On Tuesday 2 July, the European Commission published its second progress report on the digital decade, giving a comprehensive overview of the progress made towards the digital targets set for 2030.
This year’s report is accompanied by an analysis of the Member States’ strategic roadmaps, detailing the planned national measures, actions and funding to contribute to the EU’s digital transformation.
As things currently stand, the efforts made by the Member States will not be enough to achieve the EU’s stated objectives. The report identifies a number of shortcomings, including a lack of investment at both European and national level, particularly “in the areas of digital skills, high-quality connectivity, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data analytics”.
Some sectors also recorded a surprising decline in progress compared with the previous year. This is particularly true with regard to connectivity, which assesses the degree of access to fibre networks: at the time of the September 2023 report, 73% of European households had access (see EUROPE 13259/3). This figure falls to 64% in the current report.
According to a senior European official, this difference can be explained by the fact that different data were used in the calculation, but it nonetheless illustrates the gap that the EU needs to close if it is to achieve its targets.
Similarly, in 2023, the adoption of AI or the cloud by European businesses was also well below the target of 75%. According to the report, 64% of businesses are expected to make widespread use of the cloud by 2030. This figure falls to 17% for the use of AI. Another major problem identified by the report is the limited spread of digital technologies beyond the major cities and the lack of digital literacy in certain areas and among certain populations.
“In the most critical sectors, we are not making as much progress as we should. And even in the areas where we are making progress, the quality parameter is debatable”, laments a senior civil servant.
The Commission has updated the recommendations for the Member States in order to remedy the shortcomings identified. The EU27 will have to review and adjust their national roadmaps before 2 December.
See the report: https://aeur.eu/f/cx1 (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)