Verbatim report of proceedings

Wednesday, 12 December 2018 - Strasbourg

29. Establishing the Digital Europe programme for the period 2021-2027 (debate)

  Die Präsidentin. – Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die Aussprache über den Bericht von Angelika Mlinar im Namen des Ausschusses für Industrie, Forschung und Energie über den Vorschlag für eine Verordnung des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates zur Aufstellung des Programms „Digitales Europa“ für den Zeitraum 2021–2027 (COM(2018)0434 – C8-0256/2018 – 2018/0227(COD)) (A8-0408/2018).

  Angelika Mlinar, Rapporteur. – Madam President, I’m very glad to be speaking today as rapporteur for the Digital Europe programme which is in fact the first pan-European programme for digital investment of approximately EUR 9.2 billion that will be deployed within the next multiannual financial framework between 2021 and 2027.

First of all, let me thank the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) shadows for the effective, positive and very smooth cooperation we had in committee negotiations. Since the beginning, I very much welcome the Commission proposal as the long-awaited answer to the lack of EU coordination in the digital race with other global competitors such as the US, China and Japan.

Member States are multiplying public and private commitments to acquire state-of-the-art technology and to make it easily available for companies as well as for citizens. However, these efforts are too small on a global scale, and they can result in overlapping actions which we cannot allow since resources would be wasted.

The EU is a pioneer in research and innovation, but our digital single market witnesses a growing demand for advanced digital products, services and professionals without us having the European capacities to answer it. This programme will focus on five objectives to reinforce the digital transformation, proposing more investment in artificial intelligence, super-computing, cyber security, skills and the spread of technology. Companies, especially SMEs, will be able to approach artificial intelligence and innovative solutions within a framework that preserves our European core values. Researchers and developers in the Union will have easy access to high-performance computers without depending on third countries. In this respect, I would like to remind you that of the top 20 super-computers on this planet, only four of them are at the moment located within the European Union.

The European Union needs to count on its own digital serenity when confronted with cybersecurity. We need to catalyse investment to develop within the Union hardware and software applications that ensure a high level of security and also, not to be forgotten, data protection. The programme will also ensure that citizens get the opportunity to acquire advanced digital skills to be able to use the new tools at their disposal, especially in the public administration and public services.

As rapporteur, I would like to highlight the key elements that will ensure the success of the programme.

We will have in place a network of European digital hubs across Europe that will act as a one-stop shop for our companies to easily benefit from the programme. We will counteract the skills gap in our labour market, offering targeted high-level training to upgrade our professionals’ competences thus unleashing the creation of new job opportunities. And we will promote our European liberal values by prioritising solutions that are fully in line with EU legislation, especially on data protection, that are based on open licensing policies and open standards, and that respect Union ethical principles as we wait for the release of a set of ethical guidelines by the Commission next month.

  Bogusław Sonik, autor projektu opinii Komisji Kultury i Edukacji. – Pani Przewodnicząca! Dla Komisji Edukacji i Kultury program „Cyfrowa Europa” ma ogromne znaczenie, szczególnie jeżeli chodzi o wzmocnienie wiodącej roli, jaką Europa odgrywa na świecie pod względem transformacji cyfrowej i wpływu na kulturę europejską. Ten pierwszy ogólnoeuropejski program cyfrowy będzie korzystny nie tylko dla obywateli, ale także dla przedsiębiorstw, sektorów kulturalnych czy kreatywnych. Jednym z głównych filarów programu są inwestycje ukierunkowane na zdobywanie przez obywateli zaawansowanych umiejętności cyfrowych umożliwiających im dostęp do najnowszych technologii i korzystanie z nich. W ramach tego programu pracownicy będą mieli możliwość zdobywania zaawansowanych umiejętności cyfrowych podczas długo- i krótkoterminowych kursów szkoleniowych oraz staży w trakcie pracy. Cel ten jest szczególnie istotny dla sektora kultury i sektora kreatywnego. Podkreśla również potrzebę zagwarantowania dostępu do najbardziej zaawansowanych technologii i efektywnych technologii cyfrowych, począwszy od sztucznej inteligencji po zaawansowane techniki obliczeniowe. Ważnym punktem jest również zapewnienie synergii między programem „Cyfrowa Europa”, a wszystkimi pozostałymi programami objętymi wieloletnimi ramami finansowymi. Ze względu na ambitne cele programu konieczne jest zagwarantowanie odpowiednich środków w budżecie. Niestety jako członek Komisji Kultury bardzo żałuję, że sprawozdawczyni nie uwzględniła jednego z ważniejszych postulatów naszej komisji o możliwościach wsparcia z tego programu programu dla biblioteki cyfrowej Europeana. Digitalizacja utworów europejskich, czego świadectwem jest Europeana, stwarza ważną okazję do poprawy dostępu obywateli do europejskiego dziedzictwa kulturowego.

