Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) Heads of EU bodies signed the EU Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles at the margins of the EU Council meeting.
In a statement released on Thursday, the European Commission reminded that it proposed the declaration at the start of the year as part of its broader digitalisation efforts.
EC President Ursula von der Leyen signed the document with EU Parliament head Roberta Metsola and EU Council head Petr Fiala.
According to the EC, the declaration reflects the bloc’s “commitment to a secure, safe and sustainable digital transformation that puts people at the centre, in line with EU core values and fundamental rights.”
Von der Leyen stated “the rights put forward in our declaration are guaranteed for everybody in the EU, online as they are offline… and the digital principles enshrined in the declaration will guide us in our work on all new initiatives.”
Mirrored rights
Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition, added “this declaration makes it crystal clear that the rights we have offline, we also have online.”
At the same time, she noted that the EC will “look if we get it right through an annual report on the state of the digital decade” and added that the body will put the declaration “into practice with the EU legislation already in place.”
Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Internal Market, added that the EU’s “goals for the digital decade are not only to create cutting-edge products and services, but also to foster a transformation that benefits citizens, workers and consumers alike.”
He concluded that the declaration makes this clear and will help the EC to promote its values on the world stage.
The EC stressed that the signing of the declaration shows the shared commitment of EU bodies and member states “to promote and implement these principles in all areas of digital life.”
The body added that it will monitor progress and report annually on implementation of the declaration to make sure that the EU achieves 2030 goals.
It concluded that, under the declaration, the EU will provide “a safe digital environment for children… affordable and high-speed digital connectivity everywhere and for everybody” and control over sharing and use of personal data.
