Leping

REPUBLiCOFLSTON 4 FederaLMintry

bIII4d! AND COMMUNIcATI0Ns Ministry of Environmental

Protection and Regional MINISTRY OF THE Development ECONOMY AND

Republic of Latvia INNOVATION

24 November 2023

Key issues paper by the Innovation CIub

P ream b le

O An innovative and future-oriented Europe relies on Iong-term international competitiveness and viability, as well as on its ability to be among giobal Ieaders, to contribute to tomorrow’s growth and prosperity, and to meet the goais of the digital and green transformation.

O Overail, the European Union (EU) needs to become a space, where innovations are discovered and implemented more efficientiy and faster. A baianced approach to poiicy instruments is crucial to this end. Therefore, the European Commission needs to carry out a detaiied analysis of factors influencing the EU’s innovation competitiveness. Building on this analysis, suggestions on how to transform digital poiicy-making and impiementation processes in the EU shaii be drawn-up.

O Legislative processes need to be streamiined openly and transparently, together with the use of Better Regulation toois and principles, including legislation to fit in and be adaptable to the existing administrative structures within the Member States and their authorities.

O Europe needs to act in a timely and agile manner to reap the innovation benefits offered by digitalisation across sectors.

O Europe needs an opportunity-oriented and innovation-friendly digital agenda. Digitalisation must be thought of and shaped hoiisticaiiy. This includes reviewing and consolidating the existing variety of the EU’s digital policy instruments, focussing on their simpiification (like “one-in one-out”).

O Interoperability shali be adopted as a prevaiiing mindset across ali sectors, creating a truly interoperabie Digital Single Market, turning European diversity from a challenge into a transformative advantage.

O Digital transformation across the EU must be based on our common values and principies in a pragmatic way, creating added value for the citizens and the economy. To this end, we present the foiiowing proposais for the next European Commission’s future-proof Digital Agenda.

Key points for a future-proof EU Digital Agenda

1. Ensure high-class digital infrastructure as an enabier for a digitally transformed Europe.

O Achieve resilient and sustainabie high-capacity networks and a future-proof, strong, secure and competitive eiectronic communications sector as the foundation for our society and our businesses, as weli as the EU’s digital sovereig nty.

O Accompany any establishment of new instruments or revision of existing instruments in the telecommunications sector with a thorough analysis of its necessity and proportionality, respecting the principle of subsidiarity and taking into account the expected impact on the economy and society.

O Support, where required, the fast and efficient roIl-out of gigabit networks and the Iatest mobile communications standard by regulatory conditions, which at the same time incentivise innovation and investment as weII as foster competition.

O Maintain the free and open internet and enshrine net neutrality as paramount principle.

O Keep European high-performance computing infrastructures giobaily competitive at ali times.

O Foster an environment which attracts innovative, consumer friendly applications and services.

2. Advance Europe on its path to data economy.

O Pay sustained, high-levei political attention to achieving a comprehensive, cross sectorai approach to the data economy.

O Increase politicai support for initiatives impiementing the data driven society in Europe.

O Make (open) Data more accessible and retrievable, easier to use and re-use (by overcoming legal, institutional and technical obstacles), including across borders, while fuily respecting inteilectuai property and individual data protection rights. Continue the process of defining additionaI high-vaiue datasets, which have major impact on the society and economy. Promote the use of competitive, interoperabie standards (including for data and interfaces).

O Harmonize access to and stimulate the uptake of data generated by the EU, e.g. the EU Space Programme, for data-based decision-making, business development and digitalisation.

O Facilitate a more pragmatic approach to international data fiows. Estabiish binding rules on data transfers with key trade partners to ensure EU companies’ giobal competitiveness.

O Ensure pianning certainty for private investments into the data ecosystem and a reiiable framework for data-driven business modeis.

O Streamline data protection practices to current needs of digitalisation. This may include comprehensive work to ensure consistent interpretation and impiementation at EU level. Promote the development of cross-sectoral data spaces.

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3. Ensure an effective platform regulation with a human-centric approach which joins competences within the European Commission and Member States in the developing virtual world.

O Continuously foster a safe and trusted onhine environment, while addressing not only the dissemination of ihlegal or harmful content onhine but also the possible misuse of the Iatest technological tools, data storage and transfer.

