by Mónika Mercz
Despite the significant initiatives undertaken, according to the report on the Digital Decade, key goals are not expected to be fulfilled by 2030 at the current rate of development due to the low level of private investments.[1]
Digital transformation is a key issue of our future, not just at national level, but on a worldwide scale. Avoiding potential pitfalls and combatting difficulties is a primary objective of the EU’s ’The Digital Decade’ initiative, which sets out targets and objectives for 2030 that are critical for putting European values such as fostering competitiveness, resilience, sovereignty and sustainability to the forefront of discussion regarding our common, digitalized future. Key issues of digital policies are how connectivity infrastructure can be deployed, how sustainability might be supported, how cybersecurity might be preserved, and how cloud technologies should be boosted.[2]
The Digital Decade policy programme relies on close cooperation with Member States and stakeholders at European, national, regional and local levels to ensure collective progress. Starting from 2024, Member States shall submit national roadmaps detailing actions of how they plan to reach the 2030 Digital Decade goals.
It is important to stress that some progress has already been achieved, such as the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).[3] In fact, the estimated global monetary effort to aid digitalization amounted to EUR 131.9 billion in 2021 and 2022. With a budget of EUR 1.7 billion, the Connecting Europe Facility Digital supports investment in key European digital infrastructure projects contributing to the Digital Decade’s targets of more resilient and sovereign infrastructures. So far 158 projects have been awarded, such as cross border sections of 5G corridors, submarine cables, 5G-based systems enabling use cases functioning as early socio-economic drivers via 5G smart communities in public administrations, healthcare centres, schools and other education and training institutions.[4] With a budget of EUR 7.9 billion, the DIGITAL Europe programme is the main programme to fund strategic investments that create digital ecosystems. This has, in fact, played a critical role in enabling the EU to progress toward infrastructures objectives and targets, comprising over 200 hubs, present in 90% of the European regions but covering 100% of the EU.[5] Horizon Europe is also a noteworthy initiative, expected to dedicate 35% of its EUR 95 billion budget to the digital transition through the entire 2021-2027 period. The InvestEU programme significantly strengthens investments in digital infrastructures and technologies, including media content and skills. EUR 5.24 billion is expected to support digitisation and mobilise up to EUR 74 billion of public and private investments. Finally, the Technical Support Instrument provides on-demand tailor-made technical expertise to design and implement structural reforms in EU Member States with a budget of EUR 864 million.
These financial opportunities made it possible for Member States to advance technologically. Crucial pieces of legislation have also been delivered, like the world’s first risk-based initiative to regulate specific uses of artificial intelligence: the Artificial Intelligence Act. Furthermore, the Data Governance Act, the Data Act and the European Health Data Space Regulation have been developed. The EU is strengthening protection against online harms through the enforcement of the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act. These instruments and the governance framework are complementary to each other and to the European Semester of economic and social policy coordination.
The report on the initiative’s progress highlights the EU’s strong position in HPC and quantum, but ascertains that the level of private investment is still low. The progress in connectivity coverage is insufficient as well, especially in terms of quality. Only 64% of households have access to fiber and the rate of progress (13.5%) is far lower than what we need to reach the gigabit target by 2030. Moreover, there is an extremely low uptake of Gigabit connections of just 18.5%. Very significant work remains to be done to reach the 2030 targets on digital skills too, as only 55.6% of the EU’s population has at least basic digital skills.
These hardships are the reason that Member States must take it upon themselves to work towards the Digital Decade’s goals by creating national roadmaps. In these documents, Member States propose 1623 measures aimed at achieving the Digital Decade targets and objectives. The proposed measures focus mainly on semiconductors, connectivity, and basic digital skills. However, substantial improvements and adjustments of the national roadmaps are needed to align them with the ambition and benchmarks of the Digital Decade policy programme.[6]
Focusing on Central Europe’s place in this respect, we see that in some areas it is more advanced than the EU average, and in some indicators it is lagging behind.
Connectivity infrastructure is especially advanced in the area, with Poland[7] (81.1%) and Hungary[8] (84.1%) having a higher coverage than the EU average (78.8%). Slovenia[9] is not far behind (78.5%). The overall state of digital infrastructures in the region is not significantly lower than the EU average, with only Slovakia[10] having a 10% gap compared to the EU-level of coverage.
Digitalisation of public services is another area which sees Central Europe as a forerunner. Slovenia has made notable progress in e-government, thanks to the implementation of the national e-ID scheme and achieving a high overall e-Health maturity. Slovakia is streamlining public procurement processes and increasing electronic communication with public administration as well, significantly boosting usage and accessibility of e-Health services.
