ITI Details Recommendations to Enhance EU Competitiveness for Incoming Hungarian Council Presidency
BRUSSELS – Today, global tech trade association ITI, the Information Technology Industry Council, outlined policy priorities for the incoming Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. ITI’s recommendations encourage the presidency to prioritize boosting the competitiveness and resilience of Europe’s economy and building a more open and well-functioning Single Market. ITI also offers guidance on key policy themes for the EU going forward, such as connectivity and telecommunications, proper implementation of cybersecurity rules, Artificial Intelligence, and more.
“The EU Hungarian Presidency will have the chance to lay the groundwork for the next cycle of EU technology and innovation policy,” said ITI President and CEO Jason Oxman. “Europe has established itself as one of the foremost regulatory powers in the world. Now, it is crucial that the Hungarian Presidency and the EU send a clear message that good implementation is just as important as good regulation when it comes to ensuring competitiveness and preserving innovation.”
To support the upcoming presidency’s development and implementation of its digital agenda, ITI recommends that the Hungarian Presidency focuses, among others, on:
- Carefully assessing regulatory needs in the connectivity and telecoms space. The process should recognize the advantage of the current well-functioning market and caution against overregulation, promoting de-regulation instead. This should be done with clarity and specificity regarding any kind of legislative intervention and by maintaining a technology-neutral approach.
- Implementing the solid framework of cybersecurity regulations. New EU rulebooks such as the Cyber Resilience Act and NIS2 Directive should be implemented in an agile and coherent way. On top of that, the Hungarian Presidency should look to close the long debate on sovereignty requirements for cloud services, as political criteria are not suited for a technical security scheme.
- Take a pro-innovation approach to AI policy. The Hungarian presidency should support legal clarity, guidance for companies and predictability across the Single Market in the implementation of the EU AI Act. Given the adoption of the AI Act and of the new Product Liability Directive, the Presidency should also carefully consider the additional impact of the proposed AI Liability Directive on innovators in Europe.
Read ITI’s full policy recommendations for the EU Hungarian Presidency here.
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