Resumen de Smarter rules, stronger markets: how the EU can streamline its digital agenda

Diana Năsulea

• The European Union has positioned itself as the global leader in regulating digital space via the Digital Services Act, Digital Markets Act, and AI Act. Although the aim has been to improve consumer protection and ensure fair competition, these Acts collectively threaten to undermine the competitiveness of the EU globally. Based on the Draghi Report’s call for a new growth agenda, this article proposes a shift towards a clear, competitiveness-based digital strategy founded on liberal principles, open markets, and balanced regulation. It proposes an ‘Omnibus Digital Competitiveness Package’ to simplify the EU’s digital rulebook, to include a principles-based framework for digital regulation, competitiveness tests as a conditionality, lighter compliance procedures for SMEs, and improved institutional coordination. In sum, it is essential to ensure that digital rules promote rights and market equity while also encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship in order to decrease fragmentation, enhance legal certainty, and unleash a more vibrant digital economy.