Could creating a digital single market in the EU and removing barriers online help give a boost to European companies? The European Commission outlined its strategy on 6 May, while it will also feature on the agenda of the European Council on 25-26 June. Meanwhile the Parliament is planning to respond with an own-initiative report on the digital market. They debated the issue … [Read more...]
Schaake: “Council must adopt more ambitious Telecoms plan”
Dutch Member of the European Parliament Marietje Schaake (D66/ALDE) foresees a big fight between the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers on the Telecoms Single Market. Today the Council announced that instead of abolishing roaming, it will be gradually capped. This measure will be effective in 2016 and only in 2018 they will be willing to talk about the abolishment … [Read more...]
Back To A Digitised Future For European Business
The 1989 cult movie “Back to the Future II” predicted that the year 2015 would bring with it a world of hover-boards, flying cars and self-lacing trainers, writes Carsten Bruhn, Executive Vice President, Commercial at Ricoh Europe. While few of the flashy gadgets foreseen by the film’s creators have come into existence, 1989 proved a landmark year from which the way we … [Read more...]
Digital Travelers Get Tougher Consumer Protection
The internet has revolutionised the way we travel. Many people now prefer to book online through individual travel service providers rather than opt for ready-made packages. On 12 February the consumer protection committee approved new rules to ensure travellers know their rights and are aware of who is responsible for the services provided. We discussed it with Hans-Peter … [Read more...]
SMEs Leading Big Business In Race To Full Digitalisation
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across Europe are moving much faster than their peers in larger organisations in the race to complete key digital transformation initiatives, according to research commissioned by Ricoh Europe. Almost two thirds of SMBs (64 per cent) expect to digitise their remaining physical documents within the next three years, compared to less than … [Read more...]
The Slim Summit. Barroso Gets Refit And Focused On SMEs
David Cameron is always convinced the EU is losing a few pounds, but more evidence of health fads at the Commission emerged post-Summit. Gone was mention of a well-toned financial Six-Pack, but, wait for it, we're all buzz with REFIT... Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, is King of the Political Treadmill, but everyone left the Summit marathon wondering … [Read more...]
Digital Single Market By 2015… Upload ‘Optimism’ File.
The Digital Single Market is expected to be completed by 2015. It stands as a key priority on the Lithuanian EU Presidency agenda, said Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaitė. But if there's one thing politicians don't understand very well, just one thing, it's the digital world - ask Obama, or ask Merkel if you haven't got Obama's number... Grybauskaitė, attending today's … [Read more...]