European Ministers of Telecommunications and Digital Affairs will meet in León to make European regulation a global reference in innovation, competitiveness and protection of citizens’ digital rights

• Acting First Vice-President, Nadia Calviño, will chair on 23 and 24 October the informal meeting of Ministers of Digitalization and Telecommunications that is held in León within the framework of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union • Representatives of international and national organizations such as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), the Body of European Regulators of Digital Rights will be discussed It will address how to ensure competitiveness in emerging and immersive technologies, such as neurotechnology or quantum technologies, while respecting people’s rights • It will also reflect on the future of telecommunications regulation in the EU, ensuring the sustainability of the sector and investments in competitive digital infrastructures on a global scale that favor digital sovereignty • The meeting will analyze the strategy of the Member States to achieve the objectives of the “Digital Decade 2030”, European road map to promote a digitization based on four elements: training to achieve a population with highly qualified digital and professional skills;

October 21, 2023.- The European Ministers of Telecommunications and Digitalization will meet in León this Monday and Tuesday (October 23 and 24), where they will participate in the Informal Meeting of Telecommunications Ministers within the framework of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, will also attend.

The meeting aims to advance the foundations for the European regulatory model to be a global reference for innovation, competitiveness and the protection of citizens’ digital rights.

Representatives of international and national organizations such as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), the Body of European Regulators of Electronic Communications (BEREC) and the National Commission of Competition Markets (CNMC) will also participate in the meeting. The Commissioners of PERTE Chip and PERTE Nueva Economía de la Lengua, together with INCIBE, also attend as guests.

Strengthening digital rights in the face of rapid technological change

The meeting will begin on Monday with a session dedicated to the strengthening of digital rights, one of the most pressing challenges arising from rapid technological change. The Spanish Charter of Digital Rights, the EU Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles for the Digital Decade, the Ibero-American Charter of Rights and Principles in Digital Environments, the future Global Digital Compact and the recent agreements of the OECD countries are creating a new global frame of reference.

In this regard, the “Charter of Digital Rights” published by Spain, which was a pioneer country when adopting this frame of reference in 2021, stands out.

The León meeting will focus the debate on neurotechnologies and immersive and quantum technologies, and will invite the reflection of governments on digital rights and, with it, the regulation of the development of Artificial Intelligence that is being negotiated during the Spanish presidency of the EU. The text regulates Artificial Intelligence with the aim of generating a guaranteed ecosystem with rights, as well as a stable European competitive environment for European suppliers and customers.

The ministers will close the day with a visit to an exhibition on 5G, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity projects that will be installed in the same meeting recital. Later, the ministers will visit the Cathedral of León, the Basilica of San Isidoro and the Casa Botines, one of the only three buildings projected by Antoni Gaudí outside Catalonia.

The future of telecommunications

On Tuesday, October 24, ministers will dedicate the first working session to the future of telecommunications, a sector that is undergoing profound changes and facing challenges that require huge investments. The European regulatory framework must be adjusted to current realities, globalisation, the emergence of new and important players, new market structures and disruptive technologies.

Together with the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act, the new telecommunications regulation should provide the EU with the necessary framework to find the financing model for the deployment of future European telecommunications networks, mobilising public and private investment, promoting Europe's digital sovereignty and global competitiveness.

Progress towards the goals of the Digital Decade

The meeting will culminate with a session focused on the work of European governments to achieve the goals of the Digital Decade 2030 in four areas: training to achieve a population with highly qualified digital and professional skills; secure and sustainable digital infrastructures; the digital transformation of the business fabric; and the digitalisation of public services.

In the recently published report on the Digital Decade, Spain improves on all indicators compared to the old DESI report. Especially in the field of digital infrastructures and the adoption of ultra-fast broadband mainly with optical fiber – an area that leads thanks to the promotion of the Next Generation EU funds and the Recovery Plan.

Ministers will discuss how to make digitalisation a driver for growth, prosperity and competitiveness, as well as contributing to a more sustainable economy, with a humanist approach that leaves no one behind. The aim is to make the European model a global reference for innovation and the protection of freedom.