Digital transformation as a Greens/EFA priority

Pirate MEPs during working days in London last week – together with other MEPs – convinced the Greens/EFA political group to make the “digital transformation” one of six top political priorities to be addressed over the next five-year period. This will have a great impact both on the functioning of the Group and on the European Parliament’s overall agenda.

“It is a huge success. This means that the Digital Agenda will no longer be seen as ancillary, but will be planned ahead, will be worked on by a team of experts across the group, and whatever the digital transformation topic will be, it will receive special attention. This step will effectively enable us to deliver on the promises we made to our voters before the elections,” said European Parliament Vice-President Marcel Kolaja.

In its working document, the Greens/EFA political group set itself the objective that by 2024 Europe would be a leader in digital politics and in the field of artificial intelligence based on fundamental rights, non-discrimination and inclusiveness. The document states that Europe must be the leader in the global battle against mass surveillance – be it by States or corporations. “Let’s put an end to mass surveillance. Its chilling effect harms civil society and activism. Human rights and fundamental freedoms are often forgotten in the name of innovation and / or security, but their protection is a fundamental value that Pirates are fighting for, ”said German Pirate and lawyer Patrick Breyer.

Harness the potential of digital technologies and put them at the service of the people needs to actively shape the policy fields concerned. That entails: protecting democracy and fundamental rights by tackling Big data collection, tracking and profiling, gender discrimination by AI, and safeguarding user’s rights in the future internet regulation. Finally, by focusing on challenging corporate large scale digital frame, in order to protect decentralised innovation. “All these issues have now become a priority not of the four pirate MEPs but of the 74 members of the Greens / EFA political group,” concludes Kolaja.