With the two new EU regulations we will reduce the power of Big Tech in Europe and the spread of fake news.
This is what EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in an interview with Milano Finanza, according to which "we want a single, cohesive, open and contestable market".
As we read in the interview, your delegation to create "A Europe ready for the digital age" has produced two regulations, the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act, destined to change the practices of big tech in Europe.
“We don't want gatekeepers deciding who gets to participate in the marketplace, that they can self-promote themselves or that they only use their own and others' data for their own benefit,” she explains, citing the Commission's recent deal with Amazon as an example.
However, technological prosperity will depend not only on the protection of competition, but also on investment in infrastructure and the dynamism of the capital market.
From the first point of view, Vestager assures that he will "follow the public consultation with an open mind" regarding the possibility of forcing digital giants to contribute to network investments.
"I don't think the discussion should be about the profitability of telecommunications companies," she warns.
Rather, she calls for "the creation of a single European telco market".
As for the second point, the vice president of the EU Commission defines the Inflation Reduction Act approved by the Biden administration as "toxic", and suggests a European reaction on several fronts.
"We need to consider some targeted and temporary changes in the state aid discipline", she underlines, in order to allow incentives for strategic productions for the green transition.
However, the widening of State aid networks must not lead to a fragmentation of the single market.
"We must prevent state aid from leading to a relocation within the Union, perhaps towards areas where subsidies are more generous", she points out.
Therefore, "
In 2023, Vestager concludes, "we will celebrate 30 years of the single market. We must celebrate the great achievements achieved, but also examine its shortcomings: the single market needs daily maintenance, otherwise internal and protectionist barriers end up being raised here and there ".