The Commission is today (2.7. 2024) published the second Report on the State of the Digital Decade. (former DESI Index)
It provides a comprehensive overview of the progress made towards achieving the digital targets and targets for 2030 set out in the Digital Decade Policy Programme (DDPP). This year, for the first time, the report is accompanied by an analysis of the national Digital Decade strategic roadmaps presented by Member States, detailing the planned national measures, actions and funding to contribute to the EU’s digital transformation.
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The Commission’s analysis shows that under the current scenario, Member States’ collective efforts will fall short of the EU level of ambition.The gaps identified include the need for additional investment at EU and national level, in particular in the areas of digital skills, high-quality connectivity, the uptake of artificial intelligence and data analytics by businesses, and the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem and start-ups.
Both the EU and its Member States have an important role to play in implementing the new legal framework, taking action to foster the diffusion of digital technologies and ensuring that its citizens have the right digital skills to fully reap the benefits of the digital transformation. This is why this year’s report calls for stronger action by Member States to be more ambitious, as achieving the Digital Decade targets on digital infrastructure, businesses, skills and public services is crucial for the EU’s future economic prosperity and social cohesion.
In this context, the Commission also updated the cross-cutting recommendations for each EU Member State to address the identified shortcomings.
A competitive, sovereign and resilient EU: Digital infrastructure and businesses
The adoption and development of innovative technologies is crucial for Europe’s competitiveness, especially in the current geopolitical environment and due to the growing cybersecurity threats that require greater resilience and strong security measures.
The report highlights that the EU is far from achieving the connectivity objectives set out in the DDPP: Fiber optic networks, crucial for providing gigabit connectivity and enabling the uptake of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and the Internet of Things, cover only 64% of households. Today, high-quality 5G networks only reach 50% of the EU territory and their performance remains insufficient to deliver advanced 5G services. In order to respond to these challenges, Member States and the Commission should work together to foster a truly functioning Digital Single Market .
In 2023, the uptake of artificial intelligence, cloud computing and/or big data by European companies was well below the 75% Digital Decade target. According to current trends, only 64% of businesses will use cloud computing, 50% big data and only 17% artificial intelligence by 2030. In order to achieve the digitalisation of the business sector, it is crucial to encourage SMEs to use innovative digital tools, in particular cloud computing and artificial intelligence, and to mobilise further private investment in fast-growing start-ups. This is essential to maintain Europe’s competitiveness in terms of data-driven innovation, efficiency and growth.
Another major challenge in the EU’s digital transformation remains the limited spread of digital technologies beyond large cities. In order to address this digital divide,it is essential to foster cooperation between European actors at cross-border and local level, for example through multi-country projects, European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) and European Digital Infrastructure Consortia (EDICs). Since last year, a number of successes have been achieved in this regard, with three EDICs in place by the end of May 2024.
Digital policy for people and society: digital skills and public services
Putting people at the heart of the digital transformation of our societies and economies is at the heart of the Digital Decade and the first principle of the Declaration of Digital Rights and Principles.
The digital skills targets set in the Digital Decade remain far from being achieved, with only 55.6% of the EU population having at least basic digital skills. According to the current trend, the number of ICT specialists in the EU will be around 12 million in 2030, with a persistent gender imbalance. To achieve the objectives, Member States should follow a multidimensional approach to fostering digital skills at all levels of education and encourage young people, in particular girls, to take an interest in scientific, technological, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
Member States are progressing towards the objective of making all key public services and electronic health records accessible online to citizens and businesses, as well as providing them with secure electronic identification (eID). Despite uneven use across Member States, electronic identification is currently available to 93% of the EU population and the European Digital Identity Wallet is expected to incentivise its use. However, in a business-as-usual scenario, achieving 100% digital public services for citizens and businesses by 2030 remains a challenge.
Next steps
By 2 December 2024, Member States will have to review and adapt their national roadmaps to align them with the ambitions of the Digital Decade Policy Programme. As set out in the Digital Decade Strategy, in 2025, the Commission will monitor and assess the implementation of these recommendations and report on the progress made in the next report on the ‘State of the Digital Decade’.
Basic information
The Path to the Digital Decade, proposed in September 2021, sets out clear steps to achieve the digital transformation in the European Union. December 2022 The European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles is complemented by setting out the principles and obligations that the EU’s digital transformation should follow. The first report on the “State of the Digital Decade” was published in September 2023.
This year’s report is accompanied by a comprehensive package of staff working documents, reports and studies further presenting progress in the different dimensions of the DDPP. The Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) has also contributed to this monitoring by providing a methodology to aggregate national digital targets at EU level and by mapping the amount of investment from EU funding instruments for initiatives with a digital component.
During the current mandate, the EU has taken significant measures to make progress towards the Digital Decade targets. The proposal and the adoption of key legislative acts actively promote a safer online space for European citizens and foster consumer protection, while safeguarding the innovation potential of European businesses. Significant EU funding has also been made available to foster digital transformation, notably through the Recovery and Resilience Facility (EUR 150 billion), the DIGITAL Europe programme (EUR 7.9 billion) and the Connecting Europe Facility 2 Digital (EUR 1.7 billion).
For further information
Report on the State of the Digital Decade 2024
Factsheet on the State of the Digital Decade
REPORT for CROATIA is available at : Path to the Digital Decade Policy Programme.pdf (gov.hr)