Germany wants to advance the Digital Single Market

Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to advance the digital EUinternal market in co-operation with Italy.

After the German-Italian government consultations in the Italian town of Maranello, Merkel said during an appearance with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, that both attached great importance on advancing digitalization throughout Europe and between Germany and Italy.   Both governments would work to ensure that the EU placed an emphasis on the completion digital single market legislation, Merkel announced.

Germany and Italy are next to France, the EU countries with the largest Industrial production. Merkel had repeatedly warned that Europe without a determined common digitization strategy will fall behind the US and China.

Merkel announced for early 2017 a Digitization Conference at heads of government level in Berlin, for which the Minister for the Economy will be preparing. "Germany and Italy must be jointly pioneer digitization", was also the call of the President of the Federation of German Industries (BDI),
Ulrich Grillo.

Merkel and Grillo praised the Italian government for its reform policies. This and the political stability of the Renzi government is not only good for Italy but also for Europe, the Chancellor stressed.

Renzi has announced in the dispute over a controversial constitutional reform that the next parliamentary elections will be held in Italy in 2018.

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