News Release
International publishers demand new intellectual property rights protection to safeguard the future of journalism
“Hamburg Declaration” continues to attract signatures from top media owners
On the day that Commissioner Viviane Reding unveils her strategy for a Digital Europe during the Lisbon Council, and as
the European Commission’s consultation on the Content Online Report draws to a close this week, senior members of the
publishing world are presenting to Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding and Internal Market Commissioner
Charlie McCreevy, a landmark declaration adopted on intellectual property rights in the digital world in a bid to ensure
that opportunities for a diverse, free press and quality journalism thrive online into the future.
This is the first press communiqué on a significant meeting convened on 26th June in Berlin by news group Chief
Executives from both the EPC and the World Association of Newspapers where the 'Hamburg Declaration' was signed, calling
for online copyright to be respected, to allow innovation to thrive and consumers to be better served. (See “note to
editors” for Declaration).
With the list of signatories growing by the day, the movers and shakers of the media are rallying around this
Declaration, which started life in Hamburg, as a way to garner support from publishers and broadcasters throughout the
world.
Host of the most recent signing ceremony Dr. Mathias Döpfner, CEO of the Axel Springer AG, said: ““I am happy about this
international declaration of publishers. This is an important step in the interest of the global Internet community. The
Internet is not our enemy but rather the future of journalism, if intellectual property is respected in the digital
world as well. In front of all I see two main goals: We want a fair share of the revenues, which are already being
generated through the commercial exploitation of our content by others, as well as the development of a market for paid
content in the digital world. We are confident that the representatives of search engines and other aggregators will
join us in realizing and opening up the opportunities of the market for legitimate paid content in the Internet.”."
With copyright very much a live, hot issue in Brussels right now with the controversy of the Telecoms Package, digital
libraries and new consultations expected soon on the follow up to Green Paper on Copyright in the Knowledge Economy and
the post-i2010 strategy, this Declaration could not be timelier.
Francisco Pinto Balsemão, CEO of the Portuguese media group Impresa, and Chairman of the EPC said: "A fundamental
safeguard of democratic society is a free, diverse and independent press. Without control over our intellectual property
rights, the future of quality journalism is at stake and with it our ability to provide our consumers with quality and
varied information, education and entertainment on the many platforms they enjoy. In this declaration we call on
governments worldwide to support the copyright of authors, publishers and broadcasters on the net”.
Gavin O'Reilly, Group Chief Executive Officer, Independent News & Media PLC, President of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and Chairman of ACAP
(Automated Content Access Protocol) said: "We continue to attract ever greater audiences for our content but, unlike in
the print or TV business models, we are not the ones making the money out of our content. This is unsustainable.
Publishers failing will benefit no-one, least of all consumers, or indeed the search engines and other aggregators who
currently make huge profits on the back of our intellectual property".
EPC and WAN-IFRA have collaborated closely in creating a new tool to enable any content provider to communicate their
copyright terms and conditions online in a machine-readable way via ACAP (Automated Content Access Protocol). As
Chairman of ACAP, O’Reilly added: “We need search engines to recognize ACAP as a step towards acknowledging that content
providers have the right to decide what happens to their content and on what terms. The European Commission and other
legislators call on our industry constantly to come up with solutions – here we have one and we call upon the regulators
to back it up”.
Among the latest signatories are Frederic Aurand (President Groupe Hersant, France), Francisco Balsemão (Impresa,
Portugal) Carlo de Benedetti (Editoriale L'Espresso, Italy), Carl-Johan Bonnier (Bonnier, Sweden), Oscar Bronner (Der
Standard, Austria), Bernd Buchholz (Gruner & Jahr, Germany), Hubert Burda (Burda Media, Germany), Mathias Döpfner (Axel Springer AG, Germany), Hanzade Dogan
(Milliyet, Turkey), Stefan von Holtzbrinck (Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck, Germany), Patrick Morley (Telegraaf
Media Group, Netherlands), James Murdoch (News Corporation, Europe and Asia), Horst Pirker, (Styria, Austria) Didier
Quillot (Lagadére, France), Gavin O’Reilly (Independent News and Media, Ireland), Michael Ringier (Ringier,
Switzerland), The Rt. Hon. The Viscount Rothermere, (Daily Mail and General Trust, UK), Ian Smith (Reed Elsevier, UK),
Hannu Syrjanen (Sanoma, Finland), Robert Thomson (Dow Jones, Wall Street Journal, US), Giorgio Valerio (RCS Quotidiani,
Italy) and Christian Van Thillo (de Persgroep, Belgium).
