What should the European Union’s digital targets be for the next decade and what form should they take? These are some of the questions that the European Commission is asking itself while preparing a communication on the issue. On Wednesday 10 February, it therefore published a roadmap that can be commented on by stakeholders until 9 March.
In her State of the Union address, President Ursula von der Leyen announced her intention to “make the coming decade Europe’s ‘digital decade’” (see EUROPE 12561/7). A commitment reiterated by EU leaders in their conclusions of October 2020.
In its roadmap, the Commission identifies four priority areas for action: infrastructure, skills, and business and government transformation. The idea, explains the institution, would be to adopt targets in each of these areas.
For digital infrastructure and capacity, these could be targets for connectivity and data, including computing power. In terms of competences, it refers to skills and competences for engineers, for example. As far as companies are concerned, it mentions the use of technology by businesses and the share of European companies among the top 100 breakthrough innovators. Finally, as far as governments are concerned, it refers to access to digital public services and e-health.
The roadmap also puts forward the idea of: - a proposal for a charter of digital principles at the service of individuals, which could take the form of an interinstitutional solemn declaration; - a “European Compass” for governance, critical technologies and citizen inclusion.
As a reminder, the Commission will present a legislative proposal for a secure digital identity, known as ‘e-ID’, in the spring (at this stage, the proposal is set to be announced on 21 April).
Link to the roadmap: http://bit.ly/3tLj2gF (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)