  Mariya Gabriel, membre de la Commission. – Madame la Présidente, Mesdames et Messieurs les députés, je voudrais commencer en remerciant la rapporteure, Mme Angelika Mlinar. Merci beaucoup pour tout le travail accompli avec les rapporteurs fictifs, merci également du soutien fort que vous nous avez exprimé. Je voudrais remercier les membres de la commission de l’industrie, de la recherche et de l’énergie pour leur vote massif en faveur du rapport sur l’établissement du programme «Europe numérique» pour la période 2021-2027. Ce vote reflète, pour nous aussi, l’importance et la nécessité de ce programme pour le futur de nos citoyens, de nos entreprises, et pour notre leadership européen.

Pour la première fois, nous avons proposé dans un budget de l’Union un programme numérique qui met au premier plan des priorités, lesquelles s’appuient, d’une part sur ce que nous avons déjà réalisé dans la stratégie du marché unique numérique, mais aussi sur une vision, sur une ambition très claire de continuer ensemble à maximiser les avantages de la transformation numérique, à la fois pour nos citoyens, nos entreprises et pour les administrations publiques de l’Union.

Nous avons donc en quelque sorte préparé le terrain, nous avons préparé le terrain avec l’établissement d’EuroHPC, l’entreprise commune pour le calcul à haute performance, avec la proposition d’un réseau européen de centres de compétences en cybersécurité, ainsi qu’avec un nouveau centre de compétences pour l’industrie, la technologie et la recherche en cybersécurité. Ce programme «Europe numérique» est essentiel. Nous devons agir maintenant, sans plus tarder, et redonner à l’Europe les instruments pour assurer notre leadership numérique.

Pour ce faire, soyons clairs, les États membres chacun de leur côté ne seront pas en mesure de faire face à l’ampleur des changements et des investissements nécessaires pour être concurrentiels à l’échelle mondiale. Ici, le mot clé est l’union. Ensemble, mettons nos ressources au service de l’intérêt commun européen. Nous pouvons prendre les rênes de cette transformation numérique et en récolter les bénéfices. C’est dans cette perspective que le programme «Europe numérique» vise à renforcer les investissements numériques dans des domaines clés tels que l’intelligence artificielle, la cybersécurité, le calcul à haute performance ou encore les compétences numériques avancées – vous savez à quel point ce sujet me tient à cœur.

Mais notre approche européenne veut mettre les nouvelles technologies au service de tous nos citoyens, de nos entreprises et des administrations publiques. L’exemple du réseau des pôles d’innovation numérique est un bon exemple de la manière dont tous ces bénéfices doivent atteindre toutes les régions et toutes les personnes qui habitent dans les zones rurales comme dans les zones urbaines.

Il est maintenant temps de joindre le geste à la parole: nous devons augmenter considérablement nos investissements dans l’avenir numérique, ceci est essentiel pour regagner notre leadership. À ce niveau, l’ambition ne sera pas suffisante, il faudra continuer à avoir un soutien large et solide, y compris sur le plan financier. Nous prenons bien note du fait que le rapport présenté aujourd’hui indique que le budget proposé par la Commission devrait être considéré comme le montant minimal pour que le programme «Europe numérique» puisse aspirer à la réussite.

Oui, Mesdames et Messieurs les députés, comme vous, nous sommes convaincus que le programme «Europe numérique», le programme «Horizon Europe», le mécanisme pour l’interconnexion en Europe, en synergie et en complémentarité, nous permettront de soutenir et d’encourager la transformation numérique de notre société européenne. Il est temps d’agir ensemble, pour atteindre ensemble nos objectifs et défendre ensemble les intérêts de nos citoyens, de nos entreprises et de notre économie.

