Telecoms ministers back European Digital Agenda

The EU wants member states to have access to the fastest possible internet speeds

The European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda has welcomed an official ministerial declaration from EU telecoms ministers supporting the European Digital Agenda.

Neelie Kroes described the backing from the ministers as a "crucial building block for the European Digital Agenda", and a milestone in what will be a core pillar of the Europe 2020 strategy to deliver sustainable growth and jobs.

"To maximise the impact of ICT for the benefit of European citizens and businesses, the Commission, the European Parliament and Member States need to work together to take concrete action as a matter of enlightened self-interest, " she said.

The European Digital Agenda is focused on maximising the social and economic potential of ICT, and Kroes argued that more needs to be done to facilitate investment in superfast networks.

"We are determined to create a new set of conditions for ICT and the internet ecosystem of the future. We are competing against countries such as South Korea and Japan, whose businesses have internet up to 100 times faster than ours," she said.

"It is therefore essential to establish clear regulatory guidelines to encourage investment in next-generation access networks, while ensuring that such networks remain open and competitive in the interest of consumers."

Kroes also maintained that the Digital Agenda should address the issues of cross-border software licensing, which she claims is hurting European markets by making it more cost-effective for citizens to order from markets such as the US.

"Creating a legal digital single market will lead to a wealth of options available to citizens. This will strike a blow against piracy without endangering the open architecture that is essential for the internet's utility, " she said.

Last week Kroes called on governments and big businesses to work more closely together on public private partnerships in order to accelerate the development of these new internet technologies.