COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the 2030 Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade”
Date: 2021-09-15
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, European Commission
Subjects: EU policy, EU programme, digital economy, digital literacy, digital single market, digital technology, digitisation, innovation, trans-European network, transmission network

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 15.9.2021  SWD(2021) 247 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the 2030 Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade” {COM(2021) 574 final}  
 
 
Table of Contents 

1. 

Introduction ................................................................................................................... 5 

2.  The starting point: need for common governance and coordinated investments ... 6 

3.  Targets ............................................................................................................................ 9 

3.1. 

3.2. 

Introduction .......................................................................................................... 9 

A digitally skilled population and highly skilled digital professionals .............. 13 

3.2.1.  Basic digital skills .............................................................................................. 13 

3.2.2. 

ICT specialists .................................................................................................... 16 

3.3. 

Secure and performant sustainable digital infrastructures ................................. 20 

3.3.1.  Connectivity ....................................................................................................... 20 

3.3.1.1.  Gigabit coverage ................................................................................................ 20 

3.3.1.2.  5G coverage ........................................................................................................ 27 

3.3.2.  Semiconductors .................................................................................................. 31 

3.3.3.  Edge/cloud .......................................................................................................... 37 

3.3.4.  Quantum computing ........................................................................................... 43 

3.4. 

Digital transformation of business ..................................................................... 45 

3.4.1.  Take up of digital technologies .......................................................................... 45 

3.4.1.1.  Cloud computing services .................................................................................. 45 

3.4.1.2.  Big data .............................................................................................................. 49 

3.4.1.3.  Artifical Intelligence .......................................................................................... 52 

3.4.2.  Digital “late adopters” ........................................................................................ 55 

3.4.3. 

Innovative businesses/scale-ups ......................................................................... 59 

3.5. 

Digitalisation of public services ......................................................................... 62 

3.5.1.  Government as a platform .................................................................................. 62 

3.5.1.1.  Online service provision ..................................................................................... 62 

3.5.1.2.  Access to medical records .................................................................................. 65 

3.5.1.3.  e-ID adoption ...................................................................................................... 67 

4.  Governance: Monitoring and Cooperation Mechanism .......................................... 69 

4.1. 

4.2. 

Guidance ............................................................................................................. 69 

National Digital Decade Strategic Roadmaps .................................................... 70 

4.3. 
Annual monitoring and cooperation mechanism between the Commission 
and the Member States ..................................................................................................... 72 

2 

 
 
 
4.3.1.  Monitoring of progress ....................................................................................... 72 

4.3.2.  The report on the “State of the Digital Decade” ................................................ 73 

4.3.3.  Collaboration mechanism ................................................................................... 74 

4.3.4.  Recommendations .............................................................................................. 75 

5.  Multi-Country Projects ............................................................................................... 77 

5.1. 

5.2. 

5.3. 

5.4. 

Identifying Multi-Country Projects .................................................................... 77 

Implementing Multi-Country Projects ............................................................... 80 

Need for a new instrument for implementing some Multi-Country Projects ..... 84 

Case-studies for the new EDIC .......................................................................... 86 

6.  Spectrum as an essential enabler to reach digital targets ........................................ 90 

Annexes................................................................................................................................ 92 

Annex 1: Consultation........................................................................................................ 92 

1. Overview of consultation activities and participants ................................................... 92 

2. Results of consultation on roadmap ............................................................................. 92 

3. Results of targeted consultation ................................................................................. 101 

4. Results of pre-consultation activities ......................................................................... 110 

Annex 2: Baseline data ..................................................................................................... 118 

