NGAs and the single market: the Achilles’ heels of the digital agenda

Tbrand-new EU Digital Agenda launched in August 2010 promises much to European consumers and businesses. The goals set by the Agenda seem to announce the beginning of a new era for EU citizens, in which prosperity will be achieved by the migration to the use of online public and private services for all, and increased growth and productivity will be secured by the diffusion of IT-enabled services through modern, high-speed telecommunication infrastructure. Achieving these goals is expected to bring unprecedented benefits to the European economy in the years to come: realizing the Single Market for electronic communications – a target that the Council wants to see achieved by 2015 – is expected to generate more economic benefits than the 1985-1992 Single Market package – which makes the Digital Single Market potentially the most important reform package of all times for the European Union.