149 German publishers have already adopted the “Hamburg Declaration” since its introduction on 8 June 2009. The
declaration started life as a regional initiative in Germany and then enjoyed nationwide support. Now, with the support
of members of EPC and WAN-IFRA, the "Hamburg Declaration" has become an important international initiative.
Ends
9th July 2009
Note to Editors
Hamburg Declaration regarding
intellectual property rights
The Internet offers immense opportunities to professional journalism – but only if the basis for profitability remains
secure throughout the digital channels of distribution. This is currently not the case.
Numerous providers are using the work of authors, publishers and broadcasters without paying for it. Over the long term,
this threatens the production of high-quality content and the existence of independent journalism.
For this reason, we advocate strongly urgent improvements in the protection of intellectual property on the Internet.
Universal access to websites does not necessarily mean access at no cost. We disagree with those who maintain that
freedom of information is only established when everything is available at no cost.
Universal access to our services should be available, but going forward we no longer wish to be forced to give away
property without having granted permission.
We therefore welcome the growing resolve of federal and state governments all over the world to continue to support the
protection of the rights of authors, publishers and broadcasters on the Internet.
There should be no parts of the Internet where laws do not apply. Legislators and governments at the national and
international level should protect more effectively the intellectual creation of value by authors, publishers and
broadcasters. Unauthorized use of intellectual property must remain prohibited whatever the means of distribution.
Ultimately, the fundamental principle that no democracy can thrive without independent journalism must also apply to the
World Wide Web.
Berlin, June 26th 2009
**************************
Commissioner Reding on Digital Europe - Europe's Fast Track to Economic Recovery
The Ludwig Erhard Lecture 2009
Lisbon Council, Brussels, 9 July 2009
Dear Mr Hof heinz, dear Ms Mettler,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I feel very honoured that you have invited me to give this year’s “Ludwig Erhard Lecture”. The moment for this is very
well chosen, and I would like to congratulate the organisers of the Lisbon Council for their excellent timing.
In these days where Europe is in the deepest economic crisis since the 1930s , it is very useful, in particular for
politicians, to remember the work of Ludwig Erhard and to take another look at his writings . Before becoming German
Chancellor, Ludwig Erhard was the first Minister of the Economy of the young Federal Republic after the Second World
War. After years of dictatorship and centralised management of the economy, after a national catastrophe of
unprecedented dimensions and total economic and social break-down, Erhard was entrusted with the Herculean task of
rebuilding the German economy. That he managed to do this, that by the end of the 1950s, he was able to transform West
Germany into the second most important economy in the world after the United States, is often described as “the economic
miracle” (“Wirtschaftswunder”).
However, when we look more in detail at what Erhard did in his policy, this was no miracle at work. It was rather a good
combination of strong political determination and sound economic principles, coupled with a good understanding of the
importance of psychology for macroeconomics. In view of the crisis we are currently experiencing, allow me therefore to
take a step back and to elaborate a bit on this: first on the principles needed for a sound economic policy. And then on
the necessary political determination.
Core p rinciples of a sound economic policy
The starting point of Erhard’s policy for re-launching the German economy was a firm belief in the benefits of the
market economy, in open markets and in the rules of supply and demand. The return to a market economy was not at all
self-evident in post-war Germany, after a decade of nationalisation, protectionism, and centralisation of most
industrial sectors. Bringing the market economy back to Germany was therefore one of Erhard's key achievements. However,
Erhard also knew well that it would be naïve to trust market forces alone. The rules of supply and demand allow the
market to maximise individual freedom only when one market player, or several market participants jointly, are prevented
from achieving a position of market dominance. The State has thus an important role to play. In particular, the State
has a responsibility to ensure effective competition on the market, and to fight against monopolies and cartels. This
might appear obvious to us today, but it was not at all self-evident in the 1950s when Erhard fought hard for Germany’s
very first Antitrust-Law – a law that provided a lot of inspiration for the creation of the competition provisions of
the EEC Treaty.