  Paul Rübig, Verfasser der Stellungnahme des mitberatenden Haushaltsausschusses. – Frau Präsidentin! Ich möchte mich insbesondere bei der Kommissarin Mariya Gabriel sehr herzlich bedanken, weil sie immer wieder neue Initiativen setzt und natürlich genau diese Initiativen nicht nur für unsere kleinen und mittleren Betriebe wichtig sind, sondern vor allem für unsere Bürgerinnen und Bürger, die ja jetzt in der digitalen Welt aufwachsen und erkennen müssen, dass wir eigentlich die reale Welt in der digitalen Welt spiegeln können und dass in der gespiegelten digitalen Welt neue Spielregeln gelten. Die digitale gespiegelte Welt ist berechenbar geworden: mit Algorithmen, mit artificial intelligence. Deshalb geht es uns darum, dass wir auch sagen: Okay, was können wir dazu beitragen, dass diese Welt transparenter wird?

Natürlich brauchen wir ein mapping der Algorithmen, damit die Menschen verstehen können, welche Aktivitäten

man mit Algorithmen bewältigen kann, dass wir auch jüngeren Menschen, die in die Schule gehen, erklären können, was coding ist, dass man das spielerisch erlernen kann. Man muss Bestrebungen seit dem ersten Anstoß sehen, wo wir über Roaming diskutiert haben und Pilar del Castillo Vera und Adina-Ioana Vălean und wir alle dafür gekämpft haben, dass der digitale Binnenmarkt grenzüberschreitend zu vertretbaren Kosten möglich wird.

In Wahrheit war die erste Roaming-Verordnung der Startschuss für den digitalen Binnenmarkt. Ich hoffe, dass wir einen globalen digitalen Binnenmarkt kriegen. Deshalb sollten wir auch mehr Schwerpunkte legen auf die neuen Technologien wie blockchain oder ledger technologies, weil natürlich die vertrauensbildenden Maßnahmen in Zukunft ganz entscheidend dafür sein werden, ob unsere Kinder in der Lage sind, in diesen Systemen ihre digitale Integrität zu bewahren.

Die digitale Identität ist eigentlich das Wichtigste; das sind die ethischen Prinzipien, die wir in der realen Welt vorfinden, und die wollen wir natürlich auch in der digitalen Welt vorfinden. Ich kann die Kollegin Mlinar nur unterstützen: Hier müssen wir mehr tun.

  Jeroen Lenaers, rapporteur for the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. – Madam President, this programme is about high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and advanced digital skills, and I think our message is quite simple: we need to reinforce our capacity in these fields. We need to reinforce our capacity and ensure that it is widely used in our economy and our society. I think that was the main message when the European leaders met in Tallinn and it’s also a conclusion that we can widely share in this House.

We already have the Digital Single Market, and the programme we’re discussing today has to make sure we get the much-needed investment to match the ambitions of that strategy. It’s already important. If we want the EU to play a role in the digital transformations of the future we need to act today and we need to invest today. Already the demand for new technology is growing at a much faster pace in the EU than the supply.

In high-performance computing we see that the lack of adequate resources actually pushes scientists and researchers out of Europe. We have an excellent artificial intelligence community, but it is still underdeveloped compared to other markets. Fragmentation and relatively low public investment in cybersecurity put our society and economy at risk while the European cyber industry remains very fragmented.

From the perspective of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), this last point especially is very important. Cybersecurity is critical to both our prosperity and our security. As our daily lives become more and more digital, they also become more and more exposed, and the risks in recent years have grown exponentially.

Increasing the trust of citizens and businesses in digital communication, in cybersecurity, is an absolute priority for the EU and I’m very happy that with the report that we will vote on tomorrow, with this programme from our Commissioner, this is exactly what we will do. Thank you all and we look forward to voting on this tomorrow.

  Pilar del Castillo Vera, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Madam President, I’d like to thank the Commissioner for being here with us today, and thank you very much, too, to the rapporteur – she was an excellent rapporteur and our cooperation with her was excellent.

We now have the first ever Digital Europe programme, and this is something we can congratulate ourselves on. This programme, by investing EUR 9.22 billion, will align the next long-term EU budget 2021-2027 with the increasing digital challenges, providing the digital capabilities needed to seize all the opportunities of the digital transformation.

