On 29 June 2017, the government approved the programme of the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the EU, outlining the issues and values that Estonia wishes to focus on over the next six months.
The Estonian Presidency begins on 1 July. The Presidency of the Council of the European Union is responsible for the functioning of the Council of the European Union, the upper house of the EU legislature. It rotates among the member states of the EU every six months.
The programme of the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the European Union is composed of four priority areas:
Estonia considers important to develop the digital society, the precondition of which is the free movement of data. Quick, high-quality and available internet connectivity is one of the cornerstones of a smart, data-led economy. The EU is at an early stage in developing a data-led economy. The Estonian Presidency will emphasise that digital society needs to be developed in all aspects of life.
To this end, the Estonian Presidency will focus on:
As part of the Presidency programme, supporting digital innovation in healthcare will be one of the priority topics, in line with the overall priority of the Digital Single market in Europe and the Free Flow of Data.
