Today, European Commission President-elect, Jean-Claude Juncker, announced the key players in his commission, including some of those responsible for looking after the digital agenda: former Estonian prime minister, Andrus Ansip, and current energy commissioner, German politician Günther Oettinger.
The Commission will need to be approved by European Parliament and then formally appointed by the European Council. Pending confirmation, Ansip will become the Commission vice-president overseeing the “Digital Single Market” and Oettinger will take over “Digital Economy and Society”, managing issues like net neutrality. The outgoing Commission had just one “Digital Agenda” role, led by the Dutch Neelie Kroes, a Commission vice president.
Ansip will oversee technological issues from spectrum allocation and competition law to data protection and furthering the single-market and its importance for economic development and tech firms, allowing more regulatory and commercial certainty across the member states. Oettinger will lead the move toward connected homes, reforming the e-Privacy Directive, and modernising copyright rules.
