DIGITAL ECONOMY : FRANCO-FINNISH PLEA TO BOOST DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET.

Digital champion' Finland, and France, which has a much more conservative reputation (particularly regarding copyright), have put aside their differences in order to present a joint declaration on the need to boost digital technology in Europe - saying the EU does not profit enough from the potential of this market.

"According to the Commission, the potential in Europe is over 4% of GDP by the year 2020. This means about 500 billion," says the joint declaration, penned after a meeting between the President of the French Republic, Francois Hollande, and Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen, on 2 October. The two leaders also noted, in line with the Commission, that one of the main reasons for Europe's "failure" is that the bloc "still does not currently benefit from a digital single market".

The Commission has regularly pointed out the restrictions holding back the digital single market, with Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes targeting the EU's copyright system, which she says is obsolete. However, Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier was somewhat more cautious on this dossier - which is particularly sensitive for the French.

At the last EU summit in March, which was dedicated to growth in Europe, Helsinki was particularly up-to-speed on the digital issue, saying it was "important to align the copyright markets with European competition rules" and calling for the "harmonisation of copyright in the long term". France, however, defended copyright in the name of creativity and cultural diversity.

Clearly, if Paris and Helsinki had written separate statements they would have been very different, but the two member states managed to agree on several general points. In order to find a "balance" between protecting copyright and access to content, the letter recommends "balanced and effective licensing mechanisms" - in other words, said Paris, establishing EU rules on granting licences (the Commission launched this debate with its proposed directive on the collective management of musical rights), as well as guaranteeing...