On 17 October 2017, top policy-makers and stakeholders...
Transcript of On 17 October 2017, top policy-makers and stakeholders...
On 17 October 2017, top policy-makers and stakeholders came
together at the European Transport Forum (ETF) in Brussels for a
high-level debate how can the data economy unlock the fullpotential of European transport?
This year’s edition of the ETF brought together several high-level
speakers explaining their ideas on what are the most importantchallenges and opportunities to address the potential of the data
economy for transport in Europe.
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According to Ms Ujupan, the European
data economy is growing at a fast pace:
in 2016 it represented 2% of the
European GDP and employed around 6
million professionals. With the right
legislation environment and investment
she expects its size to double by 2020
and employ around 10.5 million people.
She said that the advanced use of data
has a positive impact on health and well-
being, societal challenges, emissions,
resource management and driving. In
particular…
However, challenges have to be faced in
areas such as liability, cybersecurity, and
data use, access and ownership.
Ms Ujupan highlighted several ongoing
processes: many Member States have
agreed to develop cross-border testing
corridors; a recent high-level ministerial
KEYNOTE SPEECH
ALINA UJUPANMember of Cabinet, Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society
…the digitisation of transport and especially connected and
automated driving is one of the most important trends that will
transform industry in Europe.
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dialogue adopted an Action Plan; an industry roundtable has been set-up; and both the
European Automotive and Telecom Alliance and the 5G Automotive Alliance are making
headway.
She stated that automated mobility features prominently on the agenda of the European
Commission as it is keen to support European industry and make sure it keeps its edge
by putting Europe in the frontline of deployment of smart mobility and connected and
automated mobility technologies. Interlinked initiatives such as GEAR 2030 and the CITS
platform will bring together different elements. Ms Ujupan said that the Commission’s
role is to provide an enabling framework, not to make technology choices.
Turning her attention to cybersecurity, she said that cyberattacks can have potentially
huge consequences on road traffic and human lives, and that vehicle manufacturers
need to take a proactive role in detecting and responding to cyberattacks. She believes
that the Commission’s recent proposal on voluntary certification schemes will help in
this respect. Other key aspects include the management, storage and communication of
data, which is essential to build the trust of the consumers who will ultimately buy these
vehicles.
In the area of testing cross-border cooperation, a task force is to be established,
including the Commission as well as Member States and stakeholders from different
environments. Several Member States have agreed to collaborate to launch four cross-
border test beds or corridors: Norway, Finland and Sweden; France, Germany and
Luxemburg; the Netherlands and Belgium; and Spain and Portugal.
Ms Ujupan said that 50 million euros for 5G testing will be made available this year from
the Horizon 2020 ICT program, with more funding available via the Horizon 2020
Transport program. Moreover, with the 5G Action Plan the Commission is committed to
promoting the deployment of cellular technology along many transport paths by 2025.
Her final point was that access to end user data is essential for the development of
services for the end user, while economic and business models are essential to build the
technology infrastructure to support these services: “We therefore need to take the
necessary measures to make the European environment attractive for investment and
growth in this sector.”
A key priority for the European Commission is interoperability and continuity of service
across borders.
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Ms Espinel conducted a poll to see how the audience reached today’s location –
whether by train, car, taxi, plane, boat, bike or on foot – and then said that all these
forms of transport are going to be radically transformed over the next 30 years thanks to
data and software.
She explained how IoT and data analytics are already having a major impact by
providing live data and feedback that reduces emissions, cuts costs and improves
customer service. She gave examples of how artificial intelligence and machine learning
are impacting transport and providing benefits to companies and consumers, and said
that Blockchain has significant potential in the shipping industry to improve efficiencies
and eliminate fraud.
Ms Espinel said that all these new technologies have data in common, and a regulatory
framework is necessary that is as international as possible. She focused on three aspects
of this.
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CONTEXT SET-UP
VICTORIA A. ESPINELPresident and CEO, BSA
First, data needs to be made available
and be able to move around the world
with as little friction as possible.
“Transport is probably the most global
sector, so it’s vital that data can be
sourced from around the world as
efficiently and as real-time as possible,”
she stated.
A regulatory framework must allow data
to be used in a way that is flexible,
including the ability to repurpose data as
necessary. This means finding a
compromise between society’s need to
digitise and society’s need to protect
personal data.
Second, an IoT regulatory framework is
needed that is fit for purpose. Here Ms
Espinel said that “to accelerate the
deployment of IoT, the European
Commission needs to recognise that this
is a global technology, and work with
Member States and other countries to
push for international standards.”
Third, the data needs to be as secure as
possible. Ms Espinel pointed out that the
future of transport relies heavily on the
If governments move forward with policies that localise data or
restrict data, this will negatively impact the ability to innovate.
