The completion of the digital single market in the EU is among the main priorities of the European Parliament. "This is one of the most promising areas for progress, with potential gains from increased efficiency to the tune of € 260 billion annually. The digital single market would lead to the opening of nearly 1 million new jobs only in this area," said in an interview for Radio Bulgaria MEP Eva Paunova, member of the Parliamentary Group of the EPP.

"The digital single market enables the stimulation of the economy through e-commerce”, she said. “At the same time, it facilitates the compliance with the administrative and financial rules on the part of businesses and strengthens the positions of customers through e-governance. Marketing and administrative services that can be developed within the digital single market develop from electronic to mobile platforms, thereby offering access to information and content at any time and with any type of mobile device. For this progress a regulatory framework is needed that does not obstruct the transferring of data over mobile networks and contributes to a simplified access to information while protecting the privacy of personal data, cyber security and especially the neutrality of the Internet. Currently, 12 EU commissioners work on a detailed and lasting strategy that will be published in May this year."

In Eva Paunova's opinion, some Member States will be required to make a compromise in their positions on the Digital Single Market. This is clearly very difficult and she gives the example of the Common Market for Telecommunications, which is a step towards the finalization of the digital single market.

"Still the prices of roaming charges have not dropped, and we had set a goal in 2015 to do so. I hope that in early 2016 we will be able to congratulate each other with a great achievement. This is a kind of boundary that united Europe is faced with and we cannot remove it. Still, debate is running in the Council, where there are disagreements between Member States."

How does Bulgaria fit into the digital single market of the EU?

"We fit wonderfully because we are the EU country with the fastest WiFi and the most common wireless internet not only in Europe but also globally. The IT industry develops quickly and is growing even in times of economic crisis. At the same time, perhaps, genetically we have very good specialists in this field. What we need to do is multiply them, and make them eager to create new ones. I recently read that one of the highest salaries in the IT sector is € 3,000, which for Bulgaria is extremely high. The average salary there is 1,750 euros. Very often we measure happiness with whether we are well-off financially. If this is happiness, if thus we need to measure whether we are satisfied with the EU, or what the prosperity of Bulgaria is, then why not direct our children to develop in this area. We should create a subject in schools on programming or a subjected oriented to business entrepreneurship. This government established a Council for e-Government with the Council of Ministers. This is a good start to build on what is already done by the Ministry of Transport in this direction. We are currently working very hard to move towards greater completion of e-governance. Here, Sofia Municipality introduces 50 new electronic services for the citizens of Sofia", said in an interview for Radio Bulgaria MEP Eva Paunova.

English: Rossitsa Petcova