Пълен протокол на разискванията

Четвъртък, 19 януари 2017 г. - Страсбург

13. Изграждане на европейска икономика на данни (разискване)

  Der Präsident. – Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die Aussprache über die Erklärung der Kommission zum Aufbau einer europäischen Datenwirtschaft (2017/2505(RSP)).

  Marianne Thyssen, Member of the Commission. – Mr President, on 10 January, the Commission presented one of the last Digital Single Market Initiatives addressing Europe’s Digital Future, which concerns data. With the adoption of the communication on building the European Data Economy, the Commission launched a public consultation.

Data has become an essential resource for economic growth and social progress. In the near future, most economic activity will depend on data. The data market is estimated in the European Union at more than EUR 50 billion and models project its growth to EUR 111 billion in 2020. In the Digital Single Market Strategy we committed to tackling restrictions on the free movement of data in the European Union, considered essential for the European Union’s successful transition to Industry 4.0 and a modern data economy.

The barriers to the free movement of data in the European Union may arise from legal rules or administrative guidelines or practices that required the storage or processing of data to be limited to a particular geographical area or jurisdiction. The trend, both globally and in Europe, is towards more data localisation, an approach often based on the misconception that localised services are automatically safer than cross—border services. This could inhibit data—driven businesses, particularly start—ups and SMEs, from scaling up their activities or entering new markets, but it could also block access for businesses and public sector organisations to cheaper and more innovative data services.

The Commission wants to ensure that Europe’s fundamental freedoms concerning the movement of services and establishment are also respected when it comes to data services. The principle of free movement of personal data based services is enshrined in European Union primary and secondary law. Any Member State’s action affecting data storage or processing should be guided by a principle of free movement of data within the EU in line with their obligations under the free movement of services and the free establishment provisions of the Treaty, but also by obligations stemming from relevant secondary legislation.

The current Data Protection Regulation fully regulates the processing of personal data in the European Union, including machine-generated or industrial data when this identifies a natural person. By setting uniform high standards of data protection, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ensures the free flow of personal data in the European Union. In this context, as announced in the communication, the Commission will soon enter into structured dialogues with the Member States and other stakeholders on the justification for, and proportionality of, data allocation measures. It will take as a starting point restrictions already identified by the Commission. Following the results of the structured dialogues with Member States and other stakeholders and further evidence gathering via public consultations, the Commission will launch, where needed and appropriate, infringement proceedings to address unjustified or disproportionate data location measures. It will also, if necessary, take further initiatives on the free flow of data.

The communication also addresses other aspects of the data economy such as data ownership, data transfer and liability issues, for example who owns data, how it can be exploited and where responsibility should lie if an automatic device makes the wrong choice. These are essential issues to clarify for a working data economy.

This part of the communication further examines issues connected with access to data and how more data can become available for use and reuse. Large—scale trading, sharing or exchange of data, is unfortunately rare today in the European Union.

Finally, we need to look into improving the portability of business data. For example, a company cannot yet easily switch its data between cloud service providers. Portability can lower costs and increase trust and therefore also lower entry barriers for innovative ideas.

In the communication, the Commission makes it clear that more information is needed on the above areas. To this end we have launched two public consultations and will enter into structured dialogues with the Member States and other stakeholders to seek out workable solutions. Following the results of the dialogues and the further evidence-gathering, these solutions may include guidance, benchmarks, model contracts or other new initiatives if these are deemed necessary. Our overall objective is to remove barriers and support data economy developments. Indeed, the more the data available is used and flows freely, the better the data economy will develop and help to create growth and jobs.

On 10 January, the Commission also adopted its proposal for a regulation on privacy and electronic communications after a year-long review of the e—Privacy Directive. If we want to make the most of data, people must feel confident that their data is protected. This is why the Commission is proposing new rules on privacy and the protection of personal data in electronic communications. The measures aim to update the current rules, extending their scope to all electronic communication providers. They also aim to create new possibilities to process communication data and reinforce trust and security in the digital single market, which is a key objective of the Digital Single Market Strategy. A major objective of the review is to align the rules for electronic communications with the new world-class standards of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.

