Web Summit: European commissioner Margrethe Vestager says one of the reasons the US and China dominate the global tech industry is Europe's failure to build a single market

LISBON, Dec. 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --

• European commissioner Margrethe Vestager said one of the reasons the United States and China dominate the global tech industry is Europe's failure to build a single market
• Vestager went on to say that the European Union needs to make its own market more conducive to building tech giants, rather than try to curb US and Chinese tech companies
• Vestager joined European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, Facebook CTO Mike Schroepfer and tennis star Serena Williams at 100,000-attendee online conference Web Summit.

EU commissioner for competition Margrethe Vestager today said the reason the majority of global tech giants are from the US and China is partly down to Europe's failure to build a single market. Vestager made the remarks at the 100,000-attendee Web Summit, the largest tech conference in the world.

"One of the things that has enabled this situation is that we in Europe failed to provide a single market. We failed to provide a capital-enabling system that would allow for the scaling up of businesses here.

"Both China and the US, they have both. They have a single market, and also, language-wise, a very harmonious single market and a much different capital market than we would have in Europe," said Vestager.

Vestager went on to say that Europe needs to improve its own market rather than try to rein in US and Chinese companies. Vestager said that, while the European Commission's Digital Services Act, set to be presented this December, may encourage the development of major European tech companies, the legislation's primary focus is European citizens. 

"It remains to be seen whether it will create digital giants, but first things first – citizens all over Europe deserve to have service providers who abide by simple, straightforward obligations in order to provide their services in a good manner. That, I think, is the most important first step here.

"Then, of course, it is for us to figure out how can the marketplace develop so that, in the next chapter of digitalisation, we'll also see European businesses. But it is for us to be successful. It is not by curbing others that you yourself become successful – it is by providing the best possible solutions," said Vestager.

About Margrethe Vestager

Margrethe Vestager is EU commissioner for competition, and executive VP-designate for the next Commission.  Former minister in Denmark (economy and interior; education), she was political leader of the Social Liberal Party. She holds an MSc in economics.

About Web Summit

In the words of Inc. Magazine, "Web Summit is the largest technology conference in the world". Forbes says Web Summit is "the best tech conference on the planet", Bloomberg calls it "Davos for geeks", Politico "the Olympics of tech", and the Guardian "Glastonbury for geeks".

Useful Links:

Web Summit website: https://websummit.com/

Web Summit Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/websummit/albums/

Web Summit YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJtkHqH4Qof97TSx7BzE5IQ