Who will the main beneficiaries be? The main beneficiaries will be European companies and especially SMEs, setting a precedent for future initiatives. The key capacities that the programme will focus on concerns high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, advanced digital skills, and ensuring its wide use and accessibility across the economy and society by businesses and the public sector alike. European SMEs will have the possibility to use our future super-computers to perform their data analysis and to exploit the future AI capacity that will lead to innovative businesses and services.

We must not forget that currently the super-computers we use extensively, paying very high fees, are located in third countries. From now on that will be possible here in the European Union. This is a real opportunity to put Europe in the front line of the digital transformation. Now our economy can be the most competitive in the world.

  Carlos Zorrinho, em nome do Grupo S&D. – Senhora Presidente, Senhora Comissária, do sucesso da implementação do programa hoje em debate vai depender, como disse, em larga medida, o futuro da União Europeia enquanto espaço partilhado de paz, de liberdade e de democracia.

Como disse o poeta Paul Éluard, o futuro já não é aquilo que foi e, hoje, falhar a inclusão na fronteira tecnológica em áreas como aquelas em que este programa aposta significaria um atraso social, político e económico irreversível.

Por isso, temos de ser profundamente rigorosos e determinados na definição das prioridades, das regras e das metodologias a aplicar. Só uma visão redutora e míope pode pôr em causa o financiamento que, embora seja significativo, ainda assim é diminuto e resulta da falta de ambição global do pacote financeiro da Comissão Europeia.

2,7 mil milhões de euros para desenvolver uma rede potente de computação de alta capacidade; 2,5 mil milhões de euros para reforçar competências na inteligência artificial; 2 mil milhões de euros para desenvolver as capacidades de cibersegurança; 1,3 mil milhões de euros para assegurar a transformação digital na administração pública, tendo o acesso dos cidadãos e cuidados dos serviços como prioridade; 700 milhões de euros para desenvolver as competências necessárias, para que esta informação seja geradora de um significativo volume de novas oportunidades de emprego de alta qualidade, estamos com tudo isto a falar de 9,2 mil milhões de euros. Parece muito dinheiro.

Contudo, quando compramos este investimento potencial com o que está previsto por outras grandes potências, designadamente pelos Estados Unidos, pela China ou pelo Japão, percebemos que, afinal, não é um investimento excessivo, pelo contrário, é um investimento diminuto.

E é também por este diferencial de esforço financeiro que temos de ser particularmente rigorosos na concretização do programa. Como relator-sombra dos Socialistas e Democratas, destaco o excelente trabalho de colaboração com a relatora, que saúdo, e com os outros grupos, que permitiu dar consistência e traduzir num relatório ideias fortes, ideias fortes que queria seguidamente sintetizar.

Em primeiro lugar, não sendo a Europa Digital um programa destinado a desenvolver infraestruturas, precisa de infraestruturas para ter sucesso. E, por isso, é muito importante interligar este programa com outros programas, como os Fundos de Coesão, o Horizonte Europa ou o Mecanismo Interligar Europa.

Em segundo lugar, é muito importante definir um padrão ético forte na avaliação dos projetos financiados pelo programa. No relatório são dados passos importantes neste sentido e que têm de continuar a ser aprofundados, globalmente, no contexto da União Europeia.

A cooperação com países terceiros é outra questão essencial e este relatório dá uma resposta equilibrada, flexível, mas robusta, definindo patamares de relacionamento e critérios claros para a definição de parcerias ganhadoras.

Importa também garantir a dimensão de convergência e inclusão associada ao programa. Por isso, o facto de cada Estado-Membro ter pelo menos um hub de inovação e desenvolvimento no quadro da rede europeia é um importante elemento de proteção do equilíbrio geográfico e territorial.

A proteção de dados é também um traço transversal à matriz de desenvolvimento dos objetivos do programa.

Vivemos, Sra. Comissária, Sra. Presidente, um tempo de transição energética e digital que configura uma revolução tecnológica. Uma revolução tem sempre de ser balizada por valores e tem de ter os interesses dos cidadãos como marca d'água do seu desenvolvimento. O aprofundamento das desigualdades, a perceção da injustiça e o medo da mudança têm vindo a afastar os cidadãos do projeto europeu. O Digital Europa tem de ser um programa de conexão e não de exclusão.

Esta semana, como a Sra. Comissária bem sabe, foram conhecidos os primeiros 2 800 municípios europeus que terão conexões garantidas de alta qualidade nos seus espaços públicos no âmbito da iniciativa Wifi4you. Foram 2 800 municípios selecionados entre candidaturas de 13 000 territórios locais.