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integrity of data. If the system is
susceptible to hacking, it has serious
implications for businesses and
consumers. She remarked that
“governments need to acknowledge that
this is a global system and we
collectively will only be as strong as the
weakest link in the cybersecurity chain.”
Consequently, governments around the
world need to work together to come up
with a framework for cybersecurity that
is global and as interoperable as
possible.
Ms Espinel said she has been very
pleased to see the initiatives coming out
of the office of Mariya Gabriel,
Commissioner for Digital Economy and
Society, and commented positively on
her enthusiasm and energy that she
displays in her role overseeing this
complicated portfolio.
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AUDIENCE POLL RESULTS
DO YOU THINK THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S APPROACH TO “BUILDING A EUROPEAN
DATA ECONOMY” ADEQUATELY ADDRESSES THE ISSUES FACING THE TRANSPORT SECTOR IN
THIS AREA?
o 14%: Yes, it is on the right track to enable the transport sector to take full advantage of the
data economy
o 69%: Partly, but it should take more account of the specificities of the transport sector
o 17%: No, the EU is not doing enough to maximise the data economy’s contribution to
unlocking the full potential of European transport
WHAT, FOR YOU, IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED TO ENSURE
DATA FROM TRANSPORT IS SHARED AND USED INA RESPONSIBLE WAY? (PLEASE PICK ONE)
o 27.7%: Getting the legal framework that will underpin such data sharing right
o 26.5%: Striking the right balance between realising the potential benefits of sharing data
while protecting the interests of market players who invest in generating data?
o 45.8%: Ensuring that whatever data is shared, this is done in a way that does not
compromise the safety and integrity of the vehicle
WHO NEEDS TO DO WHAT TO MAXIMISE THE DATA ECONOMY’S CONTRIBUTION TO
UNLOCKING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF EUROPEAN TRANSPORT?
o 11.6%: Policy-makers at all levels have the most important role to play in driving progress
o 19.8%: The private sector has the most important role to play in delivering the
technologies needed to drive progress
o 68.6%: Both: policy-makers and the private sector must work together if we are to
accelerate progress
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PANEL DISCUSSION LED BY MODERATOR JACKI DAVIS
o DITA CHARANZOVÁ
Vice Chair of IMCO Committee, The European Parliament
o JOHN FRANK
Vice-President EU Government Affairs, Microsoft
o NIKLAS GUSTAFSSON
Chief Sustainability Officer, Volvo Group
o VICTORIA A. ESPINEL
President and CEO, BSA
o VINCENT KOBESEN
CEO and Member of the Executive Board, PTV AG
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The Moderator asked about the size of
the revolution affecting the sector and
the key challenges.
Mr Frank said that every company is
becoming a technology company, and
the opportunities through data,
computing and communications are
providing an excellent platform for
innovation. Another aspect is that it is
democratised; a large organisation is not
needed to get very high computing
capacity or access AI algorithms. He
considers that “what is going to hold us
back is human talent; there are not
enough people learning the quantitative
skills to think about how to apply these
technologies.”
Mr Gustafsson said that with
connectivity, self-driving vehicles and
electromobility, a paradigm shift is
happening, but the change still needs to
happen in automotive companies like
Volvo which are still running over 90% of
their fleet on diesel. He thinks that the
next five to ten years will see a huge
change in the transport sector, with data
availability increasing uptime of trucks
etc. “Connectivity will combine the three
areas in a sweet spot that helps address
societal issues like sustainability.”
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He believes the transport sector will
meet the targets set on emissions, safety
and climate change.
According to Mr Kobesen, real-time data
and predictive traffic systems are
revolutionising logistics, enabling trips to
be optimised in real-time. He says that
politicians are needed in cooperation
with industry, to set regulation regarding
data collection and even force
cooperation between companies and
industry sectors.
“Data is the key for the future of the
transport sector,” said Ms Charanzová.
“We need to get it right and avoid
different sets of standards and rules in
different Member States.” She said that
Europe is on the right track in this
respect, although she is aware that some
Member States are adopting different
legislation on self-driving cars, which she
considers dangerous for the future of
the EU framework. She believes that
infrastructure is key, and made a plea for
a seamless and cross-border 5G
network. She is wary of extra legislation
for digital issues as it can take so long to
implement.
“We need a significant shift in mindset,
both corporately and governmentally,”
remarked Ms Espinel. The biggest
challenge, she stated, is fear;
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rapid change can cause concern. This
could lead to stagnation in policy
development or an impulse to pause
regulation or slow it down, which could
significantly dampen down innovation.
The Moderator asked how panellists
voted on the first question (“Do you
think the European Commission’s
approach to “building a European data
economy” adequately addresses the
issues facing the transport sector in this
area?)