O Monitor the Iatest technological developments, especiahly with regard to e.g. immersive technologies and neurotechnologies (see Leön Declaration on European neurotechnology) and evaluate the possibhe reaction on EU level, in order to fully grasp the possibilities of the mentioned technologies.

4. Establish cybersecurity as a joint task.

O Recognize cybersecurity as a key capability and key aspect of the security of digital technology.

O Develop methodologies to evaluate the necessary level of investments into cybersecurity to estabhish a minimum level of cybersecurity in both pubhic and pnvate sectors.

O Support companies, in particular SMEs, in using and developing cybersecurity technologies.

5. Less burdensome digital environments in EU for businesses and cons u me rs.

O Ensure the transparency and predictabihity of legislative processes in digital pohicy, put a stronger focus on impact assessments (md. on spot amendments and ex post evaluation) of legislative acts and evaluation of Member States’ readiness to adopt and adapt to new regulations.

O Strive for Iess burdensome business and consumer environments to ensure Single Market’s competitiveness in the Iong-term. Transparently evaluate and reduce administrative burdens (md. reporting and comphiance costs). Reporting requirements should be subject to the once only principle.

O Promote the development of the Single Digital Gateway toward supporting better user-experience, giving transparent data protection guarantees, innovating and modernizing further cross-border data exchange in the “Once Only Technical System”.

Promote transitioning to the use of the once only principle, including the data minimization principle, where only the required data is requested and shared between competent authorities that have the right to process them.

6. Further promote innovation and consolidate funding.

O Create added value for our societies and our partners through funding programmes. Shape and consolidate financing and support measures for innovation in the pubhic and private sector, including SMEs and start-ups. Bridge the gap between the narrative of the “knowledge society” and of budgetary and other priorities via these efforts.

O Support future technologies holisticahly from network Ieveh to material, component, microchip and moduhe level through strategic research and devehopment.

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O Continue direct investments in Research & Deveopment to ensure common development.

O Promote green transition principles in digitalisation and 1mk them to sectoral policies considering economic impact and possible burdens on businesses:

o Design — sustainable information systems with a Iow energy consumption;

o Use — reduce the ecological footprint by minimizing energy , e.g. when processing data or manufacturing.

o Reuse — circular economy concept.

7. Strengthen digital Iiteracy to enhance the innovative potential of the digital age.

O ArtifIciaI intelligence (Al) needs to be a tool for evaluating Big Data and enhancmng human mntelligence and versatility in data-driven decision-making.

O Ensure basmc data, digital, Al and cybersecurity literacy across the population by awareness raising, promoting life-Iong Iearning, re-skilling and incorporating these topics into curricula as an enabier for people.

O lmprove multilingualism in the digital environment.

8. Actively involve SMEs, including start-ups.

O lntegrate entrepreneurial expertise and feedback while creating and developing user-centric, innovative, and smart digital services.

O Support SMEs in the digital transformation through providing better public e services and increasing their digital competences and technical capabilities, in particular in smart data sharing.

9. Ensure effective and comprehensive digital administration.

O Establish e-government solutions across borders. Create viable communities of practice for the impiementation of cross-border e-government solutions to strengthen organisational capabilities in this area through the exchange of knowledge and experience.

O In preparing and developing new initiatives and mnnovatmons, implement integration and interoperability with exmsting systems, data spaces and other e government soutions across borders by default.

O To allow the EU Digital Single Market to fully flourish, steer EU-wide interoperability across sectors to guarantee the best overview of the existing EU mnformation systems and digital tools.

O Strengthen the coordinated impiementation and management of pan-European e government solutions, including by more effectively utilizing the capacmty of existing agencies, eg. eu-LISA.

O Use interoperable electronic identities and (inter alla semantic) standards for access to digital public services.

O Strengthen the deployment of cloud services.

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Tiit Riisao

Minister of Economic Affairs and Information Technology

Republic of Estonia

LJA ‘W Dr Volker Wissing

Federal Minister of Digital and Transport

Federal Republic of Germany

1ngi”F’1

Minister for Environmental Protection and Regional Development

Republic of Latvia

Aurinö Armonaitö

Minister of Economy and Innovation

Republic of Lithuania

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