Comment Neelie (Kroes)

My names is Neelie Kroes and my fight at the moment is to shake up European Leaders. So that they pay more attention to the digital economy. I want every European digital. I want Europe to dream, to startup, to grow!sentence permalink

The Internet is an incredible tool. For our economy, it's a disruptive influence – but a positive one, creating 5 jobs for every 2 lost, and giving a huge boost to GDP. It's a platform for free speech and open innovation. And a place where you can access so much opportunity, as so many services go online; from online health and education to smart cities and connected cars.sentence permalink

No wonder the European Internet economy is so strong. Can you believe it? In France it is bigger than agriculture. At EU level, it's bigger than Belgium – but growing faster than China.sentence permalink

In fact a recent survey suggested that 3 in 5 French citizens would rather give up coffee for a year than their internet connection. This is a stimulant for our economy, and for our people.sentence permalink

So I welcome this roadmap for a French digital agenda. It shows that in France, you've realised just how significant the payoff could be. Just how significantly it could improve the lives of your citizens. And just how much you can do, nationally and regionally, to deliver that. Long ago, Paris started a revolution. My wish is that the Internet community starts a new revolution today in Europe. Make Europe the place to be.sentence permalink

My one advice would be, let's not forget the European dimension to all of this. There are so many areas where we can work better if we work together.sentence permalink

Like if we delivered a genuine digital single market. The Internet doesn't have borders; our rules need to match up to that. Consumers expect to be able to access the best that Europe has to offer, whether it's TV shows, cultural heritage or government services. And cross-border businesses expect to have cloud services that match, services that don't constrain them to national limits. From copyright to data protection, having different incompatible rules and standards in each and every member state gets in the way of those expectations, and seriously dents digital benefits; but European action can make everyone's lives easier.sentence permalink

Or imagine what we could do with a single market in telecommunications. At the moment, we are still a collection of 27 separate markets; with different uncoordinated rules all over the place - like for how we assign the radio spectrum your wireless device relies on. We have already taken action to cut outrageous roaming rates. But moving towards a single telecoms market would be a step further: helping businesses and consumers enjoy a choice beyond what happens to be on offer locally; helping telecoms companies think European and compete globally.sentence permalink

Building a single market requires not only common European rules and values, but also effective implementation of those rules and respect for those values. That is why I attach so much importance to the legal guarantees of the independence and effectiveness of national telecoms regulators such as ARCEP. And that is why I launched last week a public consultation on whether we should strengthen the European rules on the independence of national regulators responsible for audiovisual media services.sentence permalink

Or take research. Again there's much that can be done nationally here – and I'm glad France is investing in key sectors. But if you're trying to build the next electronics innovation, or looking at tomorrow's emerging technologies, then you're competing on a global stage: and you get significant benefits from working on a European scale. And education.sentence permalink

If we get this right, the digital revolution holds so much opportunity for all of us. Because the Internet is an open platform for new ideas, inventions and inspirations: holding the key to our economic success.sentence permalink

To make use of that, we need entrepreneurial talent. And I know there's so much of that here in Europe. I've seen it here in France; lots of it here in this audience today. I think we could make the most of that talent and potential: with fast broadband for all. With the right ICT skills so our unemployed can find work – and our economy can compete. And with the right mindset – so that people know that it's OK to go out there and try something different, or to take a risk and break out on your own as a web entrepreneur.sentence permalink

When people think of startups they think of Silicon Valley and the American dream. Well, I have a European dream. We have many success stories over here, and we can have many more. Let's make that dream a reality.sentence permalink

So once again – congratulations on this new digital roadmap. It gives me great comfort to know that, over here, decision makers have got the message on digital. And I'm delighted in particular we'll be hearing from Gilles about the great work he is doing as France's digital champion.sentence permalink

I hope that together, we can enjoy the benefits of a digital France in a digital Europe.sentence permalink

Let's start the digital revolution right here, right now.sentence permalink