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Theoretical background and objectives

Theoretical background and objectives

The European Commission is a pivotal agenda-setter for European digital policy, not the least because of its powers in governing the internal market and the external trade relations of the EU. In digital policy, the Commission has to balance partially contradicting goals such as fostering innovation and economic growth, ensuring the protection of EU citizen’s rights, and managing the security vulnerabilities of networked societies. For these choices, not only rapid technological change and domestic politicization but also international competitive pressures in economic, normative, and security terms matter. How do such international pressures shape the Commission’s “European third way” of digital policy?