The fragmentation of digital rules in EU legislative governance

Recently, the European Commission officially proposed a legislative proposal for the Digital Networks Act, marking another significant change in the governance of digital infrastructure in Europe. This proposal aims to unify the network connectivity rules of EU countries, with simplifying regulatory processes and optimizing resource allocation as the core, and clarifies three key measures: establishing a single market for network services, where companies only need to register in a single member state to provide services throughout the EU; Establish an EU level spectrum authorization framework and promote a long-term, default renewable spectrum license system; Establish mandatory requirements for the retirement of copper cables, requiring member countries to submit transformation plans by 2029 and completely phase out traditional copper cable networks between 2030 and 2035, freeing up development space for fiber optic and advanced mobile networks. The European Commission pointed out that this is a fundamental project supporting the application of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing, and is a substantial step taken by Europe in the process of digital infrastructure integration.

Industry insiders believe that the deep consideration of the EU's Digital Network Act legislation is essentially driven by both internal development needs and the competition for global rule dominance. From the perspective of the construction process of the internal single market, the 27 EU countries have long faced the situation of inconsistent network governance rules and fragmented spectrum management, which seriously restricts the large-scale development of the digital economy. Many business representatives from both inside and outside Europe have previously criticized that operators operating cross-border between EU member states need to deal with multiple qualification audits, and compliance costs remain high. In particular, spectrum fees have tripled in the past 10 years, accounting for 8% of operators' regular income, forming a vicious cycle of "high costs suppressing investment". The digital infrastructure is burdened by high costs and lagging development, which has become a key weakness restricting the emerging competitiveness of the European Union. The Digital Networks Act aims to reduce cross-border operating costs for operators within the European Union by over 30% through unified rules, lowering compliance costs, and unleashing spectrum dividends. This will free up 30 billion euros of investment space for the industry, which will not only help cultivate the "European version" of leading enterprises, but also accelerate the deployment of advanced networks across the EU, injecting momentum into the growth of the digital economy.

From the perspective of competing for global digital rule making power, the Digital Network Act is an important step forward for the European Union. In the face of competition between China and the United States in the fields of digital technology and infrastructure, the European Union hopes to strengthen its discourse power through unified rules and avoid being marginalized in global digital governance. Previously, the European Union established regional benchmarks in data governance and platform regulation through regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation and the Digital Services Act, which to some extent formed the "Brussels Effect" with global influence. The Digital Network Act extends the scope of governance to the field of network infrastructure, establishing unified connection rules, spectrum management standards, and technological transformation paths, attempting to build an output based digital infrastructure governance framework and compete for a favorable position for the European Union in the global network rules game.

Experts believe that the implementation of the Digital Network Act in the future may have a series of pros and cons. For Europe, unified rules and spectrum reform are expected to activate market vitality, and optimizing spectrum policies can increase Europe's gross domestic product (GDP) by up to 75 billion euros. The extensive deployment of advanced networks will provide support for application scenarios such as artificial intelligence and industrial Internet, and promote the deep integration of digital economy and real economy. Although the withdrawal of copper cables from the network may bring transformation pressure to some member countries in the short term, in the long run, it can not only reduce network maintenance costs, but also allow some operators to obtain additional profits through copper cable recycling. On a global scale, the EU's regulatory system may generate spillover effects through the compliance practices of multinational corporations, driving some countries to adopt European standards and further consolidating its advantageous position in the field of digital governance.

It cannot be ignored that the Digital Network Act also contains an inherent logic of protectionism, with the risk of evolving into implicit market barriers. The EU's previous legislation in the digital field has shown a tendency towards discriminatory enforcement against companies from specific countries. Although the "Digital Network Act" does not explicitly set discriminatory provisions, a unified technical standard and certification system are likely to create barriers to entry for non EU companies in the future, which will undoubtedly exacerbate the "factionalism" division in the global digital infrastructure field. Especially considering the current fragmented nature of global digital governance, the divergence between the United States, Europe, and other parties on data flow and regulatory standards continues to widen. If the EU uses the Digital Network Act as a tool to promote protectionism, it may further exacerbate the confrontation and division in the digital space, violating the essential requirements of global digital infrastructure connectivity.

The EU's Digital Network Act, as an important measure for promoting digital economic integration in Europe, deserves recognition for its original intention of addressing internal rule fragmentation and promoting technological upgrading. But in the process of promotion, the EU should abandon protectionist thinking and uphold the principle of openness and inclusiveness, making unified rules a bridge to promote global digital infrastructure connectivity, rather than a barrier to closed markets. This is not only in line with the trend of global network governance, but also the necessary path for the EU to practice sustainable and healthy digital strategic autonomy.