Ribera: We cannot accept whatever the US demands

Brussels – “We cannot accept whatever they ask of us.” Teresa Ribera, Vice President of the European Commission, responsible for Competition, shows the tough face of the Union, speaking to the Financial Times (paid content) today about US President Donald Trump’s new pressure on European rules on digital companies. 

We must “avoid the temptation of being subordinated to others’ interests,” she added, ruling out the possibility of the Union softening the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act. “We may be kind, polite, try to find ways to solve problems and discrepancies, but we cannot accept whatever [they demand] of us,” Ribera told the Financial Times, “We cannot be subject to the will of a third country.” 

“We will defend this position,” said Ribera, warning that “we cannot play with our values just to accommodate the concerns of others.”

According to Ribera, the Union “has tried to be nice to see how we can regain a trustful relationship” with the United States. However, if Trump violates that trust by resorting to threats, “obviously we have to stick to the very clear messages and limits that we have tried to reflect from the beginning. One of them is the recognition of our ability to protect the interests and rights of our consumers, of our citizens.”

Finally, Ribera points out that American technology companies “are making big profits from this market, but are subject to the same laws and regulations as any other operator, regardless of where their headquarters are.”