As you know, Europeans are concerned about their privacy. Electronic communications can reveal highly sensitive information about a person or a business. In a recent Eurobarometer survey, 92% of respondents say it is important, or very important, that personal information on their computer, smartphone or tablet can only be accessed with their permission. 92% also state that it is important – or again very important – that the confidentiality of their emails and online instant messaging is guaranteed. The proposed regulations on privacy and electronic communications seek to address those concerns. At the same time, the new rules will support innovation and increase consumer trust in electronic communication services essential for the digital single market to flourish. The proposed regulation will increase the protection of people’s private lives and open up new opportunities for business by taking the following four measures.

First of all, the Commission proposes an extension of the scope to include providers of electronic communication services such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Skype, Gmail, iMessage and Viber. Secondly, the confidentiality of communications’ content and metadata remain the core of the legal instrument. So privacy will be guaranteed for both content and metadata derived from electronic communications, for example the time and duration of a call and location. Thirdly, the proposal provides for new business opportunities. Once consent is given for communications data to be processed, traditional telecom operators will have more opportunities to use data and provide additional services. Finally, simpler rules on cookies are needed. Therefore the so—called Cookie Provision, which has resulted in an overload of consent requests for internet users, will be streamlined. New rules will allow users to be more in control of their settings, providing an easy way to accept or refuse the tracking of cookies and other identifiers in case of privacy risks. The Commission believes that the extensive consultation of stakeholders, better regulation evaluation and the impact assessment resulted in a balanced and technologically neutral proposal fit for the digital age.

Finally, on 10 January the Commission presented new rules to ensure that, when personal data are handled by European institutions and bodies, privacy is protected in the same way as it is in Member States under the General Data Protection Regulation. The Commission also presented a strategic framework for international personal data transfers where it reiterated its commitment to encouraging data transfers with our partners, businesses or companies based on high personal data protection standards.

The EU is a world leader on data protection rules and we serve as an inspiration for many third countries. Those with whom we have very close economic ties are interested in adequacy findings – this is particularly the case for Japan and South Korea – and we will engage with them. Our aim is to promote high data protection standards internationally.

  Andreas Schwab, im Namen der PPE-Fraktion. – Herr Präsident! Zunächst mal möchte ich die Gelegenheit nutzen, Ihnen zu Ihrer überzeugenden Wiederwahl zu gratulieren. Ich freue mich, die nächsten zweieinhalb Jahre mit Ihnen hier im Haus noch häufig zusammenzutreffen. Zum Zweiten freue ich mich, dass Frau Kommissarin Thyssen, die einmal selber dem Binnenmarktausschuss des Europäischen Parlaments angehört hat, heute dieses wichtige Gesetzespaket der Europäischen Kommission zur Data Economy vorstellt. Herzlichen Dank dafür.

Das Paket ist so breit und groß, dass ich mich nur auf einen Aspekt konzentrieren will: den Aspekt, den Günter Oettinger, der scheidende Kommissar, der jetzt ja für den Haushalt zuständig ist, hier vorgelegt hat. Ich finde, das ist wirklich ein sehr umfassendes Paket, das die richtigen Schwerpunkte auf die wesentlichen Fragen der Datenökonomie setzt und grundsätzlich auf diese Fragen eingeht, und vor allem auf die Frage des Eigentums von Daten im digitalen Zeitalter eine Antwort sucht.

Denn eins ist klar: Viele Verbraucherthemen sind angesprochen worden. Dafür können wir Lösungen finden. Aber die große Verunsicherung, vor der viele mittelständische und kleinere Unternehmen stehen, ist, dass sie nicht wissen, wie sie auf der einen Seite die Öffnung zur digitalen Ökonomie hinbekommen sollen, andererseits aber gleichzeitig Sorge dafür tragen können, dass die Daten entsprechend sicher und geschützt sind. Da gibt es zum einen mal natürlich die Vorgaben der Netzwerk- und Informationssicherheitsrichtlinie, die dringend umgesetzt werden müssen, weil wir uns gegen Cyber-Attacken und für mehr Cyber-Security nicht nur staatlicherseits, sondern auch privatwirtschaftlich einsetzen müssen. Aber es geht natürlich auch um die Frage, welche Anreize der Gesetzgeber setzt, um Daten gemeinsam zu nutzen.

