The ViewPoints | A Europe fit for the Digital Age

A Europe Fit For the Digital Age

806,36 pt

WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM

EVA MAYDELL MEP

DITA CHARANZOVÁ MEP

MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (EPP) AND PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN MOVEMENT INTERNATIONAL OF

VICE PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (RENEW)

ALEX AGIUS SALIBA MEP

ALEXANDRA GEESE MEP

MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (S&D)

MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (GREENS / EFA)

The Viewpoints Vol. III July 2020 | A Europe fit for the Digital Age

CONTENT

OF

PAGE 3

EDITORS’ NOTE: EMI

EUROPEAN MOVEMENT INTERNATIONAL (EMI) The largest network of pro-European organisations that has mobilised citizens and advocated for European integration since 1948. #EurMove

PAGE 4

EVA MAYDELL MEP

MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (EPP) AND PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN MOVEMENT INTERNATIONAL

PAGE 6 ALEX AGIUS SALIBA MEP MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (S&D)

PAGE 8

DITA CHARANZOVÁ MEP

VICE PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (RENEW)

PAGE 10 ALEXANDRA GEESE MEP MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (GREENS / EFA)

The Editorial Team Petros Fassoulas, Secretary-General Christian Skrivervik, Comms, Design & Editor Federico Terreni, Outreach & Compilation

The EU Digital Transformation Europe must work for a sustainable digital transformation Future-proofing Europe in the digital age Voting online: today’s possibility and tomorrow’s necessity?

More transparency, more participation, more digital democracy

#TheViewPoints

OF

Let’s Talk Budget A Europe The EU Digital Fit For the Transformation Digital Age by: European Movement International

COVID-19 has shown us once again how important and indispensable technology is.

Technology can help citizens, governments and businesses to stay connected in these trying times and can help provide some of the services needed during a health crisis and beyond. In an increasingly digitised world, there are multiple opportunities to benefit from technological developments.

In addressing the economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis, the European Union should support the full implementation of the digital transformation, notably by putting the focus on small and medium-sized companies, as the EU economy’s backbone.

While this pandemic has accelerated the dissemination of digital tools and services, it has also revealed the urgent need to bridge the digital divide throughout Europe. To avoid unequal digital opportunities, internet access should be made available across Europe and emphasis should be placed on developing and improving people’s e-skills.

This can be achieved through investment in better infrastructure in rural areas as well as free wifi, and implementing and further developing skills programmes such as the New Skills Agenda for Europe.

Moreover, digital tools have great potential to enhance democratic practices in Europe. The digital transformation offers the opportunity to foster a European public sphere by bringing people closer together and better connecting them across borders.

Improving digital tools can foster a large-scale public debate and collective action on a European level.

For instance, e-voting is a form of e-democracy which could be introduced throughout Europe as an alternative to traditional voting practices.

Yet, there are risks to online voting, fraud or any type of irregularity, so an ad hoc EU body should be appointed to ensure the secure and fair functioning of online voting systems. E-democracy tools should not undermine data security, and citizens’ privacy should be safeguarded at all times.

European youth are now more connected online with each other across borders than ever before. The European Movement International argues that the potential of getting them more involved in EU politics and digital democratic processes should be strongly taken into consideration. Teaching and informing European students from a young age about the EU, it’s history and its functioning raises the chances of creating a better understanding of what the EU stands for and how citizens’ can engage with it directly. Bringing the EU into schools and universities should ideally be part of regular school education, and include information about available e-democracy tools.

The debate around the EU digital transformation is timely and of crucial importance. Aiming to stimulate an enriching debate, the European Movement has collected the views of leading MEPs, from across the political spectrum, to share their ideas and recommendations on the most pressing digital issues.

To join the debate, please share your views on Twitter using the hashtag #TheViewPoints.

