The EU Aims for Digital Sovereignty, Focusing on Metaverse Development to Lead This Nascent Digital Environment
In a time when the digital world is rapidly evolving, the European Union is taking a decisive step towards asserting its digital sovereignty. The European Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection recently presented an innovative report, centered around the booming sphere of the Metaverse – a term that encapsulates a future vision of a shared, interactive, and immersive digital environment, leveraging technologies such as 3D and augmented reality.
This initiative follows the outline of the Metaverse unveiled by the European Commission last July. While the EU’s executive body did not propose specific laws for virtual worlds, it emphasized the need for new standards and a global governance structure for these expanding digital landscapes. The Commission’s strategy on ‘Web4’ and the Metaverse showcases the EU’s ambition to be at the forefront of this technological revolution.
Fostering EU Leadership in Metaverse Development
As we enter Web 4.0 with the development of virtual worlds, we must lay foundations rooted in EU rules, guiding principles, and strong digital values. Europe must lead this transition by placing citizens at the heart of our digital future!
Pablo ARIAS ECHEVERRÍA
At the core of this strategic shift is the EU’s desire to reduce its technological dependencies on countries outside the Union. The report from the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, which garnered widespread support with 31 votes in favor and only two votes against, highlights the importance for the EU to play a leading role in shaping these virtual worlds. The report notably recognizes that most Metaverse projects have so far been led by a handful of companies located outside the EU with significant resources and financial power.
Pablo Arias Echeverría, the rapporteur who guided this initiative within the Parliament, emphasized the urgency for the EU to avoid repeating past mistakes in the digital realm.
In this context, lawmakers advocate not only for technological progress but also for the establishment of fair competition conditions to boost European businesses. It entails creating a robust policy framework that not only supports EU companies but also engages other countries in a collaborative approach. In doing so, the EU aims to position itself as a pioneer in the digital landscape, championing a future where its values and norms shape the development and governance of virtual worlds.