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
List of Figures 

Figure 1: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for measuring progress on digital targets as set 
out in Article 4 of the Decision ................................................................................................. 12 
Figure 2: Percentage of adults with at least basic digital skills (EU trajectory to 2030) ....... 14 
Figure 3: At least basic digital skills (% of those aged 16-74) by Member State, 2019 .......... 14 
Figure 4: Number of employed ICT specialists (EU projection to 2030) ................................ 17 
Figure 5 : ICT specialists (% of individuals in employment aged 15-74) by Member State, 
2020 .......................................................................................................................................... 18 
Figure 6: Fixed Very High Capacity Network (VHCN) coverage (% of households) by 
Member State, 2020 .................................................................................................................. 22 
Figure 7: Percentage of households covered by a Gigabit network (EU projection to 2030) 23 
Figure 8: 5G coverage (% of populated areas) by Member State, 2020 ................................. 29 
Figure 9: Percentage of populated areas covered by 5G (EU projection to 2030) ................. 29 
Figure 10: EU semiconductor industry market share by subproduct ...................................... 33 
Figure 11: Worldwide semiconductor sales in billion USD, 2010-2032 ................................. 35 
Figure 12: Percentage of semiconductor production of world market in value (EU projection 
to 2030) .................................................................................................................................... 36 
Figure 13: Different types of edge technology deployment and distance of edge data 
processing capacities from the end-user .................................................................................. 39 
Figure 14: Number of deployed edge nodes (EU projection to 2030) ..................................... 41 
Figure 15: Cloud uptake (% of enterprises) by Member State, 2030 ...................................... 47 
Figure 16: Percentage of European enterprises using cloud computing services (EU 
projection to 2030) ................................................................................................................... 48 
Figure 17: Big data uptake (% of enterprises) by Member State ............................................ 51 
Figure 18: Percentage of European enterprises using big data (EU projection to 2030) ...... 51 
Figure 19: AI uptake (% of enterprises) by Member State, 2020 ............................................ 53 
Figure 20: Percentage of European enterprises using AI (EU projection to 2030) ................ 53 
Figure 21: Digital intensity by company size, 2020 ................................................................. 56 
Figure 22: Percentage of SMEs with at least a basic level of digital intensity (EU projection 
to 2030) .................................................................................................................................... 56 
Figure 23: SMEs with at least a basic level of digital intensity (% of enterprises) by Member 
State, 2020 ................................................................................................................................ 57 
Figure 24: Enterprises with at least a basic level of digital intensity by economic sectors, 
2020 .......................................................................................................................................... 58 
Figure 25: Number of unicorns (EU projection to 2030) ........................................................ 60 
Figure 26: Digital public services for citizens (score 0-100) by Member State, 2020 ............ 63 
Figure 27: Score in online provision of key public services (EU projection to 2030) ............ 63 
Figure 28: Initial list of MCPs with corresponding implementation instrument and 
participating Member States .................................................................................................... 84 
Figure 29: Key features of existing implementation instruments for MCPs ............................ 85 

4 

 
 
 
 
1.  INTRODUCTION 

The Commission’s Communication “2030 Digital Compass: the European way for the Digital 
(hereinafter  “Digital  Compass  Communication”  or 
Decade”  of  9  March  2021 
“Communication”) laid out the vision for a successful digital transformation of the European 
Union by 2030. The EU's ambition is to be digitally sovereign in an open and interconnected 
world,  and  to  pursue  digital  policies  that  empower  people  and  businesses  to  seize  a  human 
centred,  inclusive,  sustainable  and  more  prosperous  digital  future.  This  includes  addressing 
vulnerabilities and dependencies as well as accelerating investment.  

In  its  conclusions  of  25  March  2021,  the  European  Council  stressed  the  importance  of  the 
digital transformation for the Union’s recovery, prosperity, security and competitiveness and 
for the well-being of our societies. It underlined the need to enhance EU’s digital sovereignty 
in  a  self-determined  and  open  manner  by  building  on  its  strengths  and  reducing  its 
weaknesses  and  through  smart  and  selective  action,  preserving  open  markets  and  global 
cooperation.  It  identified  the  Digital  Compass  Communication  as  a  step  towards  charting 
Europe’s  digital  development  for  the  next  decade.  It  invited  the  Commission  to  widen  the 
European  Union’s  policy  toolbox,  both  at  the  Union  and  national  level,  and  to  use  all 
available  instruments  from  industrial,  trade  and  competition  policy;  skills  and  education; 
research  and  innovation  policy  and  long-term  funding  instruments  to  facilitate  the  digital 
transformation. 