PAGE 3 The Viewpoints Vol. III July 2020 | A Europe fit for the Digital Age

Europe must work A Europe Fit For the towards a Sustainable Digital Age Digital Transformation by: Eva Maydell MEP President of European Movement International

“

We need to prioritise digital solutions as key enablers for decarbonisation of the economy.

This year and this mandate have provided policy-makers with the golden chance - a once in a lifetime opportunity - to enable digital transformation across the board, via Artificial Intelligence and access to data.

#TheViewPoints

PAGE 4

“

Far too often, talk about the EU budget focuses on how much money we must make available rather than where this money should be spent. This narrative does not capture people’s attention. Throwing numbers into headlines surely achieves some visibility, yet it is all forgotten when the next big headline replaces it. This is because most people connect with stories, not with numbers. In order to achieve a sustainable, widely accepted digital transformation, we need to make visible the success stories in Europe the ones who have walked the talk and have invested in digitalisation. This does not mean just the purchase of a video-conferencing software, but rather the use of digital technology as a means of reinventing the entire value chain, business model and relations with customers. This transformation requires knowledge, investment and talent to come together in the right place at the right time.

We must look to European companies that can provide us with the knowledge they have gained on the ground: what works, what does not work, what can help them and what can impede their success. Above all, we need a robust methodology to implement the ambition of the EU Recovery plan, namely the twin digital and green transition.

Together with the EPP MEPs in the ITRE committee, we have prepared a position on where we stand on the matter: we need to prioritise digital solutions as key enablers for decarbonisation of the economy. This year and this mandate have provided policy-makers with the golden chance - a once in a lifetime opportunity - to enable digital transformation across the board, via Artificial Intelligence and access to data. Let us then look at our successes and multiply them.

EVA MAYDELL MEP MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (EPP) AND PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN MOVEMENT INTERNATIONAL MEP Maydell is a member of the ITRE Committee and Substitute in the ECON Committe.

In Brussels, we often point to the advancement of EU tech with EU values, and rightly so. Europe is a leader in building technology that gains people’s trust. It is no surprise that in Europe, there are hundreds of start-ups and scale-ups, which have put resolving societal challenges at the core of their business models.

According to Atomico’s report on the State of European Tech for 2019, more than 85% of founders say they care about the social and environmental impact of their companies. What is optimistic is that investors are backing that commitment. More than four billion euros have been invested in purpose-driven European companies: fighting climate change, ensuring affordable and clean energy, improving the health sector and creating sustainable cities and communities with zero hunger. One company with such a purpose is Okra Technologies, which uses artificial intelligence to empower life sciences industries by translating large clinical, commercial and scientific data sets into actionable insights, thus enabling better and faster decision making. This is just one example, but in Europe, we have hundreds of them. Then why are we always looking outside Europe towards the big tech?

as rules to tame big tech rather than rules to enable the growth of small tech. This means that somewhere along the way, policy-makers lost the EU focus when regulating. One of my core principles, when approaching legislation is the so-called Regulation for Innovation, i.e. rules that are targeted, consistent with existing legislation and that facilitate disruptive innovation, rather than stifling it. I will continue pushing this principle in this mandate, too, because I believe that we have countless European success stories that can capture people’s hearts and minds. The stories that can replace the image of the EU as unelected bureaucrats to one of Europe as an enabling environment.

To circle back to my initial statement about numbers and stories, I strongly believe that Europe’s way out of the crisis will not be judged by the amount of money we spend here or there, but by the impact that money makes.

There is no time to lose. Let us roll up our sleeves and put EU-goggles on that will keep us focused on the long-term goal of a sustainable economy based on efficiency and technologies and a digital economy that works for the people.

When I meet with European small and medium enterprises and start-ups, more often than not, I hear that digital regulations are thought of

PAGE 5 The Viewpoints Vol. III July 2020 | A Europe fit for the Digital Age

A Europe Future-proofing Europe Fit For the in the digital age Digital Age by: Alex Agius Saliba MEP

“

We need to focus on giving the Union’s Digital Single Market power and resilience through the right framework conditions and the right environment which are essential to retain, grow and foster the emergence of new digital services in Europe.

