The Digital Partnership is intended to provide an overarching framework to strengthen digital connectivity and interoperability of digital markets and policy frameworks and facilitate digital trade between the EU and Singapore. It aims to advance cooperation on the full spectrum of digital issues, including digital economy and trade, as well as key enablers for the successful digital transformation of our societies and economies. Issues that may be addressed include secure and sustainable digital infrastructure, trusted data flows and data innovation, digital regulations, the development of digital skills for workers, and the digital transformation of businesses, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and of public services. The Partnership would expand the bilateral trade and investment relationship by enhancing cooperation, building more resilient supply chains, and supporting innovation and facilitating business opportunities for start-ups and SMEs.
In addition, the Digital Partnership will pave the way for cooperation in new and emerging areas with transformative economic potential – such as 5G/6G, Artificial Intelligence, or digital identities.
Commissioner Breton and Minister Iswaran stressed that the Digital Partnership should be a flexible structure that goes beyond dialogue and exchange of information to deliver concrete results. Ultimately, it should reinforce the people, business and trade links between the EU and Singapore and maximise the benefits of the digital economy for our communities. The Digital Partnership will also contribute to the development of a global architecture of interoperable standards at regional and multilateral settings and benefit workers and businesses engaging in digital trade and electronic commerce.
Commissioner Breton and Minister S. Iswaran underlined that there was a positive and growing momentum towards the EU-Singapore Digital Partnership. They agreed to launch technical workshops as soon as possible to further scope the content and processes of the Digital Partnership, in order to work towards a political agreement in 2022.
Once the Digital Partnership has been signed, an annual ministerial meeting (“Digital Partnership Council”), led by Commissioner Breton and Minister Iswaran, and where appropriate with participation of other relevant members of the College, will be convened to steer progress on shared priorities.
In addition, Commissioner Breton and Minister Iswaran also discussed the global supply challenges in the semiconductor industry and the potential for cooperation between the EU and Singapore. Commissioner Breton outlined the priorities under the EU’s recent proposal for an EU Chips Act and both sides agreed for their teams to further explore the issue in a technical workshop.
Source – EU Commission
Brussels, 14 December 2022
We are pleased to announce today the substantial conclusion of a new Digital Partnership between the EU and Singapore.
This Partnership expands the robust EU-Singapore relationship into the digital realm, which has a transformative potential for the future of our economies.
The EU and Singapore share a people-centric vision of digitalisation. To help us realise this vision, the Partnership will advance cooperation on the full range of digital issues, including trade facilitation, trusted data flows and data innovation, digital trust, standards, digital skills for workers, and the digital transformation of businesses and public services. It will facilitate joint efforts to make supply chains more resilient and advance new and emerging areas such as 5G/6G, Artificial Intelligence, and digital identities.
The EU and Singapore have also agreed on a set of Digital Trade Principles, as a first deliverable of their Digital Partnership. These principles reflect our joint commitment to an open digital economy and provide a common framework to boost digital trade between us and globally. We aim to build on these principles to enact a set of bilateral digital trade rules. We believe that the forward-looking digital trade engagements between the EU and Singapore will complement and support ongoing WTO negotiations to put in place global rules on electronic commerce.
We thank Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner Thierry Breton and Minister S Iswaran for their commitment to develop the Digital Partnership and the Digital Trade Principles. With this substantial conclusion, we look forward to their formal signature and launch early next year.
The Digital Partnership builds on long-standing cooperation between the EU and the Singapore on trade, research and technology. At a time of turmoil and change, we are taking another major step to deepen our strategic partnership for the benefit of our citizens, consumers and businesses. The Digital Partnership will also serve as a strategic pathfinder for closer region-to-region digital connectivity.
