Boost digital single market with apps and stop geo-blocking, say MEPs

Innovation-friendly policies are needed to boost the sharing economy and online platforms but unjustified geo-blocking must be stopped, say the internal market and industry committees in a resolution passed on Monday night. They point out that developing e-government and e-skills could help the EU digital single market to generate €415 billion a year.  “We have achieved a great deal with this report. The European Parliament has not only complemented the Commission’s digital single market strategy but has broadened the perspective. We have incorporated crucial aspects of digitization, most importantly how it is reshaping the landscape of labour and social welfare schemes,” said the internal market rapporteur, Eveline Gebhardt (S&D, DE).  “To ensure that all the talent and innovative ideas can be turned into businesses that scale up and create jobs, we need to adapt and simplify the rules so that we have the best environment in Europe for innovation to flourish. I am happy that today in this report we clearly gave our support to digital innovation such as the sharing economy,” said the industry committee rapporteur, Kaja Kallas (ALDE, ET). Here to read more.