#TheViewPoints

PAGE 6

“

The world as we know it has changed rapidly over the past decade or so, and is still transforming in front of our very eyes today. We live in the digital age where everything around us is automated or depends on complex computerised systems which have driven out much of the labour-intensive practices we have gotten used to.

Unfortunately, this era came upon us so quickly that we barely even noticed its immense socio-economic impact and the myriad of opportunities it presented, and consequently, we remained largely unprepared, without a clear strategy on how to embrace this cultural and economic shift, and unable to catch up with the fast-developing world of technology.

Europe’s future success depends on how fast we are able to react in order to create a conducive environment for our governments, economies and citizens to be able to fit themselves in this digital era and to enhance their adaptability.

We are just struggling at the moment to drag ourselves out of the COVID-19 pandemic, a global tragedy which could have been much worse had it not been for the technology at our disposal which made these trying times much more bearable. The crisis reinforced the importance of digital services for the proper functioning of our societies and through this tough period, we were able to realise our strengths and highlight our weaknesses which we took for granted for a long time. Now we know just how important it is for Europe to be a global leader in this area, and how building a sophisticated digital infrastructure, as well as safe and reliable digital services, should not just be one of the items on our bucket list – this is a top priority which we need to push for heavily to achieve it as soon as we possibly can.

ALEX AGIUS SALIBA MEP MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (S&D) MEP Saliba is the Rapporteur on a legislative report with recommendations to the Commission on a Digital Services Act, substitute member on the newlyestablished Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age.

Our economies and our citizens are becoming all the more reliant on digital services, and that is why we need to focus on giving them the best environment to work in. Building on the European Commission’s digital strategy, the European Union needs to have a very strong and sound legal framework that sets the parameters for current opportunities and future developments.

As the rapporteur on the European Parliament’s report on the Digital Services Act, which is expected to be published by the European Commission by the end of the year, I have been very active in this area and I carried out extensive consultations with several players in the industry, governments, citizens and other interested parties. The take away from months of hard work, and continuous discussions on this file and the development of this much-awaited Act, is that Europe is thirsty for progress. At the moment, the only thing standing in the way of this progress and much-needed adaptation, is us, the European Union.

We need a horizontal approach covering all digital services, and not just platforms, including digital services which despite being established outside the European Union are still sold in the internal market. While providing our consumers with adequate protection, we are also obliged to provide our economic operators especially micro, small and medium-sized enterprises,

with legal certainty and transparency so that they can confidently roam in a more open and competitive market, and have more opportunities to grow their business responsibly.

The responsibility of businesses when it comes to online trading should be equal to the responsibility of trading in other conventional ways - this is a very important step and would deliver a clear message that the European Union is truly making a leap in quality and giant strides forward in the digital reform.

There are multiple legal hurdles which need to be overcome, for instance, consumers and businesses often find themselves exposed because current legislation is either not appropriately enforced or simply not sufficient to deal with some of the existing problems. That is why we need to focus on giving the Union’s Digital Single Market power and resilience through the right framework conditions and the right environment which are essential to retain, grow and foster the emergence of new digital services in Europe.

I am confident that the Union is a key enabler in this respect and can be a global leader in this area. We are at a critical juncture and that is why hastiness and clarity are key for Europe’s successful transition which will make it present and future proof, a Europe that is ultimately fit for the digital age.

PAGE 7 The Viewpoints Vol. III July 2020 | A Europe fit for the Digital Age

A Europe Fit For the Digital Age

Voting online: today’s possibility and tomorrow’s necessity? by: Vice President of the European Parliament Dita Charanzová MEP

“

The increased voter turnout in the last European Parliament election showed the increased interest of citizens to shape the future of the EU. We should seek ways to enable and facilitate voter participation further with new approaches and improved technology.

