Ministers responsible for telecommunications and digital policy of the EU Member States will be discussing digital rights and principles for all Europeans together with the European Commission in Brussels today. Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, will be attending on behalf of Germany.

In March 2021, the European Commission had presented its vision for Europe’s digital transformation until 2030 and announced a number of future measures for its implementation. This includes a proposal for an inter-institutional declaration by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on digital rights and principles in the EU, which the Commission intends to submit as soon as possible. The aim is to set up a governance framework for all European and inform them about the digital rights, freedoms and principles in Europe.

Parliamentary State Secretary Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker said: "On Europe’s path to the digital decade, it is essential to uphold and enforce European values. All human rights are universal and indivisible, and this also applies to the digital field. The rights which people have offline also need to be protected online. Therefore, I welcome today’s discussion, which will also provide input from the EU Member States to the European Commission for its drafting of a proposal for an inter-institutional declaration."

The items on the agenda of the Council meeting comprise the numerous political and legislative activities in the field of digitisation which are currently being negotiated at European level, including the policy programme entitled "Path to the Digital Decade" to identify and reach the EU’s digital targets by 2030, proposals on artificial intelligence, the use of data, cybersecurity, data protection, a European Digital Identity, and the revised Roaming Regulation.