Das beste Beispiel ist immer die Frage, welche Daten im Pkw am Ende welchem Dienstleister zugeordnet werden können. Und diese Frage, Frau Kollegin Thyssen – das muss man so sagen – ist mit dem Vorschlag nicht abschließend geklärt. Es ist auch eine politisch und wirtschaftlich unglaublich schwierige Frage. Wenn es uns nicht gelingt, Anreize zu setzen, dass die Daten, die vorhanden sind, auch genutzt werden, und zwar von allen Anbietern im Markt, die daran Interesse haben, dann werden wir die europäische Datenökonomie nicht mit dem Impetus versehen können, der dringend notwendig ist.

Und zum Zweiten finde ich sehr positiv, dass die Kommission in diesem Vorschlag ausdrücklich mal den sogenannten Lock-in-Effekt anspricht – einen Effekt, der zwar in Wettbewerbsverfahren eine Rolle gespielt hat, in der Gesetzgebung bisher aber keine Rolle gespielt hat.

  Andrejs Mamikins, on behalf of the S&D Group. – Mr President, digital data is an essential resource for economic growth, competitiveness, innovation, job creation and social progress in general. The EU needs to ensure that data flows across borders and sectors. This data should be accessible by most stakeholders in an optimal way. A coordinated European approach is essential for the development of the data economy. I think that it is very important that the Commission has launched a public consultation and dialogue with stakeholders on these topics. This process will help identify future policy or legislative measures that will unleash Europe’s data economy.

The value of the EU data economy was estimated at EUR 272 billion in 2015, or almost 2% of EU GDP. If the policy and legal framework conditions for the data economy are put in place in time, its value will increase to EUR 643 billion by 2020, representing more than 3% of overall EU GDP. The General Data Protection Regulation will be one single European set of rules, as opposed to 28 national laws today. The newly created one-stop shop mechanism will ensure that one data protection authority will be responsible for the supervision of cross-border data processing operations carried out by a company in the European Union.

To build the data economy the EU needs a policy framework that enables data to be used throughout the value chain for scientific, social and industrial purposes. The Commission should launch a wide-ranging stakeholder dialogue on the issues of building a European data economy. The first step in this dialogue will be a public consultation. The issue of data access and liability should be tested in a real-life environment in the field of cooperative, connected and automated mobility. Concerning to the free flow of data, the Commission has to continue to work to fully implement the principle of the free flow of data within the EU. The Commission has to continue also to monitor and gather evidence, and if necessary consider taking further initiatives on the free flow of data.

  Dita Charanzová, on behalf of the ALDE Group. – Mr President, the ALDE Group read the Data Economy package from last week with great interest and hope. I have to say that there is one important item missing in your package. Where is the ban on localisation requirements within the EU? Where is the ban, Madam Commissioner?

It is wrong to allow Member States to force companies to hold data in one Member State instead of another Member State. All Member States are equal. All European data is governed by the same set of principles and the same data protection rules. That is why we have adopted a General Data Protection Regulation. A regulation, not a directive. It should not matter if a server is in Helsinki or Lisbon or Prague. Every European should know that their data is safe, throughout the European Union.

Companies must be free to use digital infrastructure anywhere in Europe. We have seen a number of countries outside the European Union adopting data localisation laws for both economic and anti-democratic reasons: to spy, to censor, to demand money from companies. These rules can often endanger citizens more than protect them. The free flow of data must be regarded as the fifth freedom of the Single Market in Europe and the ALDE group therefore says ‘no’ to data localisation laws.

You have rightly said that you want to remove the barriers in the digital single market. Yes, I agree, we want a fully functioning digital single market, but data localisation is a barrier to making it happen.

  Seán Kelly (PPE). – Mr President, congratulations on your re—election and also congratulations to Mrs Thyssen on a very good presentation to us here today. There is no doubt about it: a thriving digital economy is one of the cornerstones of growth and employment in the EU. However, as has been outlined by the Commissioner, barriers remain that prevent us from achieving the full potential of the digital economy. Europe’s digital market, for example, remains heavily fragmented. This is a key part of the European digital single market strategy which could add EUR 415 billion per annum to the EU economy, creating an additional income of EUR 817 per person. The digital economy is estimated to represent 22.5% of the world economy and is estimated to be worth 8.4 billion or 5% of GDP in my own country of Ireland. That is an 85% increase between 2009 and 2014. So completing the digital single market is vital for all of us.

