This post originally appeared on the Blogactiv Guest Blog.
Last week, European Commission Vice President, Andrus Ansip, called for an end to forced data localisation within the EU’s Single Market. This new proposal, expected on 30 November, will ask EU Member States to not enact unjustified data localisation requirements. But how will this proposal impact Europe’s environment, security, privacy, consumers and businesses?
Boosting the EU’s Single Market
The EU’s perhaps most praised achievement is its Single Market where goods, services, people and capital can flow freely. Yet, economic studies have repeatedly shown fragmentation when it comes to the digital dimension of the Single Market. Two-thirds of all demand for “ICT-related” services are for instance sourced nationally rather than from other EU countries according to OECD numbers. The EU is therefore keen to avoid that its member states introduce new digital barriers such as, forced data localisation requirements, which would hinder the free flow of data within the EU Single Market.