Denmark is planning to hold discussions with EU member states on two key digital files – the EU Cloud and AI Development Act and the Digital Networks Act (DNA) – when it takes the lead of the EU meetings in July, sources familiar have told Euronews.
The discussions on both files will gather views of the EU countries before the policy proposals will be presented by the European Commission by the end of this year.
The Commission started a public consultation earlier in April to seek feedback on the preparatory work for the Cloud and AI Development Act – which is meant to stimulate private sector investment in cloud capacity and data centres.
The goal is to at least triple the EU’s data centre capacity in the next five to seven years, prioritising highly sustainable data centres. Submissions are open until 4 June.
It feeds into the bigger AI Continent Action Plan, which was presented by EU Tech Commissioner Henna Virkkunen in April, and which is meant to boost the uptake of AI tools among businesses through a series of initiatives and funding.
Telecom overhaul
The DNA is set to be presented by the Commission in December. Prior to that the EU executive will carry out a public consultation, expected this month, largely building on the White Paper published in February of last year.
It spells out the different policy options that could be included in an overhaul of the existing telecom regulation, as well as new initiatives including spectrum management and sustainability targets.
The dossier, first touted by Thierry Breton, the industry commissioner in the previous Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen, was criticised by member states when it was first presented in the White Paper.
The plan, heavily lobbied by the telecom industry, sought to charge online platforms and other network users for the build-out of telecom infrastructure. It has been watered down since.
Denmark will take over the rotating Council Presidency – which entails leading the member states discussions on Commission proposals – from Poland, which chaired meetings during the first half of this year.
The country has hired some extra 100 colleagues in Brussels to enforce the work of the Permanent Representation to the EU.