Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council (Telecommunications), 4 June 2021 - Main contents
Main results
Data Governance Act
The Council assessed progress on a draft regulation on European data governance, known as the Data Governance Act. The proposal aims to promote the availability of data for reuse by increasing trust in data intermediaries and by strengthening various data-sharing mechanisms across the EU. These measures are designed to give the EU a competitive advantage by allowing it to capitalise on the vast quantities of data generated every day.
High common level of cybersecurity across the EU
Ministers also took stock of progress on a proposed directive on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the EU (revised NIS directive or NIS2). The objective of the NIS2 proposal is to further improve the resilience and incident response capacities of public and private entities, competent authorities and the EU as a whole.
2030 Digital Compass
The Council held a policy debate on the topic ‘2030 Digital Compass: How to chart the way towards the EU’s digital future’ based on the Commission’s Digital Compass communication.
During the discussion, ministers supported setting up a digital compass with ambitious digital transformation targets for 2030 and expressed their strong commitment to upholding fundamental rights, ethics and European values in the process of digital transformation. The digital single market must be transparent, sustainable and secure, and equal opportunities should be created for everybody to participate in digital society. Today’s debate provided guidance for the next steps in the digital compass process.
The Digital Compass has set new benchmarks for Europe’s digital future and, partly as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, digital technologies now permeate all facets of our lives. It is therefore our shared responsibility to empower people and businesses to embrace a human-centred, sustainable and prosperous digital future, based on technological leadership.
Pedro Nuno Santos, Minister for Infrastructure and Housing of Portugal, chair of today’s meeting
Any other business
The presidency briefed ministers on the state of play of discussions on updated privacy rules for electronic communications (ePrivacy). The first political trilogue meeting with the European Parliament took place in May, and work will continue at technical level before the presidency hands this file over to the incoming Slovenian presidency, which is already involved in the work.
The presidency also updated ministers on the revision of the roaming regulation. In the Council working party, member states expressed their support for the extension of the ‘roam like at home’ scheme, and work is ongoing to ensure the regulation is adopted in due time.
The presidency also briefed ministers on the Digital Assembly 2021, which was held on 1 and 2 June.
The Commission provided information on the Artificial Intelligence Act, the European digital identity proposal and the common EU toolbox for connectivity.
The Lithuanian delegation presented its candidate for the forthcoming elections for the post of Deputy Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
As the last item, the incoming Slovenian presidency presented its work programme for the second half of 2021.
Meeting information
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-Meeting n°3798-1
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-Luxembourg
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-4 June 2021
Preparatory documents
Outcome documents