Because of that, we must look at the barriers and here our competitiveness is at stake. Ensuring the free flow of data in the EU is simply crucial if we in Europe want to keep pace with Asia and North America. Data localisation rules in different Member States inhibit growth and are a barrier to this investment. In order to complete and implement the European digital single market and enable international data flows that support innovation securely, removing existing data localisation measures will drive down the cost of data services while expanding their use and choice. This alone could boost GDP by up to EUR 8 billion per year.

So, we have a lot of work to do, especially in the following areas: supervisory authorities obliging financial services providers to store their data locally; professional secrecy rules, for example in the health sector, implying local data storage and processing; sweeping regulations requiring the local storage of archived information generated by the public sector whatever its sensitivity.

Finally, I would just like to say I had the pleasure of working on the Data Protection Regulation and now I look forward to working with what is not covered in that – that is non-personal data.

  Ivan Jakovčić (ALDE). – Gospodine predsjedavajući, čestitam Vam prije svega na izboru i odmah naglašavam koliko je veliko, ogromno novo europsko podatkovno tržište. To je velika nova prilika, nova šansa za naše gospodarstvo, ali ona traži i našu novu odgovornost.

Tu želim prije svega jasno naglasiti kako nam je potreban niz jasno preciziranih, ali i pojednostavljenih pravila i pravne regulacije koji će razriješiti probleme u pogledu vlasništva podataka, prenosivosti podataka, dostupnosti podataka, istraživanja i inovacija u podatkovnom gospodarstvu, zaštite osobnih podataka, lokalizacije podataka, o čemu smo već govorili, i naravno uskladiti sve to skupa s jedinstvenim digitalnim tržištem. Druga stvar koju želim naglasiti je potreba partnerstva, partnerstva Europske unije sa zemljama članicama, ali nemojmo nikad zaboraviti niti regionalne i lokalne vlasti i naravno privatni sektor, a kada govorimo o privatnom sektoru ne mislim uvijek samo na velike tvrtke nego i na male tvrtke.

Dakle imamo puno toga za učiniti, a partnerstvo, siguran sam, može doprinijeti da naše gospodarstvo u podatkovnom smislu bude još efikasnije i jače.

  Lambert van Nistelrooij (PPE). – Mr President, I think big data is the fuel for the future, let me say. We know that it will contribute to solving a lot of society’s challenges. In healthcare, for instance, resource efficiency, intelligent transport, etc.

Let me make two remarks. Firstly, we need the free movement of data across the borders and to address several legal uncertainties – and Mr Schwab has already spoken about this – preventing companies to treat Europe as a one big market, not as 28 small separate markets. Europe has repeatedly missed the last ten years, taking the leading role in new cloud business models. Let us not allow this to happen again. Secondly, it is of key importance to educate and enable our young people in the business sector. I strongly welcome the Commission’s report for a European Data Science Academy to bridge the skills gap in Europe by designing curricula for data science training and data science education. I am personally active in this approach in the Netherlands. We are helping a Dutch Academy in this field and it has already started in Den Bosch. There is a huge interest for that, not only for technical aspects but also ethical aspects. Finally, there is – as I just said before – a role for the regions and the cities to take up such a kind of initiative, and during the consultation we will come forward with these kind of possibilities close to citizens and their future.

Catch-the-eye-Verfahren

  Michaela Šojdrová (PPE). – Kolegyně a kolegové, vítám tuto výměnu informací v EP s Komisí právě na téma budování datové ekonomiky. Jak zde již bylo řečeno, tento trh má velký potenciál pro růst, pro zaměstnanost. Oceňuji aktivity Komise, které směřují k odbourání bariér pro sběr, šíření a také obchodování s daty.

Toto téma je přesně to téma, o kterém nemohou rozhodnout efektivně členské státy samostatně, ale musí spolupracovat společně také s Evropskou komisí na budování jednotného digitálního trhu. Nejdůležitější a nedílnou součástí těchto opatření musí být také zajištění ochrany soukromí v elektronické komunikaci.

Proto vítám iniciativu Evropské komise v této oblasti. Skype, G-mail, Facebook, Whatsapp, to jsou dávno každodenní prostředky, které používáme, a my musíme mít do budoucna jistotu bezpečné komunikace. Děkuji paní komisařce za představení této iniciativy.