Digital transformation of businesses is an area which needs more attention, with Hungary having 37.1% utilization of cloud services, compared to the EU average of 38.9%. Currently, only 3.7% of Polish and Hungarian enterprises have adopted AI, below the EU average of 8%. There is room to improve the share of enterprises adopting AI, cloud or data analytics in Slovenia as well, which altogether stands at 44.7%, compared to the 54.6% average of the EU.
When it comes to basic digital skills of citizens, there is a significant difference between Member States. In 2023, compared to the EU average of 55.6%, 58.9% of the Hungarian population had at least basic digital skills. Slovenia has a similar situation, at 58.4%. Poland faces a more challenging situation, as only 44.3% of citizens possess these skills. In Slovakia, there has been a decline in basic digital skills from 55% to 51%. Unlike these countries, 69.1% of Czechia’s[11] population has at least a basic level of digital skills.
We can conclude that different Member States have various strengths and weaknesses when it comes to meeting 2030 Digital Decade Goals. It is a desired outcome that at least 80% of every Member States’ population should have sufficient digital skills, 75% of EU companies should use Cloud, AI, or Big Data, and 100% of public services should be available digitally.[12] This aim of promoting digitalization in people’s skills, businesses, governments and infrastructures is predicted to result in the European Union becoming more competitive and interconnected.
The goal of focusing on digital skills is a main pillar of several concrete recommendations to Member States, complemented by the suggestion that the EU and Member States should engage in more coordination and cohesion across the board in order to swiftly implement and enforce the regulatory frameworks established to drive the digital transformation. Furthermore, Member States should intensify their efforts to strengthen their competitiveness, encompassing productivity, resilience, and sovereignty, by increasing their measures and investments. Additionally, dissemination of digital technologies across society and regions is a vital task of Member States, as regions and cities can help better promote and monitor implementation of the Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles. In addition, building on citizens’ growing perception of the potential of the digital transformation to foster a smart green transition, Member States can promote synergies between the twin transitions and possible leverages. Finally, the identification and sharing of best practices is a key driver of a successful digital transformation and was identified as a priority for both the Commission and Member States.[13]
The Commission will continue its discussions with Member States, the European Parliament, and stakeholders on how to progress together, leveraging the Digital Decade’s governance mechanism, notably the Digital Decade Board. Whichever way the tides turn, it is a fact that innovative technologies are here to stay, and all countries should be prepared to use them for humanity’s greatest possible benefit.
[1] State of the Digital Decade 2024 report, European Commission, 2024. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/factpages/state-digital-decade-2024-report
[2] State of the Digital Decade 2024 report, European Commission, 2024. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/factpages/state-digital-decade-2024-report
[3] A significant part of the RRF funding directly contributes to Digital Decade objectives and targets, particularly by supporting governments and public bodies in digitising their services and key sectors such as health systems, and by supporting the digitalisation of businesses and improvement of digital skills.
[4] Second staff working document on data spaces, European Commission, 24 January 2024, https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/second-staff-working-document-data-spaces
[5] Information and communication technology (ICT) research and development (R&D) expenditure worldwide in 2022, by country or region, Statista, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/732308/worldwide-research-and-development-information-communication-technology/
[6] SWD ‘Digital Decade in 2024: Implementation and perspective’ with annexes, SWD(2024)260: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news-redirect/833325 Annex 4 Monitoring of the European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles
[7] Poland 2024 Digital Decade Country Report, European Commission, 2024. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/factpages/poland-2024-digital-decade-country-report
[8] Hungary 2024 Digital Decade Country Report, European Commission, 2024. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/factpages/hungary-2024-digital-decade-country-report
[9] Slovenia 2024 Digital Decade Country Report, European Commission, 2024. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/factpages/slovenia-2024-digital-decade-country-report
[10] Slovakia 2024 Digital Decade Country Report, European Commission, 2024. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/factpages/slovakia-2024-digital-decade-country-report
[11] Czechia 2024 Digital Decade Country Report, European Commission, 2024. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/factpages/czechia-2024-digital-decade-country-report
[12] Europe’s Digital Decade: digital targets for 2030, European Commission, 2023. https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/europes-digital-decade-digital-targets-2030_en
[13] State of the Digital Decade 2024, European Commission, COM(2024) 260 final, Brussels, 2.7.2024. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=COM:2024:260:FIN
