On Wednesday 15 September, the European Commission presented a proposal on the way forward for the digital decade.
“Europe is determined to play a leading role in the global technology race. Setting targets for 2030 was an important step, but now we have to deliver”, said European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton on the sidelines of President von der Leyen’s State of the Union address.
In concrete terms, the European Commission intends to propose an annual cooperation mechanism with the Member States. They will have to produce - and follow - a roadmap which defines the policies and measures adopted, or planned, to achieve the 2030 targets.
The EU institution will assess progress annually and present it to the European Parliament and the Council of the EU through a ‘Digital Decade Progress Report’.
A review of the targets set should be carried out by 2026, to take account of digital, economic and social developments.
For their part, the Member States will have to prepare their roadmap by next year. The European Commission expects a two-year running-in period before cruising speed is reached.
What are the options available in the event that a Member State fails to implement the measures? On this point, according to a European official, “there will be no particular financial penalty for a State that deviates from the path”. “This is a cooperation. If there is a problem, we will work upstream with a country before notifying the Parliament and the Council”, he added.
Nevertheless, the source assured, “ links exist between these objectives and more macroeconomic objectives. We have tools to ensure that the objectives are met”.
The European Commission may also make recommendations in case of non-compliance. In this situation, Member States will have five months to ‘come clean’.
A new instrument for multi-country projects
In addition to the annual monitoring of Member States’ progress, the European Commission also wants to develop a new instrument to encourage multi-country projects.
On this point, there is nothing binding: if at least three Member States consider that a project is of interest to them, they can submit it to the European Commission before the latter informs the other States.
“No one is forced to commit to a project. But if several countries are interested, they should be able to move forward without being blocked by other EU countries”, said a European official.
Several issues have already been put forward by the European Commission, including infrastructure for data management, 5G, high-performance computing, quantum communication, public administrations, digital innovation hubs, and investment in citizens’ digital skills.
In terms of investment, the projects could be financed by EU resources, by the Member States, and by “other public or private entities”, the European Commission said in a press release.
However, while “no threshold is set”, according to a European official, the nature of the funding will depend on the nature of the projects.
“For projects with public objectives, such as the health pass or driving licences, there would be limits. But there are other categories of projects where the private sector could play a role, such as the automotive or medical sectors”, the same source said.
Finally, the programme presented by the European Commission provides for a new legal structure - the ‘European Digital Infrastructure Consortium’ (EDIC) - to enable the rapid establishment and implementation of multi-country projects.
This proposal follows the European Commission’s March communication on the ‘digital compass’ (see EUROPE 12746/28), which sets out the basis for thinking about the EU’s digital future for the next decade.
See the European Commission’s proposal: https://bit.ly/3tQsH6c (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)