Introduction
Digital technology is changing people’s lives. The EU’s digital strategy aims to make this transformation work for people and businesses, while helping to achieve its target of a climate-neutral Europe by 2050.
The Commission is determined to make this Europe's “Digital Decade”. Europe must now strengthen its digital sovereignty and set standards, rather than following those of others – with a clear focus on data, technology, and infrastructure.
Highlight
Digital Economy and Society Index 2022: overall progress but digital skills, SMEs and 5G networks lag behind
28 July 2022 - EU countries have been advancing in their digitalisation efforts but still struggle to close the gaps in digital skills, the digital transformation of SMEs, and the roll-out of advanced 5G networks, the Commission’s 2022 Digital Economy and Society Index reported. The Recovery and Resilience Facility, with about €127 billion dedicated to the digital area, offers an unprecedented opportunity to accelerate the digital transformation.
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Background
Since 2014, the Commission has taken a number of steps to facilitate the development of a data-agile economy, such as
- the Regulation on the free flow of non-personal data
- the Cybersecurity Act
- the Open Data Directive
- the General Data Protection Regulation
In 2018, the Commission presented an AI strategy for the first time, and agreed a coordinated plan with Member States. The High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence presented their Ethics Guidelines on trustworthy AI in April 2019. This was built upon the framework for AI presented on 19 February 2020.
In her Political Guidelines, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed the need to lead the transition to a healthy planet and a new digital world. In that context, she kick-started the debate on ethical Artificial Intelligence and the use of big data to create wealth for societies and businesses during her first 100 days in office.