O programa Europa Digital tem de ser capaz de alimentar a nova rede europeia de serviços para os cidadãos e de defesa desses mesmos cidadãos; tem de ser o embrião de uma identidade digital diferenciada e baseada nos nossos valores comuns. Essa será também a medida do seu sucesso ou do seu insucesso.

Temos todos, os que acreditamos neste projeto de paz e liberdade que é a União Europeia, de cooperar para que se faça acontecer muito com os recursos que temos, mobilizando a sociedade civil e as empresas europeias para este desafio estratégico-chave, o desafio, afinal, de colocarmos a revolução tecnológica e digital ao serviço das pessoas, da descentralidade do planeta, da justiça e da qualidade de vida.

  Dario Tamburrano, a nome del gruppo EFDD. – Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, mi associo ai complimenti dei colleghi che mi hanno preceduto e anche alle considerazioni sull'importanza di questo programma. Forse effettivamente i fondi non sono poi così tanti come sembrano.

Io vorrei anche fare notare una cosa: già in passato tante volte si sono costruite una società e un'economia basandosi su alcune innovazioni tecnologiche e troppe volte non si sono prevenuti quelli che sono gli effetti collaterali. Anche nella transizione al digitale abbiamo degli effetti collaterali che già si stanno manifestando nelle nostre società, visto che ci sono alcune problematiche come il degrado dell'equilibrio psicosensoriale, la frammentazione cognitiva ed emozionale, la distrazione cronica, in modo particolare in bimbi e adolescenti – c'è già un'ampia letteratura medica e scientifica – sono problemi che si accresceranno con la transizione inevitabile al digitale, che però è anche positiva.

Allora forse dovremmo anche cominciare a prendere delle precauzioni. Noi abbiamo presentato degli emendamenti in merito, dato che prevenire è sempre meglio che curare e tornare indietro, poi, è molto difficile. Conto sulla vostra saggezza.

  Момчил Неков (S&D). – Уважаема г-жо Председател, уважаема г-жо Габриел, уважаеми колеги, радвам се да видя, че в следващата многогодишна финансова рамка инвестициите в дигитални умения са хоризонтален приоритет. Не трябва да забравяме, че в рамките на Европейския съюз 70 милиона европейци не разполагат с базови дигитални умения. В света на бързоразвиващите се технологии владеенето на базови умения се оказва крайно недостатъчно. В този смисъл новата програма „Цифрова Европа“ задава правилната посока, определяйки като една от основните си цели развиването на напреднали дигитални умения.

Смятам, че бюджетът на програмата е достатъчно амбициозен. На мнение съм обаче, че е необходим повече баланс при разпределянето на средствата по отделните пера. Споделям виждането, че целевият ресурс за напреднали цифрови умения е крайно недостатъчен. Финансовото подпомагане по това направление трябва да представлява поне 12% от целия бюджет. Вярвам, че не бива отново да се допуска грешката, при която се инвестират огромни средства за дигитализация, докато в същото време хората не притежават необходимите умения, за да си служат с напредналите технологии.

Що се отнася до хъбовете за дигитални иновации, които ще играят ключова роля при изпълнението на програмата, смятам, че освен да се съблюдава географският принцип при тяхното разпределяне, с преференция трябва да се ползват по-бедните и слабо заселени райони в Съюза.

