Spaanse voorzitterschap kondigt 'Granada strategie' voor ICT en e-commerce aan (en)

The Spanish Minister of Industry, Tourism and Trade, Miguel Sebastián. EFE

The Spanish Minister of Industry, Tourism and Trade, Miguel Sebastián, today underlined the Presidency's main aim of ensuring that the Energy Action Plan 2010-2014, which will focus on interconnection and regulatory harmonisation, is adopted at the next European Council in the spring.

In terms of interconnection, the Presidency supports gradually increasing Member States' interconnection capacity to reach 10% of the installed power capacity. Carrying out the priority electrical interconnection projects that have already been agreed upon will also play a vital role in achieving the target set.

With regard to regulatory harmonisation, Sebastián emphasised the role that will be played by the future Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators which the Spanish Presidency will promote during its term.

Dialogue with third country energy consumers, producers and transit countries will be the major issues that influence the security of the energy supply in Europe.

In terms of renewable energy, Sebastián stated that "transposing the EU regulations into each country's legislation” is a priority.

The Mediterranean Solar Plan (MSP) will be another major work area for the Presidency. Spain will organise the MSP Conference in Valencia which will take its conclusions to the EUROMED Summit in Barcelona in June 2010.

The Granada Strategy.

With regard to the ICT sector, during the same appearance, the Minister announced that the Spanish Presidency will launch a new strategy for 2010-2015, called “For a digital Europe: the Granada Strategy. Information and Communication Technologies, Productivity and Quality of Life” which will replace the i2010 initiative and will be main issue dealt with in the informal meeting of the Council of Ministers of Telecommunications to be held in Granada on 19 and 20 April.

The creation of a Digital Single Market, which the Spanish Presidency hopes will be the "fifth freedom" of the EU, will enable cross-border e-commerce to grow and will boost the development of the digital goods and services industry, particularly the digital content industry.

The Spanish Presidency will therefore determine the objectives, instruments and measures aimed at closing the so-called “second digital divide” and will promote the development of next generation networks, ensuring the necessary financial support and the definition of a favourable regulatory framework.

The Spanish Minister defined the five pillars of the future Granada Strategy: “the role of ICTs in achieving an environmentally sustainable model, the Digital Single Market, the next generation networks, overcoming the second digital divide and the Charter of Users' Rights”.

Alongside these pillars are the issues of improving security in networks to protect intellectual property rights on the Internet and promoting the development of a harmonised framework for protecting information society indicators.

Horizon 2020 for industry

In terms of European industrial policy, Sebastián stressed that one of the Presidency's priorities will be to lay the foundations for the future European industrial policy, particularly in the automotive sector, with the electric vehicle as a driving force behind sustainability and the capacity for innovation in European industry.

“Europe is not only betting part of its industrial future on the electric vehicle, it is also betting its future in terms of energy and technological development”, he declared.

Renewable energy, competitive industry and technology, through the development of software for charging batteries and the development of the smart grid and smart meters, will all come together through the electric vehicle.

The Spanish Presidency, he stated, “will propose adopting a European strategy for the electric vehicle”, a priority issue in the informal meeting on competitiveness which will be held in San Sebastián in February. Moreover, the Presidency's aim is that the conclusions of the Competitiveness Council in May include the commitments that the Member States need to assume in order to promote this type of vehicle.