Vice-President Ansip in Malta to discuss progress towards a Digital Single Market

Tomorrow and on Friday, Vice-President Ansip will be in Malta to underline the importance of moving forward quickly with the Commission’s proposals to create a Digital Single Market, more specifically under the upcoming Maltese Presidency of the Council of the EU (January – June 2017). Tomorrow, Vice-President Ansip will meet Owen Bonnici, Minister for Justice, Culture and Local Government; Louis Grech, Deputy Prime Minister, and Ian Borg, Parliamentary Secretary for the Maltese EU Presidency preparations; Chris Cardona, Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Business, and Emmanuel Mallia, Minister for Competitiveness and Digital, Maritime and Services Economy. They will discuss the Commission’s proposals that could be adopted during the Maltese Presidency, if not earlier: for example, the proposals to ensure Europeans can travel across borders with their online content,tocut wholesale roaming charges, to tackle geo-blocking, to offer more free Wi-Fi access points and to coordinate radio frequencies better. Vice-President Ansip will also meet Therese Comodini Cachia, Member of the European Parliament, who has recently been nominated rapporteur on the proposals to modernise EU copyright rules. The Vice-President will visit the Malta Digital Hub and the Malta Life Sciences Centre, which are part of the Maltese Life Sciences Park. Improving conditions for startups to expand and scale Europe-wide is a priority for the Vice-President. As part of the upcoming initiatives, the Commission will soon propose to adapt EU VAT rules so that they fit better for small e-commerce businesses. On Friday, Vice-President Ansip will address the Maltese Parliamentary Committees responsible for Foreign and European Affairs and for Economic and Financial Affairs, and will then have exchanges with students and citizens at a public event at the University of Malta