#TheViewPoints

PAGE 8

“

Last year’s European Parliament elections were historic for many reasons. For the first time in the 21st century, more than half of European citizens eligible to vote went to the ballot box. The voting turnout of 51% was the highest turnout since 1994 and the first overall increase in participation in a European election since 1979. One of the main reasons for this development is the increased participation of young voters between 16 and 24. This figure has risen by 50% compared to 2014. Although these numbers are promising, how do we cement this trend and further increase electoral participation, especially among young voters? E-democracy and online elections are an important element to consider in this political participation debate.

Throughout the past decade, the everyday life of EU citizens has moved online. We communicate with friends and family online, we book holidays online, we shop online, and recently, many more of us are working online. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses shifted their activities from the analogue to the online world. Working online from home is even considered as a working model post-COVID. Most of the solutions to cope with the COVID crisis have been found online. If we shifted democratic participation online, would it not also be possible to overcome the democracy and low-election-participation “crisis” we have been facing the past years?

DITA CHARANZOVÁ MEP VICE PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE RENEW COORDINATOR FOR THE INTERNAL MARKET AND CONSUMER PROTECTION COMMITTEE VP Charanzová is a member of the BURO and IMCO Committees.

From a technological point of view, it is possible. In Estonia, holding general elections over the internet became a custom since the municipal elections in 2005. Each Estonian citizen possesses an electronic chip-enabled ID card, which allows the user to vote over the internet. The ID card is inserted into a card reader, which is connected to a computer. Once the user’s identity is verified, a vote can be cast via the internet.

On the election day, Estonians can go back and re-cast their votes until election day is officially over. The popularity of online voting has increased throughout the years. For the European elections 2014 and 2019, about one-third of Estonian votes were cast online.

EU member states like Finland, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands have considered introducing online elections, mostly in the early 2000s, however, decided against it since the risks outweighed benefits. Two basic concerns arise when it comes to online elections. First, the software of voting systems becomes more complex. Computing experts argue that the cost of an electronic voting system is very high and becomes even higher the more complex the security systems. Second, European citizens without

access to the internet would be excluded from online elections. We would need to address these issues of cost, cybersecurity, and digital inclusiveness (i.e. bridging the digital divide) if we were to take this leap to the online election world. It is not impossible, but we should start small, with local and municipal elections first, before applying these to larger general elections.

Now is the time to rethink this debate of online elections.

The increased voter turnout in the last European Parliament election showed the increased interest of citizens to shape the future of the EU. We should seek ways to enable and facilitate voter participation further with new approaches and improved technology. The COVID crisis has accelerated our transition to the online world and digital solutions. We should now reflect on and apply these lessons from our digital “crash course” from the lockdowns to other areas.

PAGE 9 The Viewpoints Vol. III July 2020 | A Europe fit for the Digital Age

More transparency, A Europe Fit For the more participation, Digital Age more digital democracy by: Alexandra Geese MEP

“

AI applications already make many decisions for us, yet for most people, they remain an unknown quantity. It is time we shed some light into this darkness - people should control technology, not the other way round.

#TheViewPoints

PAGE 10

“

Technology is there to serve people.They should, therefore, have more say about the rules of the digital world. I am fighting for that in the three major digital debates and legislative proposals in Europe: the Digital Services Act, the Strategy for Artificial Intelligence and the Data Strategy.

Digitalisation is a central element of the “European Green Deal” and has gained even more importance since the Corona crisis. It has become one of the key areas of political action. That raises increasingly urgent questions about a secure infrastructure, clear rules and European supervision.

These are the three largest challenges: The “Digital Services Act” (DSA) is the most comprehensive legislative proposal since the General Data Protection Regulation. It seeks to restrict the huge market power of Google, Facebook and Co. and promote competition.