Spontane Wortmeldungen

  Νότης Μαριάς (ECR). – Κυρία Πρόεδρε, η ψηφιακή οικονομία πραγματικά είναι το μέλλον της Ευρώπης, διότι έτσι μπορεί να υπάρξει ενίσχυση της ανταγωνιστικότητας. Μια ανταγωνιστικότητα που κακώς επί πολλά χρόνια στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση στηρίχθηκε στην κινεζοποίηση των μισθών. Ευτυχώς τώρα τελευταία το κατάλαβαν ότι πρέπει να επενδύσουν στην ψηφιακή οικονομία, στις νέες τεχνολογίες. Αλλά, για να γίνει επένδυση, πρέπει να υπάρχει μια άνεση στις δημόσιες επενδύσεις. Πώς όμως θα υπάρχουν δημόσιες επενδύσεις, όταν το Σύμφωνο Σταθερότητας δημιουργεί ορισμένα προβλήματα και περιορίζει τα ίδια τα κράτη μέλη στη δυνατότητα να διαθέσουν κονδύλια; Εδώ λοιπόν πρέπει να φροντίσετε να υπάρχει εξαίρεση, να μη μετράει στο έλλειμμα, όταν υπάρχει επένδυση στην ψηφιακή οικονομία και ιδίως όταν θα είναι επένδυση προκειμένου να υπάρξουν δυνατότητες ανάπτυξης της ψηφιακής οικονομίας. Ταυτόχρονα πρέπει να το δούμε και από πλευράς Κεντρικής Τράπεζας, διότι ο κύριος Draghi αγόρασε ομόλογα εταιρειών οι οποίες δεν έχουν επενδύσει στην ψηφιακή οικονομία. Είναι απλά πράγματα τα οποία πρέπει να δούμε, διότι τα κεφάλαια που επενδύονται, αυτά που αναφέρετε στο πρόγραμμα, δεν επαρκούν, επομένως πρέπει να βρούμε άλλους τρόπους χρηματοδότησης.

(Ende der spontanen Wortmeldungen)

  Mariya Gabriel, membre de la Commission. – Madame la Présidente, tout d’abord, Mesdames et Messieurs les députés, je voudrais vous remercier pour le soutien fort que vous avez exprimé. Le Parlement européen a d’ailleurs toujours apporté ce soutien aux citoyens européens, aux entreprises européennes, aux petites et moyennes entreprises tout comme à nos champions européens.

L’homme au centre de notre politique numérique, l’homme aux commandes, nos valeurs, les questions éthiques, nos chercheurs, nos jeunes, mais aussi les zones rurales, les personnes vulnérables, tous ces mots-clés étaient des mots que vous avez mis en avant et ils sont au cœur du programme «Europe numérique».

Nous pouvons les élever à un niveau supérieur si nous joignons nos forces, et, avec ce premier programme numérique paneuropéen, nous adressons des messages forts à nos citoyens: nous voudrions vous accompagner dans cette transition numérique, nous voudrions retenir nos talents. C’est pour cela que, dans le programme, nous avons des compétences numériques avancées. Ce ne sont pas les compétences numériques de base, attention, nous allons continuer à veiller à ce qu’il y ait des complémentarités dans d’autres parties du budget.

Nous adressons un message fort à nos entreprises: nous croyons en vous, nous voudrions voir grandir nos champions européens. Et nous adressons un message très fort à nos partenaires internationaux: l’Europe est en retard, mais elle a des atouts forts, de la recherche scientifique aux secteurs de l’industrie, pour revenir dans la course.

Il est maintenant temps de procéder rapidement aux négociations interinterinstitutionnelles et de continuer à ne pas ménager nos efforts pour rendre le programme «Europe numérique» opérationnel ainsi que bénéfique pour les citoyens et nos entreprises. Merci beaucoup à tous pour votre travail. La Commission reste à votre disposition pour que les négociations puissent aboutir le plus rapidement possible.

  Angelika Mlinar, Rapporteur. – Madam President, I would like to express my gratitude to the Commissioner and all her staff because they have been extremely helpful from the outset, and we hope to continue in that way in the future. Thank you also to my colleagues for the constructive comments they have made and for the cooperative, to-the-point approach in this debate.

As the Commissioner mentioned, I would like to remind everyone that the lead committee voted on the report with a large majority – 57 votes in favour, only 2 against and 3 abstentions – and I would ask the House to vote tomorrow in line with this outcome, thus enabling us to keep the balance that has been reached among all the political groups involved. I’m eager to start the negotiations with our co-legislator and I wish to work with the incoming Romanian Presidency in the same positive and efficient spirit that has prevailed so far.

On a final note, regarding the programme’s financial envelope, I have taken the path of being quite a pragmatic rapporteur and I did not table any amendments to the Commission’s proposed budget. That approach was also shared by my shadow rapporteurs. I consider that the novelty of the programme will be a key factor in the negotiations on the overall EU budget, and therefore I will advocate keeping the proposed EUR 9.2 billion as a minimum acceptable amount consistent with the programme’s needs and ambitions. If we start reducing it, we will get into problems. I’m aware that, most probably, we will not be finalising the Multiannual Financial Framework within this parliamentary term: however, let’s keep this in mind in order to have a successful programme in place for the years to come.

