Accelerated Economic Development
The introduction of the Digital Single Market (DSM) throughout the European Union is one of the main priorities of both the European Commission and the European People’s Party (EPP). Furthermore, it is a crucial requirement for the development of new technologies and innovation on the continent. The idea is to harmonize and standardize e-commerce regulations on goods and services across all member states. The result will be the elimination of national constraints on consumers and businesses.
EU’s internal market principles ensure the free movement of physical goods, services, capital and people between member states. However, at a time where more businesses are looking to digitize, there are still 28 separate digital markets. Each of them has its own rules and regulations that a company needs to navigate around and comply with.
Removing superfluous administrative hurdles would add €415 billion to the EU’s GDP every year, an increase of over 3%. Therefore Eva Maydell and the Committee on the Internal Market push for
- better internet access across the board, so that everyone could access digital goods and services regardless of where in Europe they happen to be;
- a friendly regulatory environment, where networks and services grow and develop quickly and competitively;
- a strategy to utilize digital as a transformative drive for traditional industries and contribute to overall economic growth.
The last years have seen a number of legislative initiatives pass through the European Parliament in preparation for the DSM. The much-lauded abolition of roaming fees and charges earlier this year is a perfect example of that. In addition, geo-fencing of subscriptions to online content within the EU will be ceased by 2018.
Future areas of work
In the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) of the European Parliament, Eva Maydell is actively working to develop a truly functional Digital Single Market that enables and empowers equally businesses and consumers. She is the rapporteur on the Privacy Regulation in electronic communication. In other words, how the messages we send via Facebook, WhatsApp or e-mail are protected from third parties’ interference. In addition, Maydell is the EPP Group rapporteur on another key dossier of the Digital Single Market package – Contracts for Digital Content. This Directive aims to harmonize consumer protection when purchasing digital services in the EU, whether paid with money or data.
Additionally, Eva Maydell supports measures to digitise European industry. Her 2017 report on the European Cloud Initiative was well-received by the European Parliament.
The work of Eva Maydell in the European Parliament in the upcoming years will center on digital interconnections within the EU, the introduction of 5G mobile technologies, the free movement of data, improving cyber-security and safeguarding users’ privacy and personal information (in services like Viber, Messenger, Skype, etc.).
In addition, Eva Maydell engages in setting the agenda, regularly meeting with stakeholders across Europe and lobbying for various policy amendments. In 2016, she founded the now annual #Regulation4Innovation conference in Brussels and has spent the last few years turning Sofia into one of the continent’s up-and-coming digital leaders. The results speak for themselves – her hometown will co-ordinate the ‘Digital Transition’ aspect in the European Commission’s new urban agenda.