Invest in SMEs to go digital

“Enterprises need financial assistance if they want to transition to digital. There is no question about it”, declared Eva Maydell MEP, the EPP Group Spokeswoman on the European Strategy for Data, which is tabled for a vote this afternoon in the European Parliament's Committee on Industry, Research and Energy.

“It is not just about unleashing data flows, but also about making sure that businesses have the opportunity to grasp the value and the insights of the data they possess. This is why, in the report, we call specifically for public and private funding to support enterprises’ digital transition, as well as to integrate digital technologies and skills”, Maydell explained.

Data is an essential resource for economic growth, competitiveness, innovation, job creation and societal progress in general.

“My guiding principle, as the EPP Group Rapporteur, was to help start-ups, micro companies and SMEs access opportunities stemming from the data economy”, Maydell said.

There is a clear need to create a single market for data that boosts Europe's global competitiveness and enhances data sovereignty. Data sharing is the basis for a thriving data economy.

“Enabling the sharing of industrial data as well as personal data - the notion of data altruism - has to be underpinned by a secure and safe infrastructure. I cannot overstate how important it is to prevent any risk of unauthorised access to common European data spaces and to create tools to counter possible misconducts. We also need to sustain our cooperation with the EU Agency for Cybersecurity and the EU Cybersecurity Competence Centre if we want our data economy to be trusted and thriving”, Maydell concluded.

The EPP Group also supports the strengthening of interoperability, prevention measures against distortion in markets, technological neutrality, the widening of access to global data market and lastly, support for larger global data flows.