Digital Single Market. Eliminating barriers in offering goods and services across EU borders

Master's Thesis , 2019 , 94 Pages , Grade: 1.3

Economics - Foreign Trade Theory, Trade Policy

The author aims at providing an objective and comprehensive analysis of the selected issues (initiatives) under consideration, with respect to the 30 DSM legislative initiatives, addressing 24 issues, proposed by the Juncker Commission since presenting the DSM strategy in 2015. The author then goes on to explain the major issues that the Juncker Commission ignored (or did not address properly) in the 30 DSM legislative initiatives; these have been titled flexible working arrangements: pros and cons, gender digital gap, socio-cultural and political issues, and coherent European strategy for AI.

The DSM strategy, presented by the Juncker Commission in 2015, has been a special topic in the EU. Since then, the Juncker Commission has been able to come up with a number of significant DSM legislative initiatives to make good on the promise of laying a strong foundation for the creation of a fully-fledged DSM in the EU. As the Juncker Commission’s tenure comes to an end in 2019, it is the right time to reflect on these DSM legislative initiatives and determine its success or lack thereof in eliminating various barriers in offering goods and services across EU borders. As expected, some of these initiatives have been more controversial than others. This implies that some of these initiatives received the most attention from both the critics and the proponents.

Undoubtedly, the DSM initiatives have been extensively analysed and written about by many academicians and experts. But, as the author correctly hypothesized, a bulk of this research had been often too narrow. In other words, most of the academic and non-academic papers that have analysed DSM initiatives focused only on a single initiative (the entire paper). Sometimes, the focus of a paper has been even narrower (there are many papers that have focused only on the impact of a particular DSM initiative on a specific variable). The author admits the importance and superiority of this type of research. However, the author opines that it is also important to analyse these initiatives more broadly.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Introduction
• A connected DSM
• DSM legislative initiatives
• Pre-condition for a DSM in the EU
  • The impact...
  • Current barriers......
    • Burden for businesses
    • Loopholes in the GDPR.
    • Overregulation and Incompatibility..
  • Eliminating current barriers......
• Highly controversial issues (initiatives)
  • The EU regulation on geo-blocking
    • The impact
    • Current barriers .……………….…………..\li>
    • Eliminating current barriers
  • The EU cybersecurity measures......
    • The impact ..
    • Current barriers..\li>
    • Eliminating current barriers
  • Proposal for the ePrivacy Regulation
    • The GDPR and the proposed ePrivacy Regulation.........
    • Dual purpose of the draft ePrivacy Regulation….....
    • Organized industry opposition.……………………...\li>
    • Status of the proposal
    • Eliminating current barriers
  • The EU Copyright Directive.
    • Status of the directive.........
    • The (proposed) impact ....
    • Controversies.
    • Eliminating (future) barriers......
  • The VAT DSM package.
    • Status of the package
    • Key details of the adopted proposals
    • Critical assessment .........
    • Eliminating barriers
• Less controversial issues (initiatives).
  • Revising the CPC Regulation ......
    • The (proposed) impact..\li>
    • Remarks .......
  • The EU regulation on wholesale roaming prices
    • The impact
    • Remarks .......
  • WiFi4EU.......
    • The impact
    • Analysis…........
  • The portability regulation
    • The impact ......
    • Remarks......
• Future EU digital policy.
  • Flexible working arrangements: pros and cons
  • Gender digital gap
  • Socio-cultural and political issues.
  • Coherent European strategy for Al.
• Main findings...........
• Discussion.

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This thesis examines the Digital Single Market (DSM) initiative of the European Commission and its impact on the creation of a robust digital market in the EU. The work focuses on the legislative initiatives of the Juncker Commission, categorizing them as either highly controversial or less controversial. The thesis further explores the key issues the Juncker Commission either ignored or did not adequately address in the 30 DSM legislative initiatives.

• Impact of the Juncker Commission's DSM legislative initiatives
• Analysis of controversial and less controversial DSM initiatives
• Identification of key issues missed or inadequately addressed by the Commission
• The importance of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as a pre-condition for a successful DSM in the EU
• The potential of a robust DSM to facilitate the free movement of goods, services, and capital within the EU

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

• Introduction: Provides an overview of the thesis's objectives and scope, outlining the importance of a Digital Single Market (DSM) in the EU.
• A connected DSM: Discusses the concept of a connected DSM and its potential benefits for businesses and individuals.
• DSM legislative initiatives: Explores the Juncker Commission's 30 DSM legislative initiatives, categorizing them based on their level of controversy.
• Pre-condition for a DSM in the EU: Analyzes the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as a pre-condition for a successful DSM in the EU, highlighting its impact and current barriers.
• Highly controversial issues (initiatives): Examines various controversial DSM initiatives, including geo-blocking, cybersecurity measures, the ePrivacy Regulation, the EU Copyright Directive, and the VAT DSM package. Each section details the initiative's impact, existing barriers, and potential for improvement.
• Less controversial issues (initiatives): Covers less controversial initiatives such as revising the CPC Regulation, regulating wholesale roaming prices, WiFi4EU, and the portability regulation, highlighting their impact and potential implications.
• Future EU digital policy: Explores potential future directions for EU digital policy, including flexible working arrangements, addressing the gender digital gap, and considering socio-cultural and political issues.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

This master thesis focuses on the Digital Single Market (DSM) in the European Union, analyzing the impact of legislative initiatives from the Juncker Commission. The work explores controversial and less controversial initiatives, focusing on issues related to geo-blocking, cybersecurity, ePrivacy, copyright, VAT, roaming prices, and the importance of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as a pre-condition for a successful DSM.

• College: Otto Beisheim School of Management Vallendar
• Grade: 1.3
• Author: Hilal Jalaludeen (Author)
• Publication Year: 2019
• Pages: 94
• Catalog Number: V509383
• ISBN (eBook): 9783346086914
• ISBN (Book): 9783346086921
• Language: English
• Tags: DSM, Digital Single Market, European Commission, Juncker Commission, EU