Ms Espinel voted 3 (No), because she
thinks this is a very new area and
legislation is a slow process, so is not
surprised that governments are
struggling with legal systems that were
created years ago. She believes that
“future-proof legislation” is the right
approach, and sees many governments
working hard in this area.
Mr Kobesen voted 2 (Partly) but is
concerned that momentum is being lost,
with some regulations or cross-border
issues preventing access to valuable data
and the creation of a uniform data set.
He also said that many companies busy
with data are not cooperating with each
other.
Mr Gustafsson voted 2 (Partly) as he is
aware that both the private sector and
policymakers have plenty of things on
their To Do lists. He is concerned that
the right policies are created that do not
disturb what is already in progress. An
example is the free flow of data which is
happening in industry through
contractual agreements which he
believes are working fine. He is
concerned that Member State legislation
is coming up that is going to limit this
free flow of data. Also interesting is to
see how cities are becoming more
important in this area.
Mr Frank voted 3 (No). He remarked that
the General Data Protection Regulation
(GDPR) comes into effect in 219 days,
and enterprises around the world are
committing resources to work out how
to comply with this. At the same a new
proposal, the ePrivacy Regulation, which
was essentially designed for telecoms,
has been added on top of the GDPR. He
believes “the ePrivacy Regulation starts
off from a fundamentally flawed
position,” and is concerned it will be
rushed through and get in the way of the
digitisation of European industry.
Ms Charanzová would have voted 2
(Partly). She believes the EU is on the
right track, but more needs to be done in
areas where the EU can add value. “If
Europe wants to lead in this sector, we
have to set up a European integrated
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approach to transportation and ensure
the free flow of data.”
The Moderator referred to question two
of the poll (What, for you, is the most
important issue that need to be
addressed to ensure data from transport
is shared and used in a responsible
way?). She asked what legal framework
is needed and what are the most
important issues?
Mr Gustafsson said the correct legal
framework is key, especially in regard to
the safety and integrity of vehicles. “A
truck, bus or car is not a smartphone on
wheels,” he said, and he does not want
them to be seen as part of the IoT, at
least at the start, because he feels it is
risking the safety of drivers and people
on streets. The data needs to be stored
and processed in the vehicle, and shared
offline with third parties to avoid being
hacked and its safety compromised. He
said that Volvo already takes
responsibility for communicating all data
to offline servers, while keeping the
firewalls to its own data. For Mr Kobesen,
the anonymization of data is a big issue,
particularly in some European Member
States. Ms Espinel remarked that there is
no international consensus for the
baseline rules for the free flow of data,
which she considers to be “a big and
significant gap in our legal framework”.
She said that “we need a ruling that the
default rule is that data should be able to
move across borders; currently such an
understanding, treaty or agreement is
not present.”
The Moderator asked how this
framework could be created? In Ms
Espinel’s view, one strategy is to have
different bilateral discussions happening
and then knit their agreements together.
The disadvantage of this approach is that
if significant differences exist, “then the
knitting process will never happen.” Such
bilateral discussions are taking place
between the US, Europe, Japan, Canada
and Mexico. Another direction is via
discussions at G7 and G20 level; should
real momentum occur here, these could
be promising.
The Moderator asked what should be
regulated, and what should not. Ms
Charanzová agrees with Mr Gustafsson
that regulation on safety and integrity is
needed. She foresees new regulation
coming soon on liability, and believes
that two networks are likely: for essential
data and non-essential data where
different regulatory approaches are
necessary; the former where regulation
is needed at European level and the
latter where it is not. She is rather
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pessimistic about whether international
regulation can be achieved in a short
timeframe, because every continent has
a different approach and mindset on
data privacy.
Mr Kobesen gave two examples. The
International Transport Forum modelled
the city of Lisbon in the future, when
autonomous vehicles would enter it on a
massive scale, and the outcome was that
40% more vehicles were needed, adding
to congestion. He said that this shows
that new kinds of models are needed.
Second, the increase in online
purchasing means that more white
delivery vans are driving into cities, half-
full, stopping to make deliveries and
adding to congestion of cities. He
concluded that regulation here is
needed, and logistics companies need to
work together.
The Moderator asked if the market is
working well, or is something needed to
accelerate the shift of mindset?
Ms Charanzová sees the need to act on
essential data; Ms Espinel prefers
incentives to share data rather than
compulsory methods. These could be
removing barriers, such as not penalising
companies under liability rules if they
were to share data. Forcing companies
by government regulation is not the way
to go, she thinks, and pointed out that
governments are long-term collectors of
data, which companies have been asking
for them to share for a long time, e.g.
weather data. In the transportation
sector this is starting to flip;
governments are now going to
companies to ask for their data, to share
with citizens.
