From the 1st of July, Spain will take over the Presidency of the European Union. For their Presidency, Spain has set eight priorities that will look into assisting the EU to become more resilient, connected and competitive.
1. One market, one set of rules:
The 30-year-old single market still has varying rules among different countries, pushing smaller companies to leave Europe. Compliance with sustainability rules is also slowing down the green transition due to unnecessary duplications and varying interpretations of rules across member states (both on a national and regional level). Despite some improvements, over 60% of reported barriers have persisted for two decades. Spain should prioritize harmonisation to create a digital market where companies can scale, which may require difficult conversations with other Member States, but has huge potential benefits.
2. Digitalisation: Europe’s key to competitiveness & sustainability
The Net Zero Industry Act and Green Deal Industrial Plan overlooked the potential of digital to reduce emissions, boost efficiency and solve the energy crisis. Enabling regulation is necessary to realise these benefits. Key technology drivers and data-sharing can cut global greenhouse gas emissions by one fifth until 2030, including in the polluting sectors of buildings and construction.
The 20% digital funding target should be mandatory across schemes like RePowerEU and the future Sovereignty Fund, not just the Recovery and Resilience Facility. The Chips Act and Critical Raw Materials Act are crucial for ensuring access to necessary inputs. Europe should seek alliances with countries providing materials for the digital economy, while also reducing regulatory burden, permit times, and encouraging investment. Market access for European companies abroad remains a top priority.
3. Time for the TTC to step up on clean tech and secure supply chains
The EU-US Trade and Technology Council has had some important successes, notably on coordinating export controls in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, there is still work to be done to ensure that the EU and US are fully aligned on our top priorities. Some aspects of the Inflation Reduction Act regarding local content were a bad surprise and we must ensure that this forum can identify these issues before they happen again.
Collaborating on technology standards for clean tech and AI can create business opportunities for innovators like Spain’s Future Unicorn award winner Red Points and help reach climate goals. Adopting global standards, rather than just transatlantic, and aligning on raw materials and critical components like chips is crucial for our respective digital economies.
4. Becoming a global leader in AI innovation
The AI Act will most likely be concluded under the Spanish Presidency. Spain is home to many promising companies working on AI, and the government has taken the initiative, establishing Europe’s first AI National Supervision Agency and leading on the regulatory sandbox. DIGITALEUROPE will also present insights from its regulatory sandbox on 1 June and Adigital is working in the launching of the first certificate of algorithmic transparency.
This regulation will greatly impact Europe’s competitiveness as we strive to keep up with rapidly advancing technology. The final text’s finer details could have significant long-term consequences. For instance, we should narrow the high-risk category’s scope to specific problematic uses rather than the technology itself. To achieve this, we must work together to define and implement guidelines for the AI Act and facilitate better collaboration between regulators and industry for more effective regulation of emerging technologies.
5. Pause and rethink the Data Act
Although all parties have stated their aims to finalise this legislation before the Spanish Presidency takes over, this file remains a huge concern for our members. If Spain oversees final details, we ask for a pause to reconsider certain aspects of such a far-reaching legislation, such as the B2B data-sharing aspect which could put major European companies and employers at risk. Stronger protections for trade secrets and cybersecurity are necessary to avoid unintended consequences.
If signed off before June, implementation will require significant work especially that many European big and smaller companies are not expecting such a complex piece of regulation. We urge the Spanish Presidency to prioritise smooth implementation and consider a Cloud First Policy to achieve a digital, resilient, and competitive single market.
6. Digital Resilience at the heart of Europe’s security
The invasion of Ukraine has shown that public – private cooperation is critical to building Europe’s digital shield. The recently published European Cyber Defence Policy was a historic step forward, but we now need to define the formal links with cyber experts in companies.
Public-private cooperation is crucial for Europe’s digital shield. We need a fast and flexible defence procurement system similar to NATO’s DIANA, and more cyber campuses to address the skills shortage. DIGITALEUROPE members are stepping up to build these together with the public sector.
While the Cybersecurity Resilience Act is a welcome addition to the framework, the Spanish Presidency should ensure that compliance rules are realistic to implement for both businesses and national and authorities.
7. Catching up on connectivity
As the world becomes more digitalised, connectivity becomes even more essential. Spain ranks third in Europe for broadband and 5G coverage and has many lessons to teach other European countries.
We support the aims of the recently published Gigabit Infrastructure Act, aimed at addressing issues with the very high capacity network roll-out in Europe. Rather than resorting to transforming the current internet ecosystem, the priority should be on removing barriers to network deployment. This means reforming the guidelines on broadband state aid rules to unlock investment and adapting the Radio Spectrum Policy Programme (RSPP) to make spectrum more available. In addition, we call on Member States to use the Recovery and Resilience Funds (RRF) quicker. Given the importance to the wider digital transition, the share devoted to connectivity should also be increased from 3.3%.
8. Creating the conditions for European Tech Champions
The entrepreneurial tech sector is a key driver of economic growth, particularly during uncertain times. Companies with a technological focus, rapid growth, and scalable business models create jobs, competitiveness, and prosperity.
Spain’s Startups Act, the first of its kind in Europe, supports emerging and innovative companies. During the Spanish Presidency, we must continue to advance this ambitious regulatory framework at the European level to compete globally. We need policies that foster the growth of tech companies, attract talent and investment to the startup ecosystem, and enable young companies to scale and become Europe’s next tech leader.
Article by Digital Europe.