Furthermore, it aims to regulate internet platforms’ handling of content, especially of illegal content. Many women, people with a migratory background and people of colour can hardly express themselves in public anymore due to the hate and violence they face. As a result, we lack the important voices needed for a diverse, just discourse in our society. Companies have thus far been left to their own devices to decide what we can read, write, communicate or watch on the internet - and what should be banned. We are now seizing the opportunity in Europe to enshrine and implement rules by law. The EU may indeed not have any criminal legislative power, but it can establish good alternatives such as comprehensive transparency obligations for recommendation mechanisms (e.g.YouTube’s Nextup). The content we see on

ALEXANDRA GEESE MEP MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (GREENS / EFA) MEP Geese is a member of the BUDG and IMCO Committees.

social networks influences our democracy and must not depend solely on corporations’ profit interests. That is why we need insight into the human and algorithmic decision-making processes. The European Union can also establish independent “social media councils”. I propose the establishment of such an expert council which can view the corporations’ business models and transparency reports and thus enable a broad public debate. Sufficient diversity of the council members should be ensured to represent the interests of all population groups.

The Strategy for Artificial Intelligence in Europe must, above all, set clear security, liability and non-discrimination rules and ensure the participation of citizens, consumers and employees. Artificial intelligence and automated decision-making are already well-established aspects of our daily lives, being applied in areas including health care, manufacturing, recruiting and staff management systems, credit scoring, social welfare management, fraud detection, spam filters, video and product recommendation systems, social network news feeds, financial services, networked smart home devices and voice assistants. These systems have the potential to impact societies in positive ways. One key example is climate change and environmental protection, where machine learning can mitigate global warming, optimise our energy consumption, and help to restore species with declining popula-

tions. However, their use by public authorities and corporations also harbours many real-life risks. AI applications already make many decisions for us, yet for most people, they remain an unknown quantity. It is time we shed some light into this darkness - people should control technology, not the other way round. Uncontrolled algorithms can massively exacerbate real discriminations in society. That is why we need clear rules with which Europe can surf the AI wave and not be dragged under by it.

The establishment of a secure and trustworthy European data infrastructure: Europe needs data storage capacities. With the GDPR we have the best data protection rules in the world, but we do not always have space for all our data. Particularly in the medical field, shared data can enable significant progress in research, but this data is especially sensitive.

That is why we need clear rules and standards for shared datastores which propel European research whilst effectively protecting fundamental rights.

PAGE 11 The Viewpoints Vol. III July 2020 | A Europe fit for the Digital Age

European Movement International The European Movement is the largest pan-European network of pro-European organisations. It is present in 34 countries and encompasses 38 International Associations, bringing together European civil society, business, trade unions, NGOs, political parties, local authorities and academia.

Founded 70 years ago, we have continuously advocated in favour of European co-operation and integration, based on the principles of peace, democracy, liberty, solidarity, equality, justice, the respect for human rights and the rule of law.

What We Do Today, the European Movement seeks to provide a platform to encourage and facilitate the active participation of citizens and stakeholders from a cross-section of sectors in the development of European solutions to our common challenges. We offer thought leadership on the issues that confront Europe; we seek to inform the debates on our Union’s future, involve citizens and stakeholders in the decisions that affect them and influence policy-makers in favour of an open, inclusive, transparent and united Europe.

The European Movement aims to be the place where civil society, business, trade unions, NGOs, political parties, local authorities and academia come together to craft a way forward for the European Union. We seek to develop new ideas to address the challenges we face, be it economic or political. We want to spark debate on the EU’s architecture and develop forward-looking proposals on how to govern our affairs at the European level.

Our members are engaged in the daily business of influencing policy-making in the areas that affect them. The European Movement is the place where they have the opportunity to discuss the bigger issues, with organisations representing other parts of society, and allow them to shape the debate on the future of Europe.

European Movement International www.europeanmovement.eu Place du Luxembourg 2 B-1050 Brussels T +32 (0)2 508 30-88 secretariat@europeanmovement.eu @EMInternational

/european.movement

@european.movement