Regrets, she has a few, but the real fault lies with politicians that remain tied to an analogue mind-set. The result is a two-speed Europe, says Neelie Kroes as she retires as Digital Commissioner – to be replaced by three men
“I am very worried that Europe is missing large parts of the digital opportunity. I am worried that Europe will continue to stagnate, that we will look at success stories, but let them pass by,” Neelie Kroes, told the Broadband World Forum in Amsterdam this week, in her last speech as Digital Commissioner.
“My starting point five years ago was to Get Every European Digital. Why? Because then you have a win-win. I have never believed the digital revolution is about gadgets. It’s about people. It’s about including them in a new way of organising our economy and society. It’s not about whether you have an iPhone6 or an iPhone5.
We have made some great progress in the last 5 years, but I am sad to say that Europe is not yet fully ready and able to use that new mind-set.
First, we can indeed be proud that Europe is the only continent where every person really can access at least basic broadband. Seven in 10 go online at least once a week; nearly every business is connected by choice. But we are lying to ourselves if we just give ourselves applause for this.
For every Sweden or UK or Netherlands, which have 4G and where nearly everyone is online, we also have a Germany and Italy and the rest of Europe. There, fast broadband infrastructure and skills are average at best, sometimes non-existent.
We have a problem today of two Europes: a digital Europe and an analogue Europe. Of digital mind-sets and analogue mind-sets.
These are two Europes that rarely talk to each other. Two Europes that hold back all of Europe because they are not in sync.
Liking innovation
There is a Europe that is full of energy and digital ideas. We have a growing start-up scene with thousands of people who are the smartest in the world at what they do. From Skype to Spotify to SAP, from Rovio to booking.com to Campus Party. We have a young generation that uses their digital devices and apps and new ways of building communities and businesses.
This Europe is optimistic. This is the Europe where half of new jobs come from – the ICT-enabled jobs. This Europe is mobile and flexible. This Europe hates barriers and looks for new opportunities. This is the Europe that likes innovation – and is happy to use Uber and Air BnB.
But there is a second Europe. It is a Europe that is afraid of this digital future. They worry about where the new middle class jobs will come from. They don’t want to jump off what they see as a digital cliff. They like the comforting idea of putting up walls; to many people it makes sense to restrict Americans and Asians and protect against their innovations. They tend to be older. They tend to want strong regulations protecting what they know, instead of taking a chance on what they don’t know.
Neither side is 100 per cent right. It comes down to this question: is Europe’s leadership class willing to be excited about innovation and start-ups? Or is Europe going to be exhausted by using up its energy safeguarding vested interests, and holding up ancient barriers?
We need to ask if we can reinvent ourselves. And if we are willing to be led to a digital renaissance based on an open mind-set and a belief that we can be the best if we want to be.
I still don’t know how Europe will answer. I believe this renaissance is possible, but in my mind there are too many leaders still refusing to take up their responsibility.
The EU itself is getting the message: there are three men replacing me. We have made big strategic investments in essential research from 5G to electronics and robotics and more.
You can’t shape this world only from the top
Leaders at other levels and with different job descriptions have a responsibility to engage with this new digital world.
Of course they can set limits and standards, but digital is a fact now. It’s not a choice, it’s a fact. And it is no longer acceptable to ignore it.
You are not a responsible leader if you ban services and categories of service without ever using them, or seeing if there is a way to compromise.
You are not a responsible leader if you think we can solve tomorrow’s problems by recreating past rules and industry structures.
You are not a responsible leader if don’t understand that coding is the new literacy.
Failure is part of progress
It’s not easy to take responsibility – but that is what leadership is.
I am not proud to admit what I got wrong in my career, but failure is an inevitable part of progress. I feel confident enough to stand up here in front of you and admit that I made many mistakes, maybe than successes.
I will stand up here and say that if I had my time as Digital Commissioner again, I would have set fewer targets. I would have pushed the telco industry harder in the face of inevitable changes in the digital value chain. They see the challenges but are locked into old business models and need an external push for change. I would have moved sooner on deregulation and net neutrality. I would have taken control of the Connecting Europe Facility proposal earlier, before the funding for it was slashed by national leaders.
It’s all hard to say and it’s all true
With that in mind, I urge you to be sceptical about the fact that you don’t hear similar things from other tech and telecoms leaders, and rarely do you hear it from other political leaders.
Why don’t they stand up here on this stage and say to you what they say to me in private: “we got it wrong on mobile roaming. Roaming fees don’t belong in a single market.”
Why don’t the American companies stand up here and say: “we trusted our government too much, and we put our customers’ privacy at risk and we are sorry, as well as angry for being taken advantage of.”
Why don’t European leaders stand up on a stage and say, “We shot ourselves in the foot by not creating a digital single market sooner. Now we need to compromise and catch up, please support us so we can get more competitive. Support us so we can, keep manufacturing in Europe, and enable entrepreneurs to create new jobs.”
It’s all true.
For five years I have asked stakeholders and ministers what they would do in my shoes. And for five years I have been hearing about what they would like Europe to do for them.
After 5 years I am tired of it.
It is not enough to come to Brussels and complain or put your hand out for money. It is not enough to ask what Europe can do for you. Europe is you!”