Erhard’s approach did not end with a reliance on market forces and ensuring effective competition. He had personally
witnessed the effects of the 1929 World Economic Crisis where millions of workers lost their jobs within days; where
banks went bust and massive bank runs showed that the population had lost all trust in the financial system; and where
economic depression led ultimately also to a social crisis. This experience was crucial to Erhard’s personal thinking
and in his policies. This is why he wanted Germany's post-war economic system to be a “social market economy” . A stable
currency, protecting citizens' savings from inflation is an important pillar of such a system, and price stability a
social policy measure par excellence. Another factor is a social policy that protects the weaker parts of society and
compensates for market failures; and that allows each and every citizen to see the advantages of the market economy in
their pockets. The title of Erhard’s famous book “Wohlstand für alle” (“Wealth for All”) is very telling about the real
objective of the social market economy.
Erhard would be certainly proud to see that over 50 years after he and his close collaborator Alfred Müller-Armack
coined the term “social market economy”, the Lisbon Treaty now states that the economic constitution of Europe’s single
market should become a “social market economy” 1 . This means of course that the EU continues to have the core
responsibility to ensure effective competition, monetary stability, and financial stability, and to create a sound legal
framework for this. It also means that, ultimately, the benefits of stability and a competitive single market must be
felt by citizens. As Erhard said: “An economic policy may only be called social where it makes sure that economic
progress, higher performance and productivity growth in the end will benefit the consumer.” 2 In this Erhardian sense,
the EU’s competition policy (to mention the most prominent example) is not an end in itself, but a policy that allows
consumers, thanks to the determined intervention of the European Commission against anti-competitive practices, to save
up to 11 billion euro per year. In the same way, telecoms liberalisation driven by the EU is a success story not only
because it has led to open markets, new market players and enhanced investment. But in particular because it has allowed
Europe’s consumers to save around 35% on their communication bills in the past five years alone. Relying on market
forces and competition on the one hand, and generating tangible consumer benefits on the other, are therefore the two
sides of the same coin in a social market economy. And it should, in my personal view, certainly be the guiding
principles for the first European Commission to take office under the new Lisbon Treaty.
The p olitical determination now needed for economic recovery
The sound principles of a social market alone were of course not sufficient to allow post-war Germany to recover
economically; nor will the words “social market economy” suffice to bring Europe today back on track to sustainable
economic growth and jobs. The principles of a social market economy must be implemented by concrete and determined
policy action. Ideological solutions will not do the job. Pragmatism and an openness to new solutions are needed, in
particular in times of crisis. Ludwig Erhard was very good at that, as he was telling people from the beginning what to
expect from his action, sometimes also by resorting to "self-fulfilling prophecies".
What must be avoided is a “Christmas Tree Effect” in recovery measures. Let's be clear: Those who try to satisfy
everybody will in the end satisfy nobody. Priorities, focus and political leadership are thus needed when the European
Union works in the next weeks and months on further measures for the aftermath of the global financial and economic
crisis – the measures which citizens expect will help to bring about sustainable economic recovery.
For the EU today, the first priority must be to transpose the important proposals of the De Larosière - Report into
concrete EU legislation. These proposals aim to ensure financial stability, which is the pre-condition for lasting
economic stability in Europe.
In addition to that, we need to focus on those measures which have the best chance of stimulating our economy and
preserving jobs in the European Union. There is an important consideration which we need to bear in mind when setting
our priorities. In the past months, governments and central banks have been pouring unprecedented amounts of money into
the economy to provide liquidity and to limit the downturn. F iscal stimulus packages adopted by governments across the
euro area amount, for 2009 and 2010, to €400 billion, or 4.6% of GDP (including automatic stabilisers). This stimulus is
an unquestionable necessity, and Ludwig Erhard would probably have agreed with many of these measures. He had always
warned against an ill-conceived “austerity policy”, in view of Germany's bad experiences in the late 1920s and early
1930s. We also heard this week from the Ministers of Economy and Finance that the time for an exit strategy from
stimulus measures is still not there yet, in spite of the first "green shoots" of economic recovery that can be
detected. But public authorities should never forget that it is the taxpayer who picks up the bill for all this at the
end. And that ordinary citizens would be the first to suffer from inflationary developments that could result from
further monetary expansion.
If we don’t want to hang this burden around the necks of future generations, governments will have to make very smart
use of the public money that will now be invested into Europe's recovery. They will also have to seize increasingly
those opportunities with little or no extra cost attached for the taxpayer. And yes, there are such opportunities.
