EU Member States sign the Berlin Declaration on Digital Society

EU Member State ministers in charge of government digitalisation signed the Berlin Declaration on Digital Society on 8 December 2020. The signing took place as part of the online EU2020 High-Level Conference on Value-Based Digital Transformation in Europe organised by the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Declaration aims to contribute to a value-based digital transformation by addressing and strengthening digital participation and digital inclusion in our societies.

Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, said: “The Berlin Declaration is an important step towards a faster, fair, inclusive and cooperative digital modernisation of the public sector. The Declaration unites European countries around the common project of a digital transformation that is driven in collaboration and with full respect of the fundamental rights and shared European values”.

The signatories agreed to work together on the digital transformation of governments and implement a number of actions by the end of 2024. In particular, they commit to: 

1. Promote fundamental rights and democratic values in the digital sphere;
2. Enhance social participation and inclusion; 
3. Foster digital empowerment and digital literacy; 
4. Strengthen trust through security in the digital sphere;
5. Strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty and interoperability;
6. Create value-based, human-centred AI systems for use in the public sector;
7. Foster resilience and sustainability. 

Building on the achievements of the Tallinn Declaration on eGovernment, the signatories will work with the European Commission and the EU institutions to build a reinforced EU digital government policy and a future interoperability policy. The Berlin Declaration aims to help firmly anchor the core European values and fundamental rights as drivers and enablers of the digital transformation of the Member States' own public administrations and society, to strengthen the digital participation and the EU's digital sovereignty.

The Berlin Declaration is the result of the close cooperation between the German Presidency of the Council of the EU, European Commission services and the European Union Informal Network of Chief Information Officers (CIOs), including Member States’ representatives responsible for digitalisation and the Directorate-General for Informatics (DIGIT), which is representing the European Commission in the CIOs network. The German Presidency closely cooperated with the future French Presidency of the Council of the EU to ensure political follow-up at the highest level in 2022.