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(BRUSSELS) – The EU institutions reached political agreement Thursday on the ‘Path to the Digital Decade’ programme, setting up a cooperation mechanism to achieve targets for Europe’s digital transformation.
These concern the area of skills and infrastructure, including connectivity, the digitalisation of businesses and online public services as well as the respect of the EU’s Digital rights and principles in achieving the general objectives.
Welcoming the agreement, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said: “The Digital Decade policy programme is the way towards a more innovative, inclusive and sustainable future for Europe. Unlocking the potentials of the digital transformation, specifically by setting up and implementing multi-country projects, will pave the way for a competitive and sovereign Europe.”
To monitor progress, the Commission, together with the Member States, will develop projected EU-level trajectories for each target. In turn, the Member States shall propose national strategic roadmaps, outlining their national projected trajectories and actions to achieve the objectives and targets, including planned regulatory measures and investments.
Progress will be measured with key performance indicators (KPIs) based on an enhanced Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), and evaluated against the developed trajectories in an annual report on the “State of the Digital Decade” that will be presented to the European Parliament and Council. To give a comprehensive overview and analysis of the digital transformation, the report will also review progress made with regard to the Digital Decade targets, objectives, as well as rights and principles.
Member States and the Commission will cooperate to address areas where progress is insufficient and where there are continuous deviations from national trajectories. At any point, the Commission and Member States may undertake joint commitments and establish multi-country projects to meet the 2030 digital targets.
The Commission will be rtasked with reviewing the targets by 2026 to take stock of technological, economic and societal developments.
Through multi-country projects, Member States will be able to pool resources and cooperate closely to build digital capacities that they would struggle to deliver on their own.
The Commission has identified an initial list of areas for investment for multi-country projects, including common data infrastructure, deployment of 5G corridors, connected public administration, high-performance computing, European Blockchain Services Infrastructure and low-power processors, for example. The Commission is ready to guide Member States in defining and developing multi-country projects and may suggest some during the cooperation cycle.
The policy programme creates a new legal instrument, the European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (EDIC). The EDIC will help in the implementation of multi-country projects and make it easier for Member States to join efforts when they invest in digital infrastructures.
The political agreement reached by the European Parliament and the Council is now subject to formal approval by the two co-legislators. Once approved, the Digital Decade policy programme will enter into force.
Policy Programme: Path to the Digital Decade - guide
General information page – Digital Decade Policy programme
Factsheet Path to the Digital Decade
