by
Victor Negrescu*
The Single Market is thus praised as the poster child of the EU success, as the backbone of European integration. My opinion is that we should not be complacent and should seek to strengthen the common market. Digital market integration is essential if the EU is to take advantage of the fourth industrial revolution which the world is experiencing today.
A couple of days ago, the European Parliament adopted a resolution according to which Europeans will soon be able to fully use their online subscriptions to films, sports events, e-books, video games or music services when traveling within the EU. As a rapporteur of the S & D group for this important regulation, I believe this to be a step in the right direction. In less than one year, the citizens who travel within the European Union will access the online content to which they have subscribed without any kind of barrier.
Based on the estimations of the European Commission, around 30 million Europeans, representing around 6% of the EU’s population, will benefit from the measure and the overall impact will only increase in the future; as the mobile devices will become the norm, by 2020 70 million Europeans will have no worries about accessing their online content while being abroad.
This is a good example of how the European Union can make the daily life of its citizens better. It also speaks volumes against those who use every opportunity to portray the European institutions and leaders as out-of-touch and disconnected from the citizens' struggles and problems. In this specific case, the students who study in other member states, posted workers or travellers will not anymore have the access to online services restricted. The European consumer has the right to access, irrespective of the place one temporarily finds herself on the continent, the online content for which she has a subscription. The new legislation adopted by the European Parliament makes this common-sense principle a reality.
In my capacity as a representative of the European socialists participating in the negotiations between the Parliament, the Commission, and the Council, I have explicitly asked for strong guarantees for the protection of personal data, for rejecting time limits for portability, and for including the students as a clear example of how portability can be employed and understood within the EU.
The regulation is an essential step towards building a common digital market and, moreover, towards a society in which the citizens enjoy the right to free movement without any restrictions and limitations. At a time when the freedom of movement is contested by the adversaries of the European Union, it is fundamental to send clear political and policy signals that we opt for more freedom, not less.
The integration of the EU digital market will be one of the main drivers of European competitiveness. If we succeed in bringing home the idea that leveraging the digital dimension of the European community will create new jobs and spur economic growth, then we will be in position to put, one step at a time, the economy in service of the wonderful political project the European Union continues to be.
*Member of the European Parliament
By: N. Peter Kramer
