BRUSSELS--The European Union unveiled a signature plan to unite
the region's fragmented online markets and crack down on possible
abuses by U.S. Internet firms, a move policy makers hope will boost
the economy and help spawn Internet giants to rival Google Inc. and
Facebook Inc.
The plans, six months in the making, are a cornerstone of
efforts by the EU's recently appointed executive arm to jump-start
growth. They contain 16 initiatives ranging from an overhaul of the
region's telecommunications rules to harmonized copyright and tax
regimes to cybersecurity and even better parcel delivery.
Crucially, the plans call for several major inquiries into
possible abuses by U.S.-based Web companies. These include a
"comprehensive analysis" into the role of online platforms such as
search engines and price-comparison websites amid concerns around
their market power and a previously signaled probe by antitrust
regulators into whether Internet commerce firms such as Amazon.com
Inc. are restricting cross-border trade.
Technology firms cautioned against heavy-handed new rules that
could constrain Europe's ability to attract technology companies
and to develop its own.
"Brussels appears poised to put government officials in charge
of how hugely popular online services are designed and implemented"
without any evidence they are harming consumers, said Dean
Garfield, president of the Information Technology Industry Council,
a lobby group.
At the heart of the project is a determination to fight back
against the dominance of the Web by U.S.-based companies. Top EU
officials have warned that European firms are lagging behind in a
critical sector that is squeezing traditional industries one after
the other.
Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, the
bloc's executive arm, said Wednesday that the plans would "lay the
groundwork for Europe's digital future."
"I want to see pan-continental telecoms networks, digital
services that cross borders and a wave of innovative European
startups," Mr. Juncker said.
The bloc also will look into the threat posed to European
telecom operators by so-called over-the-top players such as Skype
and WhatsApp, which the operators have accused of competing
unfairly.
"The regulations would also sour the US-EU relationship at
exactly the wrong time," Mr. Garfield said. EU officials estimate
the plans could add EUR415 billion ($465.28 billion) to Europe's
economy and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, urgently
needed in a region where unemployment exceeds 11%.
The plans are some way from becoming reality. The European
Commission, the bloc's Brussels-based executive arm, must turn them
into concrete legislative proposals that will be debated and
modified by national governments and the European Parliament before
being voted into law.
The digital single market "is a big deal" that "will add
tremendously to [Europe's] competitiveness in the long term,"
General Electric Co. Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt said in a
speech Tuesday in Brussels.
"No serious investor believes Europe really cares about jobs if
the rules are inconsistent," Mr. Immelt said.
Write to Tom Fairless at tom.fairless@wsj.com
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