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The Digital Agenda’s European Commissioner has approved of an official declaration made by the telecom ministers of all European countries backing the European Digital Agenda.
Neelie Kroes, the European Commissioner of the Digital Agenda mentioned that the support received from all the telecom ministers is an important development for the Digital Agenda. According to her it is also a huge milestone in the Europe 2020 plan which talks of delivering more jobs and sustainable growth. She added that in order to maximize the effect of ICT for the advantage of every one of the European countries and citizens, the respective States, the European Commission and the European Parliament have to work harmonically. They should also do so with self-interest.
She added that the European Digital Agenda is concentrating on the maximization of the economic and social potential of ICT and the futuristic ecosystem for the internet. The fact that the European Digital Agenda is competing with Asian countries like South Korea and Japan was also mentioned. She also highlighted that the internet used by the businesses in those countries is close to 100 times faster than the internet used by European businesses.
Kroes emphasized that it is necessary to set certain guidelines for regulation in order to support investment in the nex-gen networks. At the same time, it was necessary to make sure that those networks remained competitive and open for the benefit of the customers.
She kept on hitting the point that the Digital Agenda must deal with issues of across the border licensing for software. According to her this is the problem behind the unsuccessful European markets because it makes it more cost efficient for the citizens to place orders in markets such as the American market. She suggested that making a solitary legal market would give European citizens more options. This will be a major step against piracy without harming the open planning that is necessary for the development of the internet.
