Skip to main content
Shaping Europe’s digital future

Global Internet and telecommunications

The European Commission works at international level with other global players to shape the developments of the Internet and the telecommunications world.

    A globe surrounded by digital connections

© iStock by Getty Images -1092964846 metamorworks

It is hard to imagine life without modern telecommunications systems and the Internet, and the technological benefits of the digital age seem to be just beginning. However, the Internet poses considerable political, social and economic challenges.

What digital world do we want?

The strength of the Internet lies in its open, distributed nature. A resilient, secure and robust Internet and the protection of fundamental rights online are essential to build user trust. The European digital economy must take full advantage of the innovation power of the Internet.

The vision of the European Commission is summarised in the COMPACT concept: the Internet as a space of civic responsibilities. It would be one unfragmented resource governed through a multi-stakeholder approach to promote democracy and human rights. The Internet would be based on sound technological architecture that encourages confidence and facilitates transparent governance of the underlying infrastructure and the services which run on top of it.

What are our goals?

  • To defend and promote fundamental rights and democratic values, using a model that enables the participation of all stakeholders.
  • To ensure that Europe plays a leading role in this area, reaching out to developing countries and maintaining an inclusive dialogue with all players.
  • To ensure that international rules are in line with EU legislation and policy.
  • To engage in capacity-building in countries and regions that need help to understand and deal with Internet-related policies. In this context, the creation of the Global Internet Policy Observatory will play a key role as a resource for the global community.
  • To ensure everyone sees the benefits of a bottom-up and inclusive approach to the governance of the Internet.

The European Commission actively engages at international level to discussions on the evolution of global internet and telecommunications. This action is carried out in various international organisations, fora and technical bodies.

Latest News

PRESS RELEASE |
Digital Europe Programme open to Moldova

Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton and Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Digitalisation Dumitru Alaiba have signed an association agreement for the Digital Europe Programme with Moldova.

PRESS RELEASE |
EU invests €216 million to promote semiconductor research and innovation

The Semiconductor Joint Undertaking (Chips JU) today announced the launch of €216 million in calls for proposals to support research and innovation initiatives in the fields of semiconductors, microelectronics and photonics. This announcement follows a first round of calls for innovative pilot lines, announced in November 2023, which secured €1.67 billion in EU funding.

Related Content

Big Picture

Foreign policy

As more countries are inspired by the European digital model, European companies have more opportunities to do business, creating more jobs for citizens.

See Also

EU Neighbours

The European Commission works closely with third countries geographically close to the European Union.

Africa

The digital transformation offers Africa tremendous opportunities.

Regional and bilateral relations

Regional and bilateral relations focus on market access for European companies and on promoting a sound and transparent regulatory global environment.

Asia-Pacific

Asia-Pacific and the EU continue to strengthen their digital partnership ensuring growth in many areas such as research and development, 5G and AI.

Americas

The digital economy & society is now firmly part of the agenda for the EU's relations with the Americas.