The Digital Europe Strategy
This brings me to my specific answer to the present economic downturn: Europe's digital economy, where private and
public investors can expect a particularly good return on investment.
This innovative sector with importance across the whole economy generates already today substantial revenues via the
internet and mobile phones, in particular by providing access to news, information, music, books, films, games and other
digital content. And Europe's digital economy has tremendous potential: With a mobile penetration rate of 119% (up from
84% in 2004 when the Barroso-Commission took office), there are today more mobile phone subscriptions than citizens in
the EU. 60% of households are connected to the internet (up from 41% five years ago). And while in 2004, only 33% of
these households had a high speed broadband connection, this has grown to 80% in the five years of this European
Commission.
All this is only the starting point. Europe promises to become even more digital in the years to come. A demographic
analysis tells us that today, only 35% of the total population in the EU have used advanced internet services in the
last 3 months. This is markedly different for people between 16 and 24: 73% of them have recently used the internet for
advanced data transmission, in particular for uploads and downloads of content and for social networking. This figure
rises to 89% in Denmark, Europe's most competitive telecoms market.
With these young, regular and intensive internet users, there is a whole generation of "digital natives" ready to apply
innovations like web 2.0 to business and public life, whether as podcasters, bloggers, social networkers or website
owners. It is in this new generation that there is real growth potential for Europe. Very soon, these digital natives
will be turning into consumers with important purchasing power. This is one of the reasons why the European Commission
believes that the roll out and development of high speed broadband internet – whether via fixed or via wireless
connections – could create around one million jobs in Europe, and spur broadband-related growth in economic activity to
the tune of €850 billion. Let us not forget that each 10% of additional broadband penetration yields 1.3% extra growth,
according to a new World Bank study.
T o seize this potential in our digital economy, Europe will need to create the right framework for ensuring effective
competition and sound regulatory conditions in a well-functioning single market as well as incentives for innovation. In
view of the commitment to the social market economy, we also need to make sure that, in the end, consumers benefit from
the digital economy. This is particularly important if we want to convince the digital natives to become the drivers of
our digital economy.
President Barroso has clearly set out our ambitions when he wrote to the Heads of State and Government on 17 June. He
said that we now have to bring about “a Europe committed to the radical transformation towards a knowledge-based
society.”
To achieve this radical transformation, I have been working with my team in the past weeks on a strategy for a Digital
Europe . This plan has two parts: First, action which the EU institutions can take or prepare still this year, under the
present Commission, on the basis of work already started. And secondly, action which we believe should become a priority
for the next five years.
The imminent actions for boosting Digital Europe
In line with Ludwig Erhard's understanding of the social market economy, we have so far been focussing our action on the
structural pre-conditions needed to get the digital economy going. Our policy target is clear: We would like to have
internet broadband for all Europeans by 2010. And high-speed internet broadband for all Europeans by 2013.
The "first movers" in Europe have already started implementing these targets: T he French government, with its plan
France Numérique 2012, is pursuing the objective to equip all French households with an internet connection of at least
512 Kbit/s by the end of 2012. In the UK, Lord Carter told us, in his ambitious Digital Britain report, that the
government sets the objective to serve all British households by broadband networks of at least 2 Mbit/s by the end of
2012, eased by the creation of a Next Generation Fund. In Germany, the federal government, in its Breitbandstrategie,
calls for connections of 50 Mbit/s to serve 75% of the population by 2014. Finland has even committed to a universal
broadband service at 100 Mbit/s . These are examples of countries who got their priorities right. They all have
recognised the need for boosting the digital economy.
What can Europe add to this? We can make sure, over the next months, that these positive beginnings are accompanied and
reinforced by clear European signals and complemented by concrete measures. We must encourage all EU countries to join
the "first movers" swiftly, in the spirit of our open single market and our common European competition rules.
