Green Paper Towards an integrated European market for card, internet and mobile payments

The European Commission has launched a consultation for a secure and transparent integrated payments environment throughout the EU.

The Green Paper assesses the current landscape of card, internet and mobile payments in Europe, identifies the gaps between the current situation and the vision of a fully integrated payments market and the barriers which have created these gaps. The objective of the Green Paper is to launch a broad-scale consultation process with stakeholders to validate or contribute to the Commission’s analysis and to help identify the right way to improve market integration. 

The document includes facts and figures showing how the European citizens shopping and paying way is radically changing:

-One in three European citizens used online banking in 2009. Studies indicate that by 2020, two out of three EU citizens may use online banking.

-The number of online shoppers in Europe is forecast to increase from 141 to 190 million between 2009 and 2014 with the average spent by each buyer increasing from EUR 500 to EUR 600/year

-Around 726 million payment (credit and debit) cards were used in the EU in 2009. This represents an average of almost 1.5 cards per citizen. The average spending per card amounted to more than EUR 2 000/year.

The deadline for submitting contributions to the consultation is 11 April 2012.

Download the consultation

Public consultations on access to telecoms networks

The European Commission launched the 3rd of October two public consultations related to access for alternative operators to the fixed telephone and broadband networks of established operators.

Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice President for the Digital Agenda said "We need regulatory consistency in all Member States to ensure a level playing field for telecoms across the whole EU, in which competition and investment can thrive. This will reassure markets that putting money into fibre networks is a safe and profitable investment."

The consultations:

-Public consultation on costing methodologies for key wholesale access prices in electronic communications

-Public consultation on the application, monitoring and enforcement of non-discrimination obligations in electronic communications

Both consultations are open until 28 November 2011.

More information

Conclusion of consultations on EU Innovation Green Paper

The European Commission released on 9 February a Green Paper on future options and priorities with regard to research and innovation funding. Four months later it now releases an Analysis of the public consultation process that took place since February.

On 10 June 2011 the outcome of the consultation was discussed at a major conference in Brussels.

Download the Analysis
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Consultation on how best to leverage the cloud computing in Europe

The Commission is inviting all interested parties, in particular cloud developers and cloud users, to explain their experience, needs, expectations and insights into the use and provision of cloud computing. The survey seeks feedback on the following issues:

- data protection and liability questions, in particular in cross-border situations;
- other legal and technical barriers that can slow down the development of cloud computing in Europe;
- standardisation and interoperability solutions;
- uptake of cloud services, in particular by SMEs;
- ways to promote research and innovation in cloud computing.

The online public consultation will run until the August 31st and the results will feed into a European cloud computing strategy that the Commission will present in 2012.

Access to the public consultation

EU Green Paper and consultation on research and innovation funding

The European Commission released on 9 February a Green Paper on future options and priorities with regard to research and innovation funding. In addition, the Commission announced that it is engaging into a major consultation exercise, in particular about the topics listed in its press release. The Green Paper and consultation include all EU policy instruments in the field of research and innovation funding, i.e. the new framework programme (FP8), Competitiveness and Innovation Fund (CIP), cohesion funds and European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a package worth in total more than 140 billion EUR.

More information on practical ways to contribute to the consultation.