infrastructure, including
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cross-border connectivity, particularly in areas that go far beyond the capacity of a single
Member State (5G and connected cars). We need affordable and ubiquitous access to high speed
internet for all Union citizens and businesses.
 We need to be there for our citizens and consumers. Firstly, we wel o e the Co issio ’s
announcement to review the Cyber Security Strategy taking under consideration the raising
cyber threats. We need to work together to face them. Equally, continued focus on data
protection is vital to maintain a high level of trust in the Digital Single Market. We should also
continue our efforts in key areas such as interoperable digital services, as well as in skills and
media literacy to prepare our citizens to play an active role in the technological transformation.
 We need better regulation and a coordinated approach on horizontal issues. To achieve this,
a smart regulatory approach should be followed. We should continue to investigate alternatives
to regulation, limiting it to areas where regulation brings a clear added value, such as simplicity
of the regulatory environment and market defragmentation. Where necessary, regulation should
be introduced and tailored to suit the long-term needs of end-users and consumers in the new
digital economy. Smart regulation needs to be based on digital performance that is measured in
the most effective and accurate way, taki g a ou t of Me er States’ spe ifi ities, as well as o
inclusive coordination which is crucial for keeping the legal environment coherent, as there are
horizontal issues that may appear in many legal instruments and be processed in parallel (e.g.
platforms, cloud solutions, embedded systems).
 We recognise that barriers to doing business digitally and across borders hinder growth and
jobs. We need to enshrine a free flow of data principle in European law. We also need to work on
a flexible, future-proof and innovation-friendly framework for access, portability and
interoperability of data.
 We need to have high global aspirations. Our economy must be able to compete globally.
Europe has what it takes to lead in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence,
automated mobility, robotics or High Performance Computing and in many research and
industrial sectors, using those technologies. We have to make sure that our actions will
contribute to improving competitiveness of European companies in the global value chain. We
should promote our solutions, standards and values worldwide, including our approach to data
protection. We therefore wel o e the Co issio ’s i te tio to include digital aspects in trade
agreements.
 We, the Heads of Member States and Governments, agree to come back on a regular basis to
digital matters with a view to help overcome what is still in the way of the fully-fledged European
Digital Single Market and to discuss its further, horizontal development, beyond the initial Digital
Single Market Strategy.
The digital agenda has every quality to bring us closer to the European Union we look forward to.
That is why we need to have it high on political agendas both within the European institutions and
in the capitals, and deliver concrete results to our citizens and businesses.
Yours sincerely,
Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Belgium
Charles Michel
Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
Bohuslav Sobotka
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Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Denmark
Lars Løkke Ras usse
Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia
Jüri Ratas
Taoiseach of Ireland
Leo Varadkar
Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia
Māris Kuči skis
President of the Republic of Lithuania
Dalia Grybauskaitė
Prime Minister of the Grand Duchy
of Luxembourg
Xavier Bettel
Prime Minister of Hungary
Viktor Orbá
Prime Minister of the Kingdom
of the Netherlands
Mark Rutte
Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland
Beata Szydło
Prime Minister of the Portuguese Republic
A tó io Costa
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Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia
Miro Cerar
Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic
Robert Fico
Prime Minister of the Republic of Finland
Juha Sipilä
Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sweden
Stefa Löfve
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Theresa May
CC:
Mr Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament
Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission


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Kopi: UPN
Bilag Sagsnummer Kontor
1 2017-108 EKN 22. juni 2017
BREV
Møde i Det Europæiske Råd den 22.-23. juni 2017
Til underretning for Folketingets Europaudvalg vedlægges fællesbrev til
formanden for Det Europæiske Råd forud for møde i Det Europæiske
Råd den 22.-23. juni 2017 vedrørende digitale indre marked.
Anders Samuelsen
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