To promote competitive infrastructures for a Digital Europe, there are four concrete steps we can and should take in the
next months:
• First of all, we need to bring into force the reform of Europe's telecoms rules : two Directives and one
Regulation on which the European Parliament and the Council of Telecoms Ministers have agreed on after 18 months of
negotiations. The agreement encompasses a reform package of more than 160 Articles with 750 subparagraphs. There is only
one subparagraph on which no agreement could be found so far. I call on both sides of this debate to come to a very
swift agreement on this subparagraph. The reform would pave the way for better regulation and coordination of telecoms
rules in Europe's single market, improve the way radio spectrum is managed in Europe, and strengthen consumer rights as
well as the open nature of the internet. The reform would bring us in particular substantially closer to completing a
single European telecoms market. Just think about what more consistent telecoms regulation could do for the providers of
business services in the EU. If access rules for businesses were more consistently and effectively enforced across the
EU, GDP could be boosted by 1.6% to 2%. Experts also estimate that the present regulatory fragmentation in telecoms
costs Europe’s businesses €20 billion per year – a cost factor that, in view of the present crisis, we should eliminate
as soon as possible by bringing the reforms into force, and by applying the new rules effectively.
• Secondly, we should encourage effective competition and sustainable investment in Next Generation Networks – in
particular into fibre networks instead of copper ones . As the evolution of the telecoms sector shows, the best
instrument for sustainable investment in new networks is a set of solid rules ensuring effective competition. On top of
that, market-driven investment can be given extra impetus through co-investment schemes under which several operators
deploy fibre-to the-home. Where investors take very large investment risks to bring fibre-to-the home, Europe's
regulators should be flexible. Together with my colleague Neelie Kroes, I have therefore published a draft
Recommendation on this matter with the aim of offering regulatory solutions and legal certainty.
• Thirdly, I believe we should make 3G mobile phones services more attractive in Europe and pave the way for LTE,
the next generation of mobile services . More and more people want to be online wherever they are, and wherever they go,
via their mobile device. This is not only a dream for business people and technology savvy consumers, but has the
potential to create a mobile knowledge based society in Europe. Thus far, there are only about 92 million 3G users in
the EU, only 16% of all mobile subscribers, with Italy, Finland and Austria leading in this field. Here, we are
preparing important measures to abolish regulatory restrictions and reduce the cost of offering 3G and more advanced
mobile services. The reform of the EU's GSM Directive, proposed by the Commission last year in parallel to the ongoing
broader EU telecoms reform, will allow the re-farming of the radio spectrum in the GSM band for new mobile services,
thereby leading to savings of up to € 1.6 billion in capital costs for the mobile industry. I will do my best to ensure
that this important reform can be agreed and implemented as soon as possible, so that Europe can continue to be THE
mobile continent on the globe.
• Last but not least , I believe the present economic crisis requires us to accelerate the ongoing switchover from
analogue to digital TV in Europe . T he switchover will free very valuable radio spectrum, currently used by terrestrial
analogue TV, for use by new communications and content services. This process has already been completed in Germany,
Finland, Luxembourg, Sweden, the Netherlands, in Flanders here in Belgium as well as in major areas in Austria. The
Commission estimates that t he incremental value of this spectrum for wireless broadband across the EU is between €150
and €200 billion. Appropriate European coordination of Member States' work on the digital dividend would increase the
potential economic impact of the digital dividend by an additional € 50 billion between now and 2015. Every corner of
Europe could reap this "digital dividend", without it costing the taxpayer a single cent – if all EU governments act
now. I recall that the United States as a whole switched to digital TV last month. I call therefore on all EU
governments: Don't wait until 2012, the EU-wide deadline for the final analogue switch-off, to bring these benefits to
you businesses and citizens. Act swiftly now. Tomorrow I will present a package of draft measures in order to accelerate
Europe's digital switchover. I hope that these proposals will receive a positive reception in the public consultation
and by that contribute to a more positive economic attitude. As Ludwig Erhard always stressed: 50% of macro-economics
are psychology.
Digital Priorities for the next five years
The se four measures mentioned should be implemented in the next coming months. You can be sure that I will not tire in
pushing for their successful completion.
