After climate and social issues, the European Union is proposing to set digital targets for 2030 (see EUROPE 12621/1, 12671/2). On Tuesday 9 March, the European Commission presented quantified targets for the digitalisation of skills, infrastructure, businesses and public services. These include the idea of producing at least 20% of the world’s advanced and sustainable semiconductors.
“We are not only presenting a vision, but also a clear avenue to make a successful digital decade for all Europeans”, said the Vice President of the European Commission, Margrethe Vestager.
She has structured the proposals around two axes: on the one hand, a list of European digital principles (such as universal connectivity or the same rights online as offline) and, on the other, a digital compass with common targets.
This compass will help guide the mobilisation of European funds, and in particular, to flag 20% of aid from the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the budgetary instrument at the heart of the Next Generation EU Recovery Plan.
“This is still 150 billion euros that we are going to invest over the next 2-3 years”, commented the Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton.
Targets in figures
In its compass, the Commission expects, among other things, that by 2030, all European households will have gigabit connectivity and that all inhabited areas will be covered by the 5G network (up from 14% in 2021). It would also like to double the production of sustainable and advanced semiconductors, especially processors. It is also talking about deploying 10,000 highly secure and climate-neutral peripheral nodes across Europe and acquiring its first state-of-the-art quantum computer.
In terms of companies, it expects the development of 250 unicorns (start-ups valued at more than a billion dollars) in the EU, “an increase of 100% compared to 2021”. And in terms of public services, it would like 80% of citizens to be able to use a means of digital identification.
In an interview with some journalists the day before, Thierry Breton had confirmed to EUROPE the presentation at the end of April of the legislative proposal for a secure digital identity, known as ‘e-ID’. “ We’ve made good progress”, he said, keeping the date of 21 April open.
International cooperation
The Communication also emphasises international cooperation. For example, it puts forward the idea of a “Digital Connectivity Fund in a Team Europe approach” to bridge the large connectivity gaps while promoting a people-centred approach.
More broadly, the commission says it will defend a level playing field in digital markets, secure cyberspace and respect for fundamental rights online in a toolkit that has yet to be created.
This communication follows several letters from EU leaders. Following a letter co-signed in early March by Germany, Finland, Denmark and Estonia, six European countries wrote to the Presidents of the European Council and the Commission on Monday 8 March to defend digital sovereignty in open markets (see EUROPE 12670/15).
In this letter seen by EUROPE, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Belgium, Latvia, Sweden, Lithuania, Ireland and Poland advocate a good balance between self-determination and openness, noting that trust and innovation are two sides of the same coin. They call for a digital single market for innovation, the removal of barriers to cross-border online services and the free flow of data.
Follow-up
All the proposals will be the subject of specific consultations. The digital principles will then be translated, by the end of 2021, into an inter-institutional declaration which will complete the European pillar of social rights
The compass itself will be the subject of a digital policy programme in the third quarter of 2021. This will be monitored annually through a system to track the progress made by the EU and Member States towards the digital goals for 2030.
Finally, the Commission plans to conduct an annual Eurobarometer survey specifically dedicated to monitoring European perceptions on digital issues.
Link to the digital compass: https://bit.ly/3etUS5j (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)