News

The Commission has adopted an Action Plan to support the recovery and transformation of the media and audiovisual sector. These sectors, particularly hit by the coronavirus crisis, are essential for democracy, Europe's cultural diversity and digital autonomy.

The Commission has put forward a series of actions to support the recovery and digital transformation of the media sector, and to create a better and safer environment for journalists to perform their work.

The HEPHAESTUS project explores the innovative use of robots and autonomous systems in the construction industry. European researchers have developed a cable-driven robot as part of the project. A prototype is being tested in central Spain.

Earlier this week, the Commission opened a public consultation, as part of the review of the Broadband Cost Reduction Directive, to collect views, until 2 March 2021, on incentivising the rollout of fast broadband networks, including fibre and 5G. The Directive, introduced in 2014, aims to enable fast electronic communications networks for people across the EU by reducing the related costs.

These projects aim to map violations of media freedom and defend journalists under threat and support collaborative journalism, cooperation and exchange of best practices.

France has been awarded 762 WiFi4EU vouchers. Learn more about how municipalities capitalised on free connectivity to bridge the digital divide and connect rural and remote territories

The Commission will be represented at the virtually held Web Summit from 2-4 December, which brings together political, industry and societal leaders to discuss the future of the global tech industry. During this event, which usually takes place in Lisbon, the President and nine Vice-Presidents and Commissioners will highlight key EU policies, focusing on upcoming investments to shape Europe’s Digital future for a transition that puts people first.

In the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic, language technology (like Natural Language Processing) might not seem an obvious partner for medical research – and yet it is playing a vital role.

Today, the European Commission published the conclusions of its first short-term review of the 2018 Geo-blocking Regulation, which prohibits unjustified geographical restrictions in the sale of goods and services within the EU. This review includes the Commission report and the accompanying Staff Working Document (SWD).

The Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion contains a section on new technologies and digital tools, in which the importance of inclusive digital public services is prominently mentioned. eID and trust services are also highlighted for their importance. In this Action Plan, the Commission commits itself to ‘work on an inclusive EU e-government action plan, that promotes human-centric digital public services for citizens, including migrants, and engagement of migrants in the creation and delivery of digital public services’.