However, we already need to look today at the strategic priorities for the medium term. With other regions of the world
becoming ever more competitive, Europe cannot simply tread water, by simply ensuring sufficient spectrum and modern
infrastructures. Would you take a high speed train that isn’t going to an exciting destination? Obviously, high speed
internet requires high interest content and attractive services for the end-consumer. Also for this part of Europe's
digital economy, a sound framework, combining the strength of market forces with a single-market-wide regulatory level
playing field, appears to be the best answer that Europe can give. The Commission will open a broader consultation on
our Digital Europe Strategy in August. Already today, I would like to present to you the four priority areas where EU
action appears to be most needed 3 :
1. My first and most important priority for Digital Europe is: To make it easier and more attractive to access digital
content, wherever produced in Europe. The availability of attractive content that appeals to European viewers, listeners
and readers will be decisive in driving further the take-up of high-speed broadband internet. It is therefore
regrettable that we currently have an extremely polarised debate on the matter: While many right holders insist that
every unauthorised download from the internet is a violation of intellectual property rights and therefore illegal or
even criminal, others stress that access to the internet is a crucial fundamental right. Let me be clear on this: Both
sides are right. The drama is that after long and often fruitless battles, both camps have now dug themselves in their
positions, without any signs of opening from either side.
In the meantime, internet piracy appears to become more and more "sexy", in particular for the digital natives already,
the young generation of intense internet users between 16 and 24. This generation should become the foundation of our
digital economy, of new innovation and new growth opportunities. However, Eurostat figures show that 60% of them have
downloaded audiovisual content from the internet in the past months without paying. And 28% state that they would not be
willing to pay.
These figures reveal the serious deficiencies of the present system. It is necessary to penalise those who are breaking
the law. But are there really enough attractive and consumer-friendly legal offers on the market? Does our present legal
system for Intellectual Property Rights really live up to the expectations of the internet generation? Have we
considered all alternative options to repression? Have we really looked at the issue through the eyes of a 16 year old?
Or only from the perspective of law professors who grew up in the Gutenberg Age? In my view, growing internet piracy is
a vote of no-confidence in existing business models and legal solutions. It should be a wake-up call for policy-makers.
I f we do not, very quickly, make it easier and more consumer-friendly to access digital content, we could lose a whole
generation as supporters of artistic creation and legal use of digital services. Economically, socially, and culturally,
this would be a tragedy. It will therefore be my key priority to work, in cooperation with other Commissioners, on a
simple, consumer-friendly legal framework for accessing digital content in Europe's single market, while ensuring at the
same time fair remuneration of creators. Digital Europe can only be built with content creators on board; and with the
generation of digital natives as interested users and innovative consumers .
I will give you two examples of what Europe could do concretely for this:
• First of all, we could facilitate the licensing of intellectual property rights for online services covering the
territory of all 27 EU Member States . Today, right holders and online service providers need to spend far too much time
and money on the administration of rights, instead of investing this money in attractive services. And consumers often
cannot access online content if uploaded in another Member State. For online content in a single market of 27 Member
States, economies of scale and consumer-friendly solutions will require a much simpler and less fragmented regulatory
framework than the one of today. We had a similar problem when commercial satellite TV started more than 30 years ago.
As right clearance for this per se cross-border service became increasingly complex, Europe developed the Cable and
Satellite Directive and introduced a simplified system of rights clearance for the whole of Europe. I believe it is now
time to develop similar solutions for the evolving world of online content.
• Second example: We should create a modern set of European rules that encourage the digitisation of books . More
than 90% of books in Europe's national libraries are no longer commercially available, because they are either out of
print or orphan works (which means that nobody can be identified to give permission to use the work digitally). The
creation of a Europe-wide public registry for such works could stimulate private investment in digitisation, while
ensuring that authors get fair remuneration also in the digital world. This would also help to end the present, rather
ideological debate about "Google books". I do understand the fears of many publishers and libraries facing the market
power of Google. But I also share the frustrations of many internet companies which would like to offer interesting
business models in this field, but cannot do so because of the fragmented regulatory system in Europe. I am experiencing
myself such frustrations in the context of the development of Europeana, Europe's digital library. Let us be very clear:
if we do not reform our European copyright rules on orphan works and libraries swiftly, digitisation and the development
of attractive content offers will not take place in Europe, but on the other side of the Atlantic . Only a modern set of
consumer-friendly rules will enable Europe's content to play a strong part in the digitisation efforts that has already
started all around the globe.
2. Priority two on my to-do-list for Digital Europe is: preparing for a safe and consumer-friendly European space for
mobile payments. Today, the lack of common EU-wide standards and rules for "m-cash" leaves the great potential of
"m-commerce" and the mobile web unexploited. W e have more than 500 million mobile users in Europe. This means that
Europe has the economies of scale to offer for an innovation-friendly environment that will allow transforming the
mobile phone into an electronic wallet. Very quickly, we could see the mobile phone being used for buying most
day-to-day items electronically, such as tickets in a station, sodas from a vending machine or flowers in a shop. This
would make life easier for consumers; and open up new business opportunities for European companies.
