The ECR Group has supported the adoption of the negotiating mandate on the European Parliament's Digital Markets Act (DMA), but points out that the text will have to be readjusted in the following trilogues with the Council to exclude unintended penalties for the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that the new regulation is supposed to help.

ECR Shadow Rapporteur Bielan opposes bringing in overly rigid restrictions, especially in targeted advertising, in order to continue enabling SMEs in particular to reach their target audiences more easily and cost-effectively. “In the end, we should have an outcome that does not have unintended consequences for smaller companies, as the whole initiative aims to strengthen their competitiveness in the European digital market”, Mr. Bielan stated in plenary.

Mr Bielan added:

“The Digital Markets Act must lead to improvements for businesses across Europe, not just for a few companies with a bone to pick with the digital giants. We have to make sure that the Act can truly be implemented. In this respect, I am pleased that the ECR approach of a genuine regulatory dialogue will be maintained and that national experts will be involved in the roll-out of the regulation.”