On Wednesday, February 19th, the European Commission presented its ambition to shape Europe's digital future that reflects the best of Europe: open, fair, diverse, democratic and confident.

Through the unveiled strategies, the aim is to put Europe as a leader in trustworthy Artificial Intelligence and in the data economy, letting citizens and businesses benefit from digital technologies in many ways.

In its White Paper, the Commission envisages a framework for Artificial Intelligence based on excellence and trust. In partnership with the private and the public sector, the aim is to mobilise resources along the entire value chain and to create the right incentives to accelerate deployment of AI, including by smaller and medium-sized enterprises. Clear rules are needed to address high-risk AI systems without putting too much burden on less risky ones. Furthermore, strict EU rules for consumer protection, to address unfair commercial practices and protect personal data and privacy, will continue to be applied.

On the other hand, the European data strategy objective is to make the EU a role model for a society empowered by data. This will be gained through setting up a true European data space, a single market for data, to unlock unused data, allowing it to flow freely within the European Union and across sectors for the benefit of businesses, researchers and public administrations.

As set out in the strategy, the Commission will present later this year a Digital Services Act and a European Democracy Action Plan, propose a review of the eIDAS Regulation, and strengthen cybersecurity by developing a Joint Cyber Unit. Europe will also continue to build alliances with global partners, leveraging its regulatory power, capacity building, diplomacy and finance to promote the European digitalisation model.

The White Paper on Artificial Intelligence is now open for public consultation until 31 May 2020. The Commission is also gathering feedback on its data strategy. In light of the input received, the Commission will take further action to support the development of trustworthy AI and the data economy.