In the light of these ambitions and challenges, the Commission proposes a policy programme 
in  the  form  of  a  proposal  for  a  Decision  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council 
establishing the Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade” .  

To  complement  the  Commission’s  proposal,  this  Staff  Working  Document  (SWD)  analyses 
the current  digital  situation in  the European Union and, in  light  of this analysis, explains in 
more detail the rationale for the Digital Decade targets and corresponding KPIs as well as the 
proposed  governance  framework,  mechanisms  to  set  up  Multi-Country  Projects,  and 
identified enablers. 

Chapter 2 introduces the critical factors calling for greater cooperation and the mobilisation of 
public and private investments within the EU. 

Chapter 3 explains how the Digital Decade targets were selected and will be monitored. For 
each target, it indicates the data source, the rationale for the set target value, the baseline and 
current  trends  as  well as needed actions and, where possible, the deviation from  the current 
growth path to the one required to achieve the target.  

The  following  chapters  explain  why  the  governance  framework  introduced  in  the  Policy 
Programme “Path to the Digital Decade” is needed and how it will be implemented to achieve 
the  targets.  Chapter  4  illustrates  the  stages  of  the  proposed  cycle  of  cooperation  and 
coordination  between  the  Union  Institutions  and  the  Member  States.  Chapter  5  exemplifies 
how  a  new,  complementary  mechanism  to  implement  Multi-Country  Projects  will  help  to 
achieve  scaled  up,  coordinated  and  targeted  investments  in  critical  areas  to  close  persistent 
capacity  gaps.  Lastly,  Chapter  6  explains  why  radio  spectrum  has  been  identified  as  a  key 
enabler and how the Commission intends to facilitate spectrum coordination and assignment 
to meet the connectivity targets.  

5 

 
The SWD is based on several inputs, ranging from existing studies to results of an extensive 
consultation process. To gather feedback on the purpose and scope of the Policy Programme 
“Path to the Digital Decade”, the Commission published a roadmap1 for a four week feedback 
period  (between  24  June  and  22  July  2021)  and  launched  a  six  week  targeted  public 
consultation2  (from  22  June  to  3  August  2021).  In  order  to  ensure  the  widest  possible 
engagement of  representatives  from  of  civil  society, industry, business  and government,  the 
Commission  and  the  Portuguese  Presidency  of  the  Council  of  the  European  Union  co-
organised the high level event Leading the Digital Decade (LDD) on 1-2 June. Moreover, the 
Commission  engaged  in  inter-institutional  discussions  including  a  policy  debate  in  the 
Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council (TTE) on 4 June 2021; the 15th meeting 
of the Digital Single Market Strategic Group (DSM SG) on 24 June 2021; and consultations 
with the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the European Committee of 
the Regions. The Commission also took into account position papers from Member States and 
organisations as well as opinions from the EESC, the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) 
and  regional  parliaments.  A  Digital  Compass  Community  on  the  Futurium  platform3 
continues to allow stakeholders to learn more about the specific areas covered by the policy 
initiative  and  to  share  their  own  ideas  for  accelerating  the  EU’s  digital  transformation.  The 
consultation results are referenced throughout the document and summarized in Annex I. 

2.  THE  STARTING  POINT:  NEED  FOR  COMMON  GOVERNANCE  AND 

COORDINATED INVESTMENTS  

The  acceleration  of  the  digital  transformation  together  with  the  impacts  of  the  COVID-19 
pandemic  are  reinforcing  the  central  role  of  digitalisation  for  our  future  prosperity,  our 
innovation capacity, our future standard of living as well as our social mode. The crisis also 
highlighted the geopolitical dimension of digital technologies, their supply chain, and with it 
the critical stakes linked to EU’s industry capacity to scale up and capture the markets of the 
future. 

