As 2025 begins, so too does the Polish Presidency of the European Union, presenting a great opportunity to ensure the continent continues to target a digital leadership role on the world’s stage.
The GSMA and the European mobile industry will work closely with the Presidency, the newly appointed European Commission and the Parliament to advance Europe’s competitiveness by ensuring that Europeans can take full advantage of the potential for world class connectivity.
Last year was marked by much analysis and discussion of Europe’s challenges in installing best-in-class networks to drive the digital economy and secure the continent’s future. Key reports from Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta both made the case for the bloc to function as a true single market as a means of unlocking some of the estimated €800 billion of investment required to give citizens and businesses the infrastructure they need and expect.
Central to our increasingly digital society is the telecoms industry. These networks facilitate enormous levels of traffic and drive entire economies, as well as stimulating widespread innovation across sectors. They are also under increasing pressure as new applications and platforms, particularly those leveraging AI, generate even higher volumes of data traffic. As we bid to keep the Digital Decade targets on track and provide high-quality 5G connectivity to everyone across the EU, action is needed to stimulate the market.
Achieving a more connected and innovative Europe demands a bold new approach. We responded to the Digital Networks Act whitepaper consultation in the summer by calling for the following inclusions that bear repeating now:
- The simplification and harmonisation of the regulatory framework with equivalent rules for all service providers
- The re-evaluation of the principles of the existing regulatory framework
- In-market consolidation
- A pro-investment approach to spectrum policy
- The extension of circular economy principles to network equipment and the EU taxonomy for green investment in electronic communication networks.
Realising a connected, competitive, digital, and green future for European society and ensuring we remain masters of our destiny are ambitious but attainable goals. The Polish Presidency can play a major role in driving progress, ensuring collaboration, clarity and pragmatism and reflecting the high dependency the continent’s industry has on its digital infrastructure. We look forward to working together and laying the foundations for Europe’s digital future.
Image source: polish-presidency.consilium.europa.eu