3. My third priority for boosting the digital economy is: Europe's digital economy should be opened up to small
businesses. In Europe, we have 23 million small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) which make up 99% of all firms.
Accounting for over 100 million jobs, SMEs can be the mainspring of Europe's economic resurgence. But in the use of
productivity-boosting ICT tools, SMEs lag substantially behind big firms: only 9% of SMEs use electronic invoices, and
only 11% of them have technology-based human resource management. If SMEs could access computing power over the web,
they would no longer need to buy and maintain technologies or IT applications and services. Such web based services –
called "cloud computing" – are the medicine needed for our credit squeezed economy: they can make businesses more
productive by shifting from fixed costs (i.e. hiring staff or buying PCs) to variable costs (i.e. you only pay for what
you use). However, today these new services are nearly all US-owned and US-based. Once again, the US has started to
exploit a business model before Europe has managed to do so. We cannot let this continue. In my view, we need a major
effort to set up Europe-hosted "clouds" to give European SMEs access to fast, open and productivity enhancing services.
A recent study estimated that online business services could add 0.2% to annual GDP growth, create a million new jobs
and allow hundreds of thousand of new SMEs to take off in Europe over the next five years. So what are we waiting for?
4. My fourth priority for Digital Europe is: making better use of innovative ICT solutions to meet our objectives of a
low-carbon economy . This aspect is still neglected in our ongoing work to prepare with ambition for the Copenhagen
Conference at the end of the year. Just consider the following: If businesses in Europe were to replace only 20% of all
business trips by video conferencing, we could save more than 22 million tons of CO 2 per year. And cloud computing
could, by helping to improve the efficiency of IT solutions, lead to electricity savings in computing activity of up to
80%. Let us also not forget what ICT could do for safer, smarter and greener cars in Europe. I firmly believe that
Digital Europe cannot afford to turn a blind eye to its ecological potential, which in turn can open up new business
opportunities for European ICT companies. We will therefore have to add some "green" to Ludwig Erhard's social market
economy.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Ludwig Erhard wrote, in his book “Wohlstand for alle”, that in the course of European integration, politicians could be
tempted to focus too much on institut ions, and not enough on what these institutions are there for. Too much
institutional talk and not enough concrete policy outcomes, was his criticism of the European process. I am afraid that
if Erhard could have seen what sometimes happens here in the "Brussels bubble" in these days, he might have felt
justified in his criticism – and rightly so.
I therefore hope that, after some weeks of hesitations and doubts, we will now swiftly get back to business. In view of
the economic crisis, wait and see is certainly not an option for Europe. I personally feel very confident that with a
strong, independent European Commission that seeks inspiration from the principles of the social market economy, we will
indeed manage to bring Europe swiftly back on the path of sustainable growth. A clear strategy for boosting a digital
economy for businesses and citizens, as outlined in my Digital Europe plan, should play an important role in this.
If we keep Ludwig Erhard, his principles and the importance of psychology for economic development in mind, we may even
be able to perform a small "economic miracle" in the coming years. In the past 20 years, Europe led the mobile phone
revolution thanks to the innovative force of its researchers and businesses, its team approach and its capacity for
creating a level playing field that allowed economies of scale to unfold. The next decade's technologies will be as
markedly changed as the economy and society. A generation of high-tech Europeans, using mobile devices to access the
internet and using the internet to access mobile services, can be just around the corner – if we focus our policies on
the right priorities. I believe the time for this is now. Let's get the job done.
1 :
Article 3(2) of the reformed Treaty on European Union.
2 :
“Eine Wirtschaftspolitik darf sich aber nur dann sozial nennen, wenn sie den wirtschaftlichen Fortschritt, die höhere
Leistungsergiebigkeit und die steigende Produktivität dem Verbraucher schlechthin zugute kommen lässt.“ (Wohlstand für
Alle).
3 :
This adds to, and complements, the "Digital Agenda", presented jointly with Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena
Kuneva. See the press release of 5 May 2009 " Consumer Rights: Commission wants consumers to surf the web without
borders" ( IP/09/702 ).