Insights

General Politics

Will the EU tax tech companies to pay for 5G infrastructure?

General Politics

Conan D'Arcy
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This week on Top in Tech, Senior Associate Franck Thomas joins Conan D'Arcy to unpack a new EU proposal that may fundamentally change the relationship between European telecoms and US big tech firms.

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New EU-US data transfer agreement: Reynders’ digital policy moment?

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Franck Thomas
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This week, the Trade and Technology Council (TTC), which has become the main forum for EU-US cooperation on digital policy, met for the second time in Saclay, on the outskirts of Paris. The TTC has played an important role in resetting the EU-US relationship. A tangible example of this improved collaboration was last month’s agreement in principle on a new EU-US data…

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Decoupling of data flows: perspectives from the US and EU

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Franck Thomas
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The modern internet runs on the free flow of data across the Atlantic ocean. But as policymakers push toward different systems for the regulation of data collection, what are the implications of a decoupling of data between the US and EU?

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Top in Tech: The Online Safety Bill and US/EU Privacy Shield

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Conan D'Arcy
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‘Top in tech’ is a monthly episode from the GC tech policy team. Each month, the team lift the lid on the latest in Europe’s ‘techlash’, identifying where the debate is heading in London and Brussels, the politics behind it, and what this might mean for the apps and online services we use every day. 

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General Politics

Political illusions of the French presidency

General Politics

Franck Thomas
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Since the beginning of its Council of the EU presidency, the French government has been vocal about the urgency to secure a deal on major digital proposals, namely the Digital markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA). Other EU governments and the EU institutions are supportive of this accelerated timetable on the basis that it could help combat Eurosceptic…

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Top in Tech: regulating the gig economy, an unusual EU Council presidency

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Conan D'Arcy
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‘Top in tech’ is a monthly episode from the GC tech policy team. Each month, the team lift the lid on the latest in Europe’s ‘techlash’, identifying where the debate is heading in London and Brussels, the politics behind it, and what this might mean for the apps and online services we use every day.

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Europe and the race to roll out 5G: a report from GC and the ERT

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Franck Thomas
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The European Roundtable for Industry (ERT) have partnered with Global Counsel to produce a report on the state of 5G network rollouts across the continent. The review compares nationwide efforts with those of other countries around the world, and shows a lag in the European projects compared to their US and Asian counterparts.

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Europe fit for the Digital Age

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Franck Thomas
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The geopolitical Commission will give practical expression to calls from Paris and Berlin for ‘strategic autonomy’ for technology. This means addressing longstanding anxiety in Paris and Berlin about falling behind the US and China in key technologies such as cloud computing and AI. This has even greater salience as evidence grows of European firms being locked in to…

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General Politics

The geopolitical Commission? Politics and policy in the 2019-2024 EU policy cycle

General Politics

Tom White
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The political guidelines for the 2019-2024 European Commission, and its priorities for the first 100 days, are wide-ranging and open to different interpretations. This is in contrast with its predecessor which (at the outset) could set as its over-riding priority the restoration of economic growth in Europe.

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General Politics

Weber’s revenge deals a blow to Macron’s European momentum

General Politics

Franck Thomas
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The European Parliament’s rejection of Sylvie Goulard today is the most significant consequence yet of the fragmented European election result in May. It is a reminder of the weak position of President-elect Ursula von der Leyen and a significant blow to French President Macron. He appeared to have built on his success in securing Christine Lagarde’s presidency of the…

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Europe's 5G networks: is Huawei being excluded?

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Franck Thomas
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“No equipment supplier, including Huawei, should, or may, be specifically excluded from 5G roll-out”. These words come from Jochen Homann, the president of the German telecom regulator. This statement was interpreted by many in the media as a concession to Huawei and evidence of Europe’s more measured approach to 5G infrastructure than the US. However, the initiatives…

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What should a national strategy on AI policy look like?

General Policy

Franck Thomas
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The use of big data to drive machine learning and artificial intelligence will transform the way people live and work and the way economies function. In making a national strategy for AI, policymakers will have to weigh priorities that span everything from workplace regulation to industrial policy. What should a national strategy for AI look like? Is one even possible…

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Cyber-attacks: testing the EU's defences

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Franck Thomas
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British retailer Dixons Carphone reported on Tuesday that ten million customers may have been affected by a cyber-attack. This is yet another example of the privacy breaches that are affecting every day operations of European companies. The Dixons Carphone incident follows other major cyber-attacks. The WannaCry and NotPetya attacks led to substantial financial losses for…

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A single market for artificial intelligence

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Franck Thomas
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This is an excerpt from Global Counsel's latest publication Europe in the Global Economy, which can be downloaded in full here. 

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General Politics

Europe in the Global Economy

General Politics

Tom White
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A distinctive feature of President Juncker’s “political” European Commission was a single set of collective top-down priorities, rather than a stitching together of the agendas of individual commissioners. In 2014, this meant a focus on economic reforms to restore growth lost during the 2008 financial crisis: a digital single market, a…

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Investing in telecoms: missing the opportunity?

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Franck Thomas
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Back in 2016, with the Digital Single Market agenda still in its infancy, the European Commission launched its ambitious reform of telecoms regulation. The so-called European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) was presented with great fanfare and with the explicit goal of plugging Europe’s €155 billion investment gap in digital infrastructure. The ultimate aim of the…

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