French President Francois Hollande, European Commission President Jean Claude Junker and German Chancellor Angela Merkel pose as they arrive for the France Germany Online Conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Tuesday, Oct, 27, 2015. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande meet online entrepreneurs and hold talks on how to making Europe's economy more digital-friendly. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
The leaders of France, Germany and the European Union's executive body have praised new partnerships between private, public and European funds to improve access to financing for startups in an effort to boost the digital economy across the continent.
French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker met with online entrepreneurs at a conference on the digital economy at the Elysee palace in Paris on Tuesday.
Juncker has made the development of a European digital market a priority of his leadership of the Commission, the EU's executive branch.
Hollande and Merkel are looking to push the idea forward as EU member states remain divided over proposed reforms of copyright and data protection laws.
"Our goal is to make from the (European) interior market a digital market, so that we can be competitive in the global competition", Merkel said.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and French President Francois Hollande pose as they arrive for the France Germany Online Conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Tuesday, Oct, 27, 2015. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande meet online entrepreneurs and hold talks on how to making Europe's economy more digital-friendly. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
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A reporter takes a picture of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande at a press conference ending the France Germany Online Conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Tuesday, Oct, 27, 2015. The leaders of France, Germany and the European Union's executive body have praised new partnerships between private, public and European funds to improve access to financing for startups in an effort to boost the digital economy across the continent. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers her speech during the France Germany Online Conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Tuesday, Oct, 27, 2015. The leaders of France, Germany and the European Union's executive body have praised new partnerships between private, public and European funds to improve access to financing for startups in an effort to boost the digital economy across the continent. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
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