  Victor Negrescu (S&D). – Domnule președinte, economia datelor este esențială pentru dezvoltarea viitoare a Europei. Vorbim de o oportunitate pe care nu o putem rata, de modernizarea economiei și industriei noastre, dar și de folosirea competențelor pe care noi le avem aici, în Europa. Această transformare a economiei nu poate fi oprită. Avem două posibilități: să fim proactivi sau reactivi.

A fi reactivi înseamnă să legiferăm asupra problemelor generate de economia datelor după ce acestea se produc, uneori mergând prea departe și blocând dezvoltarea sectorului la nivel european. Cel mai ilustrativ exemplu este cel al marilor corporații care s-au îmbogățit folosindu-ne datele. După ani de zile am reacționat, blocând însă dezvoltarea companiilor europene printr-o reacție prea dură. De aceea, îmi doresc să devenim proactivi, să stimulăm dezvoltarea economiei datelor printr-un set de reguli comune, clare pentru utilizatori, dar și accesibile antreprenorilor mici și mijlocii.

Ideea unor programe educaționale este un prim pas, dar trebuie să ne atingem potențialul și trebuie să investim mai ales în securitatea cibernetică și a datelor. Cred că avem expertiză la nivel european și pot să spun că, în mod special în țara mea, România, putem să găsim specialiști.

  Jozo Radoš (ALDE). – Gospodine predsjedniče, moje čestitke na vašem ponovnom izboru. Gospođo povjerenice, uz sve prednosti koje donosi podatkovno gospodarstvo, ja bih naglasio tu da bi korištenje te grane omogućilo i smanjenje troškova državne i javne uprave za 15 do 20 posto. Postoji veliki prostor za napredak europskog podatkovnog gospodarstva budući da Sjedinjene Američke Države, s kojima smo usporedivi, imaju dvostruko više zaposlenih u toj grani gospodarstva i sudjeluju s dvostruko većim udjelom u ukupnom prometu roba i usluga. Dakle, postoji veliki prostor za napredak europskog podatkovnog gospodarstva.

Od svih poteškoća spomenuo bih opasnost digitalne podjele, opasnost da se razlike u razvijenosti naših regija u Europskoj uniji još povećaju i na to treba obratiti posebnu pozornost. No svakako zahvaljujem na izvješću i pozdravljam sve mjere koje je povjerenica najavila za rast podatkovnog gospodarstva u Europi.

(Ende des Catch-the-eye-Verfahrens)

  Marianne Thyssen, Member of the Commission. – Mr President, I wish to thank the Members of Parliament for their comments and feedback. I took note of all their questions and concerns. As I said in my introduction, we do not have all the answers yet to all those issues. That is why we are engaging in a broad consultation before deciding on possible policy and legal actions. We are looking forward to pursuing collaboration with the European Parliament on these issues. We are very much looking forward to constructive discussions with the European Parliament in the negotiation of the Commission’s legislative proposal on the privacy and data protection of electronic communications. It is important to act swiftly in order to ensure that the date of application of the general data protection regulation and the new e-privacy regulation coincide and is done in a coherent manner.

As announced in the DSM, the Commission’s objective is to create a clear and adapted policy and legal framework for the data economy by removing barriers to the movement of data and addressing legal uncertainties created by new technologies. We do not yet have, as I said, all the answers to the complex issues in front of us, so we will consult extensively. The gathered information will be invaluable in deciding how to best move forward, in particular with respect to the free flow of data.

  Der Präsident. – Die Aussprache ist geschlossen.

Schriftliche Erklärungen (Artikel 162 GO)

  Cristian-Silviu Buşoi (PPE), in writing. – Due to the rapid digitalisation of the global economy and the aim of the European Union to be a world leader in this digital economy, the Digital Single Market (DSM) strategy was adopted on the 6 May 2015 to ensure the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital. Building a European data economy is part of the Digital Single Market strategy, which, through the best use of its essential resource, digital data, may deliver innovation, economic growth, job creation and competitiveness in all fields, including in health care where it could improve daily life.

Even if access to machine-generated data is under consideration in the health and care sector, the diversity of the data processed by machines for scientific purposes could improve products or create innovative services for patients. As the Commission underlined in its communication, the ‘big data’ sector is growing by 40% per year, seven times faster than the IT market, but all this data need to be protected. Therefore, ensuring a policy framework is more than necessary, and Parliament, together with the Council, should play a fundamental role.

