Why did the EU engage in the Digital Single Market?
Author
Christiansen, Nico Emil
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2019
Submitted on
2019-05-31
Pages
55
Abstract
Denne afhandling undersøger, hvorfor Europa-Kommissionen engagerede sig i EU’s digitale strategier og hvordan de tog form, med særlig vægt på perioden 2000–2017 frem til strategien for det Digitale Indre Marked. Med udgangspunkt i neofunktionalisme—særligt idéen om funktionel spillover fra det indre marked—kortlægger studiet udviklingen ved at gennemgå Kommissionens meddelelser, white papers og rapporter samt relevant litteratur, nyhedsartikler, et interview og Eurobarometer-data for at belyse dagsordenssættelse, politisk entreprenørskab og tilblivelsen af centrale tiltag. Analysen peger på, at Kommissionen fra 2000 til 2010 lagde hovedvægten på IKT-infrastruktur og blev hæmmet af svag politisk opbakning og Lissabon-dagsordenens fiasko, hvilket forsinkede en mere bruger- og forbrugerorienteret tilgang. Med den Digitale Dagsorden for Europa (2010) og senere strategien for det Digitale Indre Marked (2015) skiftede fokus mod at fremme grænseoverskridende e-handel og modernisere reguleringen af telekommunikation og databeskyttelse. Stigende offentlig pres—forstærket af Snowden-afsløringerne i 2013—bidrog til en omfattende reform, der kulminerede i GDPR (2016). Samlet fremhæver afhandlingen Kommissionens afgørende dagsordenssættende rolle og medlemsstaternes interesse i at lade Kommissionen definere prioriteringer og udforme EU-løsninger af hensyn til bekvemmelighed og effektivitet.
This thesis examines why the European Commission engaged in the EU’s digital strategies and how they took shape, focusing on developments from 2000 to 2017 leading up to the Digital Single Market. Adopting a neo-functionalist perspective—especially the idea of functional spill-over from the Single Market—it traces policy evolution through a review of Commission communications, white papers and reports, complemented by secondary literature, news sources, an interview and Eurobarometer data to illuminate agenda setting, policy entrepreneurship and the making of key measures. The analysis finds that from 2000 to 2010 the Commission emphasized ICT infrastructure and was constrained by weak political backing and the failure of the Lisbon Agenda, delaying a more user- and consumer-centric approach. With the Digital Agenda for Europe (2010) and later the Digital Single Market strategy (2015), the focus shifted toward enabling cross-border e-commerce and updating telecommunications and data protection rules. Mounting public pressure—intensified by the 2013 Snowden revelations—supported far-reaching reform culminating in the GDPR (2016). Overall, the thesis highlights the Commission’s pivotal agenda-setting role and Member States’ interest in allowing it to set priorities and craft EU-level responses for reasons of convenience and effectiveness.
[This summary has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project (PDF)]
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