European Commission

The European Commission (EC) is the executive body of the European Union. Its main responsibilities include: proposing legislation to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, enforcing European law, setting objectives and priorities for actions, managing and implementing EU policies and the budget, and representing the Union outside Europe.

Internet governance and digital policy are high on the agenda of the European Commission. The creation of a digital single market throughout the EU is one of the Commission’s priorities, and a strategy in this regard is currently being implemented with a focus on: ensuring better online access to digital goods and services across the 28 member states, designing rules and setting up an enabling environment where digital networks and services can prosper, and ensuring that digital opportunities are used as drivers for growth. The work of the Commission also covers specialised areas such as: electronic communications infrastructures, privacy and data protection in the digital space, cybersecurity, open data, child safety online, network neutrality, etc.

The Commission is actively participating in the global discussions on Internet governance, through its engagement in processes and organisations such as the Internet Governance Forum, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the International Telecommunication Union, and the World Summit on Information Society. The Commission is also a strong supporter of the multistakeholder approach to Internet governance, which it promotes both within and outside of the EU.

The EC is also involved in capacity building initiatives with regard to Internet governance, and one example in this regard is the development of the Global Internet Policy Observatory (GIPO) platform, which is aimed to help users understand and monitor Internet-policy regulatory and technological developments around the world, and be better prepared to actively participate in processes and discussions in the Internet governance ecosystem.