European Council Archives - Dialogues on European Digital Transition

The ‘Letta report’ and the European digital transition: An intelligent wake-up call

European Association for Digital Transition Economic future May 27, 2024May 27, 2024Digital Markets Act, Digital Services Act, European Council

Bringing back a style that has been absent for decades, what is being called the “Letta report” – drafted by former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta on behalf of the European Council – is causing a major stir in European institutions. In part, it is a much-needed self-criticism. But it is also in part a wake-up call for the parliamentary majority that will emerge from the upcoming European elections and, with it, the shaping of the new College of Commissioners. Letta brings back one of the basic concepts on which all European politics must pivot, which is the “single market”, and what he defines as “five basic freedoms”: the ones that Jacques Delors formulated in his day – the free movement of people, goods, services and capital – and adding a fifth related to research, innovation and education.

The Digital Markets Act: five key questions

European Association for Digital Transition Economic future March 29, 2022March 29, 2022Digital Markets Act, Digital Services Act, Digital sovereignty, European Commission, European Council, European Parliament

Following 15 months of negotiations, we’ve got white smoke. On Thursday, March 24, the technicians and experts at the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council reached an agreement on the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Below, we provide a summary of this new regulation by looking at five questions.

Data Protection Day: a date that shouldn’t go unnoticed

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom January 27, 2021June 9, 2021Data Protection, Digital rights, European Council, Privacy

On Thursday, January 28, Data Protection Day is once again being celebrated. The first edition was held in 2007, after the Council of Europe had decided a few months earlier to set the date.

Why this day? On January 28, 1981, the Council of Europe signed Convention 108 in Strasbourg for the protection of personal data in its automated processing. It was the first legally binding international instrument for data protection, and for more than 30 years an important legal reference, in Europe and beyond. Today, Data Protection Day is celebrated all over the globe, and outside our continent is known as Privacy Day.

Merkel committed to the EU’s digital sovereignty

European Association for Digital Transition Democratic quality July 30, 2020June 9, 2021Digital sovereignty, European Council

On July 1, Germany took over the current presidency of the Council of the European Union. Every six months, one of the 27 member states holds this rotating responsibility. And every six months, this presidency designs a roadmap with priorities and objectives it considers crucial to develop during the term.

How are European institutions facing the digital transition?

European Association for Digital Transition Democratic quality February 27, 2020June 9, 2021European Commission, European Council, European Data Protection Board, European Parliament, Google, Margrethe Vestager, Privacy, Ursula von der Leyen

The challenges of the digital transition are complex and encompass all types of areas: from the defence of democratic values to purely legal matters, without forgetting free competition, defence against cyber-terrorism or data protection. Consequently, several European institutions are responsible, to a greater or lesser extent, for designing a proactive European response, without falling behind the United States and China and maintaining the standards that have made the European Union a tool for progress for more than 440 million citizens.