Pat Rabbitte, Irish Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, said that Ireland’s goal during its EU presidency has been to ensure that the efforts of the EU are focused on the steps necessary to restore economic stability and the promotion of jobs and growth.
Chief among these efforts are the progression of the Single Market Acts and the Digital Agenda for Europe, said Rabbitte, describing the digital sphere as one of the most important drivers of economic activity and growth.
The minister argued that the disruptive effect of ICTs in reordering a sector can be seen across the commercial world. The EU must seek to make the best possible use of ICT technology, both in terms of ensuring that citizens have access to state-of-the-art services and to ensure that European businesses can take early advantage of the commercial opportunities afforded to them by these technologies, he said.
We’re all aware that economic activity in the EU has been disappointing and we’re pleased with Ireland’s efforts to keep the Digital Single Market on the agenda, said Cornelis Vis, an analyst at the Bureau of European Policy Advisers (BEPA), European Commission.
Vis argued that there can be no return to business as usual, and declared that the new approach we must take in the EU must be based on the opportunities offered by the Digital Single Market to return Europe to prosperity, recalling that the Digital Agenda was launched in 2010 as a flagship initiative of the Europe 2020 Strategy.
We’re extremely excited about the opportunities of working with our SME partners to complete the Digital Single Market, said Simon Hampton, Director of Public Policy and Public Relations (Europe) at Google.
Hampton complained that structural reform is perceived as being part of the austerity medicine and therefore has a bad image.
Lars Vildbrad, director of regional development for the Central Denmark Region, said the ICT approach had been implemented into the Central Denmark Region’s strategies for business development, health, education and sustainability, for example by means of establishing a cluster-network organisation, by means of public-private innovation, through intelligent public procurement, and by improving the efficiency of public services through e-administration.