How could Greek businesses and consumers benefit from eCommerce solutions? What have we learned from data economy best practices in Greece so far? How can smart cities contribute to the further development of the digital economy in Greece? Which is the development model they should put in place and how could this model serve to stimulating further digital entrepreneurship and digital business? These were some of the issues discussed in an event organised by the European Commission on June 29th in Athens. This was part of "Going Local", a Commission initiative to visit all EU countries, present the EU strategy on the Digital Single Market (DSM), and discuss with public sector representatives, the business community, academia and citizens how digital technologies can bring more growth and jobs in Greece and Europe.

Discussions on eCommerce and digital networks and services in Greece looked at what the average internet user needs and what he is interested in.  Accessibility to broadband networks, quality of telecom services including reliability, speed, and security, and protection of personal data are major requirements. Reasonable prices for consumers and businesses stemming from fair market competition are also in the front line.

Yes, there is a huge need for further investments in high speed broadband networks (FTTH) and the government needs to deliver.  It needs to keep the promises made in the National Broadband plan i.e. develop a telecom policy that enhances market competition, encourages new investments while protecting consumers' rights and interests; and speed-up the roll-out of high-speed broadband networks everywhere in the country. Also, focus more on local and regional initiatives to develop "open networks", on applying the Cost Reduction EU Directive, and last but not least on promoting collaborative FTTH network development models. All these would start us on the road to growth.

The development of smart cities is an example of best practices in the promotion of the data economy in the country. Athens, Heraklion and Thessaloniki indicate the key role digital technologies play in furthering economic development and competitiveness of cities, substantially improving citizens' life and attracting new business and new investments. Long term vision followed by strategic and operational planning as well as concrete implementation steps are what is needed to move to smart cities and municipal authorities should act quickly.

How can this be done?  By engaging citizens early in the process, actively involving all digital players such as academia and industry, by deploying modern broadband, energy, and transport infrastructures; and finally by promoting the collection, integration and use of open data  through the adoption of open technologies and open urban data platforms. This is the way to foster the development of open governance, and new citizen- and business-centric smart applications and services that stimulate the creation of new start-ups and new business opportunities for SMEs and more broadly that help promoting digital skills, innovation and entrepreneurship.

All the presentations of the event are available on this link. Moreover, key facts and figures on how Greece performs in digital issues can be found in the following links: in English and in Greek.

The Commission is now launching public consultations seeking stakeholders' views on a number of policies relating to the Digital Single Market: for example, on the review of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, on contract rules for online purchases of digital content, on cross-border parcel delivery and soon, on the review of the EU's telecommunications regulatory framework (to be launched in September).

In late autumn, a second round of Going Local is planned to discuss specifically the progress of the implementation of the Digital Single Market strategy in light of issues raised under these consultations.