  Barbara Kappel (ENF), schriftlich. – Die Digitalisierung hat heute alle Bereich unseres Lebens erfasst, und es spielt keine Rolle, ob es sich dabei um Privates oder Berufliches handelt. Verlässlicher Datenschutz und höchste Sicherheit stellen dabei große Herausforderungen und gleichzeitig enormes wirtschaftliches Potenzial dar. Die Digitalisierung birgt Herausforderungen für die verschiedensten Branchen, kein Wirtschaftsbereich scheint davon ausgenommen zu sein. Neue innovative Geschäftsmodelle, insbesondere im Bereich der KMU, werden geschaffen und stellen einen Mehrwert für Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft dar. Doch nehmen auch die Cyberbedrohungen und Hackerangriffe zu und entwickeln sich zu einer enormen Bedrohung für kritische Netzinfrastrukturen, wie beispielsweise die Stromversorgung. Hier müssen wir aktiv werden, um die Netz- und Informationssicherheit (NIS) gewährleisten zu können.

Datenschutz spielt auch in Bezug auf die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit eine zentrale Rolle. Fragen etwa des Schutzes von Geschäftsgeheimnissen oder Datensicherheit müssen noch konkreter geklärt werden. Ebenso ist die Fragmentierung einzelner Sektoren – wie Sicherheit, Transparenz und die Standorte von Nutzern und Daten – kritisch zu betrachten. Fragmentierung in der Datenwirtschaft ist nicht zielführend und daher ebenso wie Internet-Zensur und Massenüberwachung abzulehnen.

  Karol Karski (ECR), na piśmie. – W ostatnich latach jesteśmy świadkami nowej rewolucji w gospodarce, której siłą napędową są dane cyfrowe. Gromadzenie i przetwarzanie danych na niespotykaną dotąd skalę stwarza z jednej strony wiele wyzwań, a jednocześnie stanowi ogromny potencjał dla zwiększenia produktywności unijnej gospodarki. Rozwój gospodarki opartej na danych wymaga jednak swego rodzaju planu działania, jeżeli chcemy sprawić, żeby przedsiębiorcy i konsumenci w Unii Europejskiej w pełni korzystali z dynamiki sektora dużych zbiorów danych, co stanie się wyznacznikiem zmian dla całej naszej gospodarki.

Parlament Europejski już od jakiegoś czasu wzywa do przeglądu możliwych narzędzi dla rozwoju gospodarki opartej na danych oraz wskazuje rodzaje niezbędnych ram w obszarze potrzeb regulacyjnych i pozaregulacyjnych, które byłyby kluczowym elementem dla kształtowania lepszego środowiska dla wzrostu w tej dziedzinie.

Europejska gospodarka cyfrowa zbyt wolno przyjmuje rewolucję w zakresie danych w porównaniu np. z USA czy nawet Chinami. Dlatego niezbędne jest pełne wykorzystanie korzyści płynących z sektora dużych zbiorów danych przez europejskich przedsiębiorców i konsumentów. Będzie to wyznacznikiem zmian dla naszej gospodarki i przyniesie Europie wymierne korzyści w zakresie konkurencyjności, tak ważnej, żeby nie powiedzieć przełomowej, w nadchodzących latach.

  Jeppe Kofod (S&D), skriftlig. – En grundpille for udfoldelsen af den europæiske digitale dagsorden er, at data kan flyttes frit. Samtidig er det selvklart en forudsætning for frie datastrømme, at personfølsomme oplysninger behandles fuldkomment sikkert og forsvarligt, samt at EU’s medlemslande kan sætte nødvendige begrænsninger af hensyn til national sikkerhed. Dette sikres kun ved hjælp af fælles lovgivning og fælles definitioner i EU. Studier fra ECIPE viser, at der kan frigøres enorme summer i den europæiske økonomi, hvis eksisterende blokeringer fjernes. Estimaterne går helt op til 8 mia. euro om året (ca. 60 mia. kr.). Et beløb, der vil realisere sig i besparelser for europæiske borgere og virksomheder. Samtidig ser vi også en tendens til flere nationale krav om, at data af forskellig art skal opbevares inden for geografisk afgrænsede områder. Fortsætter denne tendens, kan konsekvensen ifølge førnævnte studier blive et tab for den europæiske økonomi på op til 52 mia. euro om året (ca. 387 mia. kr.). Derfor vil jeg opfordre Kommissionen til hurtigst muligt at fremsætte forslag til fælleseuropæisk lovgivning på dette område, så vi kan sikre europæiske borgeres og virksomheders følsomme oplysninger på bedst tænkelig vis, undgå fordyrende særkrav og frigøre store summer til en investeringstrængende europæisk økonomi.

