Ms Margrethe Vestager:

I thank the Chair for this very warm welcome and for the opportunity to exchange views with the committee today regarding how to make the best use of digital technologies to improve our societies and our Union. I am glad this meeting is possible since travel is still restricted. Our discussions, however, should not be restricted because there is an urgent need for our democracies to catch up and get ahead of the curve of technological development to serve our people in the best possible manner.

One lesson of the pandemic is that digital technologies can enable many things which otherwise would not be possible. Equally, digital technologies can also facilitate travel and enable us to come together. This is best exemplified by the European Union digital Covid-19 certificates, which will come into effect and be available on 1 July. On the other hand, though, digital technologies can also increase differences. Those who can fully benefit from an enriched and secure digital space with a full range of services are in a very different position from those who cannot benefit in the same way. That disparity in access might derive from a lack of connectivity, skills, hardware and-or access to different services.

It is important we consider this digital divide as something we should work on, and this is why the deployment of fibre and 5G is very important.

I welcome the ongoing roll-out of the national broadband plan that aims to deliver high-speed broadband services to all premises in Ireland. The expansion of the digital sector, however, should not come at the expense of a second transition, which is to being a climate-neutral continent. It is important that data centres, for example, minimise their CO₂emissions, as they now account for many of these CO₂emissions. While we roll out digital, we must really be much more effective in minimising CO₂emissions.

There will be no green transition without the digital transition. They come together but only if we are successful in co-ordinating policies between the two. Being successful in that respect also takes in the enabling of our European values to come to life with the help of digital technologies. It is why we in the Commission have adopted our digital compass, the European way for the "digital decade" that sets out what we want to achieve by 2030.

Like a compass, this strategy has four cardinal points. The first, of course, is about humans and how we can get the basic and expert skills to shape digitisation. The second is about secure infrastructure to help us to get connected. The third is the digital transformation of businesses and reinterpretation of business models and ideas with the use of digital technologies. Last but not least is the digitisation of public services and egovernance, enabling public services to be delivered in a digital way.

It is not enough just to set targets and we need resources to enable us to reach those targets. We have both the multi-annual financial framework and the NextGenerationEU recovery and resilience facility to help us to do this. Members know a minimum of 20% of the recovery and resilience funds have the objective of achieving digital transition in a sustainable way. The in-depth assessment of the Irish plan is ongoing, following which I hope to confirm that Ireland meets the digital targets.

Cybersecurity, and particularly in the Irish context, is very topical because of the hideous ransomware attack on the health system of Ireland just last month, forcing Ireland to shut down most of the healthcare IT systems. I really want to express my solidarity with the people affected by this and firmly condemn such a malicious act. This is aggressive interference in a very sensitive and strategic area, as health services all over the world have suffered an increase in attacks during the pandemic. This is pathetic behaviour from the people who are responsible.

Everyone is deeply concerned about these attacks. The more we use digital technology, the more vulnerable we can be if we do not protect ourselves in the best possible way. This is why we have launched a revision of the network and information systems directive in order to have broader scope and bring more sectors on board. It is also about increasing coverage of the healthcare sector, meaning many more hospitals and health-related facilities will need to take legally required cybersecurity measures and report cyber incidents.

Just today, we launched a proposal for a new joint cyber unit to improve cross-border co-operation in preventing cyberattacks and assistance so that member states can help each other if there is an attack.

I have some comments on the Digital Services and Digital Markets Acts that have been proposed, both focusing on the market or services to be delivered with more security with products sold online and in the handling of illegal content. This also involves securing freedom of speech and, with the proposed Digital Markets Act, ensuring the market is open and competitive for the many amazing and innovative European companies with interesting products to present to us. There is an artificial intelligence proposal focusing on the use cases and where there is a risk of fundamental values not being upheld while embracing artificial intelligence in all its many other forms.

There is a review of the broadband cost reduction directive in order to ensure we have a sustainable, quick and more efficient roll-out of high-capacity networks, including fibre and 5G. We have much legislation in the pipeline, focusing on two fundamental elements. We must be able to trust technology in order to see its full benefits and we must ensure our democracy is not only catching up with technology but getting ahead of the curve in order to be able to shape our future societies.