ECON adopts Business Wallets opinion and highlights cybersecurity risks
Local and regional leaders in ECON backed Business Wallets and warned that new digital and cybersecurity duties need stronger support.
Members of the European Committee of the Regions’ Commission for Economic Policy adopted a draft opinion on European Business Wallets at their meeting, while also addressing cybersecurity, industrial policy, defence, AI, and state aid issues.
ECON members stressed that European Business Wallets should be simple, user-friendly, and cost-effective, particularly for SMEs, micro-enterprises, and start-ups operating across borders. They also backed a ‘once-only’ principle allowing businesses to submit data a single time and reuse it across different administrative procedures.
The draft opinion also calls for awareness-raising, clear guidance, financial support, technical assistance, and training for local administrations facing new obligations.
Rapporteur Branislav Zacharides, Mayor of Vrútky, stated:
‘The deployment of the Business Wallets will entail new administrative obligations for public authorities, which can be especially burdensome for smaller municipalities. We therefore call on the European Commission and Member States to provide adequate technical capacity-building and financial support so that the Wallets can deliver real added value.‘
Members also addressed the upcoming Cybersecurity Review and the Digital Networks Act, warning that new responsibilities linked to digital resilience and connectivity could put pressure on regional and local administrations, especially those with limited resources and technical expertise. They called for financial support, training, and capacity-building to help authorities meet those requirements.
ECON members also discussed the EU Defence Industry Transformation Roadmap and the Industrial Accelerator Act, stressing the need for a place-based approach to defence and industrial acceleration policies. They argued that local and regional authorities should help shape investment priorities and industrial strategies, rather than merely implement them.
The meeting also included a discussion of gender bias in AI and a review of the General Block Exemption Regulation on state aid. ECON members warned that broader state-aid flexibilities could have uneven territorial and competition effects, risking the widening of regional disparities.
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