(This is an extract from a speech by Neelie Kroes, retiring Digital Commissioner, at the Broadband World Forum in Amsterdam)
“My starting point five years ago was to Get Every European Digital. Why? Because then you have a win-win. I have never believed the digital revolution is about gadgets. It’s about people. It’s about including them in a new way of organising our economy and society. It’s not about whether you have an iPhone6 or an iPhone5.
We have made some great progress in the last 5 years, but I am sad to say that Europe is not yet fully ready and able to use that new mind-set.
First, we can indeed be proud that Europe is the only continent where every person really can access at least basic broadband. Seven in 10 go online at least once a week; nearly every business is connected by choice. But we are lying to ourselves if we just give ourselves applause for this.
For every Sweden or UK or Netherlands, which have 4G and where nearly everyone is online, we also have a Germany and Italy and the rest of Europe. There, fast broadband infrastructure and skills are average at best, sometimes non-existent.
We have a problem today of two Europes: a digital Europe and an analogue Europe. Of digital mind-sets and analogue mind-sets.
These are two Europes that rarely talk to each other. Two Europes that hold back all of Europe because they are not in sync.
Liking innovation
There is a Europe that is full of energy and digital ideas. We have a growing start-up scene with thousands of people who are the smartest in the world at what they do. From Skype to Spotify to SAP, from Rovio to booking.com to Campus Party. We have a young generation that uses their digital devices and apps and new ways of building communities and businesses.
This Europe is optimistic. This is the Europe where half of new jobs come from – the ICT-enabled jobs. This Europe is mobile and flexible. This Europe hates barriers and looks for new opportunities. This is the Europe that likes innovation – and is happy to use Uber and Air BnB.
But there is a second Europe. It is a Europe that is afraid of this digital future. They worry about where the new middle class jobs will come from. They don’t want to jump off what they see as a digital cliff. They like the comforting idea of putting up walls; to many people it makes sense to restrict Americans and Asians and protect against their innovations. They tend to be older. They tend to want strong regulations protecting what they know, instead of taking a chance on what they don’t know.
Neither side is 100 per cent right. It comes down to this question: is Europe’s leadership class willing to be excited about innovation and start-ups? Or is Europe going to be exhausted by using up its energy safeguarding vested interests, and holding up ancient barriers?
We need to ask if we can reinvent ourselves. And if we are willing to be led to a digital renaissance based on an open mind-set and a belief that we can be the best if we want to be.
I still don’t know how Europe will answer. I believe this renaissance is possible, but in my mind there are too many leaders still refusing to take up their responsibility.
The EU itself is getting the message: there are three men replacing me. We have made big strategic investments in essential research from 5G to electronics and robotics and more.
You can’t shape this world only from the top
Leaders at other levels and with different job descriptions have a responsibility to engage with this new digital world.
Of course they can set limits and standards, but digital is a fact now. It’s not a choice, it’s a fact. And it is no longer acceptable to ignore it.
You are not a responsible leader if you ban services and categories of service without ever using them, or seeing if there is a way to compromise.
You are not a responsible leader if you think we can solve tomorrow’s problems by recreating past rules and industry structures.
You are not a responsible leader if don’t understand that coding is the new literacy.
Failure is part of progress
It’s not easy to take responsibility – but that is what leadership is.
I am not proud to admit what I got wrong in my career, but failure is an inevitable part of progress. I feel confident enough to stand up here in front of you and admit that I made many mistakes, maybe than successes.
I will stand up here and say that if I had my time as Digital Commissioner again, I would have set fewer targets. I would have pushed the telco industry harder in the face of inevitable changes in the digital value chain. They see the challenges but are locked into old business models and need an external push for change. I would have moved sooner on deregulation and net neutrality. I would have taken control of the Connecting Europe Facility proposal earlier, before the funding for it was slashed by national leaders.
It’s all hard to say and it’s all true
With that in mind, I urge you to be sceptical about the fact that you don’t hear similar things from other tech and telecoms leaders, and rarely do you hear it from other political leaders.
Why don’t they stand up here on this stage and say to you what they say to me in private: “we got it wrong on mobile roaming. Roaming fees don’t belong in a single market.”
Why don’t the American companies stand up here and say: “we trusted our government too much, and we put our customers’ privacy at risk and we are sorry, as well as angry for being taken advantage of.”
Why don’t European leaders stand up on a stage and say, “We shot ourselves in the foot by not creating a digital single market sooner. Now we need to compromise and catch up, please support us so we can get more competitive. Support us so we can, keep manufacturing in Europe, and enable entrepreneurs to create new jobs.”
It’s all true.
For five years I have asked stakeholders and ministers what they would do in my shoes. And for five years I have been hearing about what they would like Europe to do for them.
After 5 years I am tired of it.
It is not enough to come to Brussels and complain or put your hand out for money. It is not enough to ask what Europe can do for you. Europe is you!”
(This is an extract from a speech by Neelie Kroes, retiring Digital Commissioner, at the Broadband World Forum in Amsterdam)
Receive the Funding Newswire each Tuesday, our Policy Bulletin each Thursday, and news about bridging Europe’s east-west innovation gap twice a month in The Widening. 
A unique international forum for public research organisations and companies to connect their external engagement with strategic interests around their R&D system.