The  long  standing  rise  of  digital  technologies  in  all  dimensions  of  Europeans’  lives  is 
rocketing, as examplified by the value of data produced in Europe alone, which now amounts 
to EUR 1.5 trillion a year. However, the crisis also exasperated persistent digital divides, not 
only  between  well-connected  urban  areas  and  rural  and  remote  territories,  but  also  between 
those who can fully benefit from an enriched, accessible and secure digital space with a full 
range of services, and those who cannot. A similar divide emerged between those businesses 
already  able to  leverage  the full potential of the  digital  environment  and  those not  yet  fully 
digitalised.  In  this  sense,  the  COVID-19  pandemic  has  exposed  a  new  ”digital  poverty”, 
making  it  imperative  to  ensure  that  all  citizens  and  businesses  in  Europe  can  leverage  the 
digital transformation for a better and more prosperous life. Resilient, secure and trustworthy 
infrastructures and technologies are indispensable to ensure the respect of European rules and 
values. 

1 https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/13089-Policy-programme-Digital-

Decade-Compass_en. 

2 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/consultations/consultation-and-discussion-forum-eus-2030-digital-

decade-vision. 

3 https://futurium.ec.europa.eu/en/digital-compass. 

6 

 
                                                 
The pandemic notably shed a harsh light on the critical drivers for change that the EU needs 
to  mobilise  urgently  in  order  to  ensure  a  successful  digital  transformation  anchored  it  in  its 
own values. 

Firstly,  there  is  a  need  to  urgently  tackle  persistent  issues  that  still  prevent  a  successful 
digital  transformation  and  thereby  obstruct  the  EU’s  technological  leadership  and  widen 
digital divides. This includes, for example, the lack of digital skills, insufficient infrastructure 
development, and slow digitalisation of the private and public sector. Despite recent efforts, 
the  total  annual  investment  gap  for  the  digital  transformation  remains  significant  and  is 
estimated  to  amount  to  EUR  125billion  (e.g.,  EUR  42billion  in  communication  networks, 
EUR 17bn in semiconductors, EUR 11billion in cloud)4. In 2019, only 56% of adults had at 
least  basic  digital  skills,  reflecting  limited  progresses  since  2015  (i.e.,  increase  of  only  2 
percentage  points).  In  such  a  context,  the  EU  needs  to  step  up  coordinated  efforts  across 
Member States in critical dimensions of the digital transformation.  

Secondly,  Europe  is  increasingly  dependent  on  other  regions  for  key  digital  capacities, 
such as processors computing systems, data infrastructure and web platforms. The position of 
European  players  is  far  below  EU’s  global  economic  weight  in  these  key  technology  areas. 
For example, 90% of the EU’s data are managed by US companies and less than 4% of the 
top online platforms are European. European-made microchips represent less than 10 % of the 
European market today, compared to 40% only 30 years ago. This situation has very concrete 
and difficult implications: Several automotive production plants have had to stop production 
in  2021  because  of  lack  of  components.  Without  action,  this  situation  risks  deteriorating 
further. Even though US companies already account for 48% of the world’s chip sales, the US 
government  plans  to  reinforce  its  investments  with  USD  52  billion  dedicated  to  supporting 
semiconductor manufacturing and research in the US. These investments are taking place in 
the context of a growing technological confrontation between the US and China. China, which 
is  aiming  to  become  the  world  leader  in  the  semiconductor  field  in  the  next  decade,  is 
upgrading  further  its  subsidies  and  research  spending  on  cutting-edge  chips  and  artificial 
intelligence5.  Reversing  the  above  mentioned  trend  and  matching  our  competitors’ 
commitment6 would require a very significant supplementary collective effort from the Union 
in  all  critical  digital  technologies  including  5G,  cloud  and  AI.  Only  for  the  microprocessor 
sector, and taking into account the projected market size of USD 1 trillion by 2030, the EU 
would have to multiply its annual sales by a factor of 4-5 to achieve 20% in value of the world 
market by 2030.  Such effort  should address  key  strategic digital  technologies  and would be 
part  of  the  EU’s  attempt  to  reinforce  its  digital  sovereignty,  carefully  monitoring,  assessing 
and  addressing  any  strategic  dependencies  weaknesses  and  vulnerabilities  which  put  at  risk 
the attainment of its digital ambitions as well as its capacity to shape a digital transformation 
that reflects its values. 