“We have to recognise that data has
value,” said Mr Frank, who gave the
example that the most valuable asset of
a stock exchange is data on what trades
have been made. “We have to recognise
that data can be shared but it should not
necessarily be free because it has value.”
For Mr Kobesen the logistics sector
needs some encouragement to work
together, and here the government
needs to work to get various parties
moving together in the right direction.
Mr Gustafsson believes there is huge
potential in logistics because 50% of
transports are half empty: “maybe it will
not be the traditional logistics
companies doing this but newcomers.”
A delegate commented that much of the
discussion has centred around generic
data, and wondered if it was necessary
to talk about concrete specific
applications of data. Mr Kobesen agrees
that a generic data discussion is difficult;
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in PTV they look at very specific data
with privacy data. Similarly, a delegate
asked for panellists to define the
difference between essential data and
publicly available data. Ms Espinel made
the distinction between personal data
and commercial data. She said a lot of
the policy discussions conflate these
two, which is not helpful. In her view it’s
better to start with some high-level
principles or outcomes you are trying to
achieve, and then work those down
through various types of data and evolve
them as necessary. Mr Gustafsson gave
an example from trucks, which produce
a huge amount of data on the engine,
exhaust, fuel quality etc., which is
extremely important to Volvo to help
them develop their next models. Another
layer of data is traffic related which
should be shared with other vehicles and
traffic authorities. A third layer is private
data: where is the driver, how many
hours he is working, his phone calls etc.
He thinks that it would be good to define
these levels and come to a common
understanding.
Also asked from the floor was whether
the contractual agreements mentioned
by Mr Gustafsson are specifically for data
transactions or more traditional supplier-
customer agreements?
Mr Gustafsson said they refer to specific
contracts concerning data.
Turning to the skills missing, the
Moderator asked how can mindset be
changed? In Mr Franks’ view,
entrepreneurial skills are needed to see
the new opportunities, which in the
transportation sector are huge. He also
thinks that more IT people are needed,
and that machines can help by finding
patterns in data better than humans can.
Ms Espinel pointed out that for
companies, economic interest will drive
the change of mindset. She is also aware
that a lot of education needs to happen,
“especially around emerging
technologies and their societal impact.
With greater understanding comes a
lessening in fear and concern.”
For Mr Kobesen it is important “to
change the skillsets from offline thinking
to real-time thinking; to become aware
that it’s a 24/7 economy instead of the
traditional 8-5 economy.” He added that
it’s vital to make a company attractive so
people will want to work for it. Mr
Gustafsson agrees, and believes it is
essential for a company to give the clear
signal that they are welcoming the future
and want to be part of it, not only from a
technological point of view but also to
address societal challenges.
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“People want a job that enables them to
make a difference.”
“What we are missing is the crucial point:
It will happen!” stated Ms Charanzová. It
is therefore vital to prepare the next
generation to be ready to deal with it.
“We have to start with the educational
system,” she remarked, adding that she
would like to see more programming in
schools, not just how to use a computer.
Ms Espinel gave an impassioned plea to
encourage more women to go into
STEM and computer science education:
“We are moving backwards: there are
fewer women going into computer
science in the US and Europe than there
were 20 years ago.”
CONCLUDING REMARKSThe Moderator asked panellists what
they would do if they were a European
Commissioner for a day, to help the
transportation sector take advantage of
all the opportunities discussed?
Ms Charanzová: “I think you can do
more than one thing in one day! I would
fight to get the free flow of data
regulation adopted as soon as possible,
and would fight for a seamless 5G
network in Europe. I would see how
public and private sectors can work
more closely to develop more joint
initiatives, and would like to see more pilot projects going from testing to practice.”
Ms Espinel: “I would negotiate an international consensus on the free flow of data. I would
focus on developing greater trust between citizens and governments and governmental
institutions, who need to be more responsive to citizens. I would use technology like AI and
data analytics to get as much citizen input as possible.”
Mr Kobesen: “I would set up a European data warehouse, modelled on the national data
warehouse in the Netherlands, which collects offline data from the private sector; it’s a good
initiative as it forces the private and public sectors to work together. I would do it at a
European level, not just for offline data but also for real-time data from the public and private
sectors.”
Mr Frank: “I would put the ePrivacy Directive on hold. Then I would encourage the sector to
get excited about the possible innovations and how our lives, jobs and society can be
improved by them.”
Mr Gustafsson: “I would seek to nurture this huge potential for data not by introducing large
pieces of regulation but smaller packages that are relevant for all companies, from the
smallest to the largest. And I would make sure that European business is driving forward with
the ambition not to lose this competitive race against other parts of the world.”
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