(Applause)

  Die Präsidentin. – Die Aussprache ist geschlossen.

Die Abstimmung findet am Donnerstag, 13. Dezember 2018, statt.

Schriftliche Erklärungen (Artikel 162)

  Antanas Guoga (PPE), in writing. – It was already time not only to recognise the potential of new technologies and how they can move forward Europe’s economy, but also to take action for it to happen. The Programme focuses on five areas – AI, supercomputers, cybersecurity, digital skills and digital transformation of public administration – where the funding should go. I support the Commission’s ambition to finally establish such a programme but the proposed amount of EUR 9.1 billion rather limits its ambition. For example, for AI an allocation of EUR 2.5 billion is planned for 2021-2027 to boost Europe’s economy and enhance society, and help Europe in the AI race with the US and China.

I believe that unfortunately it will be rather difficult for Europe to become the front runner knowing that the US and China have already invested billions in AI and are planning to continue. By 2030 China plans to build an USD 1 trillion AI industry. Europe needs a clear vision and a common European industrial policy on AI, so the allocation of funds would be successful. Also, I welcome the allocation of funds for digital skills which is crucial for Europe due to an already existing shortage of qualified people in ICT.

  Czesław Hoc (ECR), na piśmie. – Program „Cyfrowa Europa” na lata 2021–2027 to ważny element szeroko rozumianego fundamentu pod sferę, która nas już otacza, a która będzie coraz ważniejsza dla wszystkich z każdym kolejnym rokiem. Cyfrowy świat przenika do wielu płaszczyzn naszego życia, od obszaru kultury, przez zdrowie, edukację czy choćby cyberbezpieczeństwo. Dlatego musimy jak najlepiej zagospodarować środki, które określa ten program, by Europejczycy byli przygotowani do życia w tej cyfrowej rzeczywistości, której świat jeszcze niedawno zupełnie nie znał. Musimy być konkurencyjni na arenie globalnej w tej sferze, by nie pozostać w tyle za innymi kontynentami. Musimy tu jednak szczególnie pamiętać o wartościach i o tym, by to człowiek był beneficjentem cyfrowego świata, a nie jego ofiarą czy niewolnikiem. Jest to warunek sine qua non – rozwój tej strefy naszego życia nie może powodować wykluczenia kogokolwiek, szczególnie zaś osób starszych czy z utrudnionym dostępem do dobrodziejstw świata cyfrowego.

  Valdemar Tomaševski (ECR), raštu. – Bendruoju skaitmeninės Europos programos tikslu turėtų būti skaitmeninės pramonės transformacijos rėmimas. Taip pat reikėtų skatinti geriau išnaudoti pramoninį inovacijų, mokslinių tyrimų ir technologinės plėtros politikos priemonių potencialą visos Sąjungos verslo subjektų ir piliečių naudai. Pranešėja teisingai pastebi, kad tai yra neišvengiama tam, kad Europa neatsiliktų nuo sparčios pramoninės ir skaitmeninės revoliucijos bei tam, kad galėtume užtikrinti tinkamą mūsų ekonomikos ir visuomenės pasirengimą. Labai svarbu užtikrinti Europos konkurencingumą ir pažangų, integracinį ir tvarų augimą. Norint sukurti gerai veikiančią bendrą skaitmeninę rinką visai Europai, visose valstybėse narėse turėtų būti įvykdytos tam tikros pagrindinės išankstinės sąlygos. Skaitmeninių paslaugų infrastruktūros ir pajėgumų trūkumas vis dar kliudo kurti sklandžias tarpvalstybines paslaugas. Sąjunga ir jos programos turėtų remti ir skirti tinkamas lėšas pagrindinių išankstinių sąlygų įvykdymui ir skaitmeninių paslaugų infrastruktūros sukūrimui. Pradėti reikėtų nuo skaitmeninėms paslaugoms ir jų diegimui plačiu mastu vietos, nacionaliniu ir Europos lygmenimis, apimant visus Europos ekonomikos sektorius, reikalingų trūkstamų sąsajų, funkcijų ir požymių išnagrinėjimo. Kibernetinis saugumas yra iššūkis visai Sąjungai, kurio daugiau negalima stengtis įveikti vien suskaidytomis nacionalinėmis iniciatyvomis. Europos kibernetinio saugumo pajėgumai turėtų būti sustiprinti, ypač turint omenyje finansinį sektorių.