  Eva Paunova (PPE), in writing. – The four freedoms of the EU single market rely on the free movement of data. However, unjustified data localisation requirements in national public procurement rules and legislation is increasingly fragmenting the single market. Consumers and companies, rather than authorities, should decide where in the EU they want to store their data.

In its communication entitled ‘A Digital Single Market Strategy for Europe’ from May 2015, the Commission recognised that ‘unnecessary restrictions regarding the location of data within the EU should both be removed and prevented’. It later promised a European ‘free flow of data’ legislative proposal to tackle restrictions on the free movement of data within the EU and unjustified restrictions on data location. The European Parliament welcomed this initiative in its resolution of January 2016.

Despite announcements and wide support from Parliament and the Council, the Commission’s communication on ‘Building a European Data Economy’ falls short of a legislative proposal. It will neither remove any further data protectionism nor prevent it from fragmenting the single market.

I strongly encourage the Commission to put forward, without delay, an ambitious legislative proposal to remove and prevent data localisation requirements in the EU single market, for the benefit of European companies and consumers.

  Algirdas Saudargas (PPE), raštu. – Europos komisijos komunikatas „Building a European Data economy“ įvardija duomenis kaip neatsiejamą ekonominio augimo, darbo vietų kūrimo ir visuomenės pažangos faktorių. Duomenų rinka Europoje yra nuolat auganti, bet palyginus su JAV vis dar fragmentuota, ir tai sudaro kliūtis pramonės konkurencingumui. Yra būtina užtikrinti pusiausvyrą tarp duomenų verslo plėtros modelių ir teisinės duomenų apsaugos. Palaikau Komunikate išsakytą siekį suvienodinti Europos Sąjungos teisinę duomenų apsaugą. Tuo pačiu noriu akcentuoti, jog ne mažiau svarbios yra šio laikmečio kibernetinės grėsmės ir kiti su to susiję reiškiniai. Negalime tikėtis, jog vien tik teisiškai apibrėžę šiuos klausimus, išspręsime problemas. Nūdienos realybė yra tokia, jog technologijų pažanga yra spartesnė nei jų naudojimo teisinius aspektus reglamentuojančios taisyklės ir įstatymo nuostatos. Todėl duomenų ekonomikos sritis turi būti padidinto dėmesio zona, siekiant joje įtvirtinti pusiausvyrą tarp teisių ir pareigų.

  Igor Šoltes (Verts/ALE), pisno. – EK je januarja letos predlagala rešitve za razvoj podatkovnega gospodarstva kot del strategije enotnega digitalnega trga. Po njenem mnenju EU namreč ne izkorišča v celoti svojega potenciala, zato bi bilo treba čim prej odpraviti omejitve kot so pravila o lokalizaciji in druge tehnične in pravne ovire, ki otežujejo pretok podatkov med državami članicami in znotraj enotnega digitalnega prostora.

Digitalni izdelki in storitve, ki temeljijo na podatkih, lahko močno vplivajo na izboljšanje varovanja okolja in varnosti preskrbe s hrano, učinkovite rabe energije ter razvoj pametnih transportnih sistemov in pametnih mest. Analiza podatkov izboljšuje procese in odločitve, spodbuja inovacije in izboljšuje predvidljivost.

EU nima urejenega enotnega digitalnega trga za podatke, saj obstajajo ovire za prost pretok podatkov in številne druge pravne negotovosti, zato je zamudila že marsikatero gospodarsko, socialno in poslovno priložnost. Podatkovno gospodarstvo lahko ustvarja rast in delovna mesta le, če podatke, ki so nam na voljo, tudi uporabimo.

Zato moramo zagotoviti ustrezen pretok podatkov tako z geografskega kot tudi medsektorskega vidika, da bodo ti lažje dostopni in optimalno uporabljeni. Usklajen evropski pristop je bistvenega pomena za razvoj podatkovnega gospodarstva kot dela enotnega digitalnega trga in pomembno je, da pri tem upoštevamo tudi pravico do varstva osebnih podatkov in zasebnosti.