Thirdly,  a  very  significant  increase  of  investments  is  also  necessary,  notably  to  allow  the 
EU to develop critical and disruptive technologies in a way that fosters its productivity grow. 

4 SWD(2020) 98 Identifying Europe’s recovery needs, Table 2 on p 18. 
5 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-05/chinese-premier-calls-for-major-breakthroughs-in-core-
tech  
6 On 24 February, President Biden signed an Executive Order (EO) on Securing America’s Critical Supply 
Chains. The objective is to help strengthen supply chain resiliency and build capacity by increasing domestic 
production and decreasing dependence on foreign competitors. A next set of reviews of various is expected to be 
completed by next February, including defence, public health and biological preparedness, ICT, transportation, 
energy, and agricultural commodities and food production. 

7 

 
                                                 
Currently,  the  public  and  private  investment  gap  between  the  EU  and  digital  frontrunners 
(e.g., US, China) amounts to EUR 350-400 billion a year7. This investment gap is particularly 
important  for  the  financing  of  disruptive  innovation  and  start-ups  and  is  far  from  closing8, 
with potentially important adverse risk on EU’s future prosperity, growth and employment. A 
pre-COVID  analysis  highlighted  digital  disruptive  technologies  can  contribute  1,1  %  to 
annual GDP growth in the period 2017-2030, with a cumulative net effect of 14.1 % higher 
GDP by 20309. 

Fourthly,  these  dependencies  and  need  for  investment  happen  in  the  context  of  a  lack  of 
convergence  across  Member  States.  The  digital  transformation  is  not  operating  at  a 
sufficient pace and remains limited in some areas, preventing EU actors to leverage the full 
potential of the single market through economies of scale. The Digital Economy and Society 
Index  (DESI),  which  tracks  the  evolution  of  EU  Member  States  in  digital  competitiveness 
since  2015,  shows  that  most  countries  with  below  average  levels  of  digitisation  have  not 
progressed much in  the last five  years10. This  situation is  linked to  a lack of common goals 
and efforts and to remaining obstacles to the single market. Without a common coordination 
mechanism the current status will not improve and the Union, as a whole, will not achieve the 
objectives  and  targets  of  the  Digital  Compass  Communication.  That  is  why  the  Policy 
Programme “Path to the Digital Decade” is designed not as another reporting process but as a 
game  changer  that  seeks  to  improve  the  level  of  consensus  among  Member  States  and  to 
facilitate  action  through  a  fully-fledged  new  governance  system  enabling  to  quickly  take 
concrete  actions.  However,  the  coordination  mechanism  designed  in  the  Policy  Programme 
“Path  to  the  Digital  Decade”  needs  to  be  flexible  and  dynamic  to  adjust  to  new  digital 
technological developments and recognize different starting points among Member States and 
their  level  of  specialisation.  There  may  be  different  efforts  needed  in  different  fields 
addressed  by  the  Policy  Programme  “Path  to  the  Digital  Decade”  that  require  well-
coordinated effort sharing between the Member States instead of a of ‘one fits all’ actions. 

Fifthly,  the  current  situation  will  not  be  able  to  build  the  necessary  synergies  between  the 
green and digital transitions enabling the EU to reach its climate target, as digital solutions 
can  help  in  cutting  15-20%  of  global  greenhouse  gas  emissions  by  2030.  Fostering  this 
transition  will  also  request  major  investment  by  industry  in  green  digital  technologies  and 
start-ups  that  are  focused  on  developing  innovative  technology  solutions  that  make  an 
important contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The investment gap to identify 
and develop digital solutions for climate mitigation and climate adoption across all sectors of 
the  economy  amounts  to  more  than  EUR  6  billion  a  year,  targeting  digital  solutions  in 
reducing  GHG  emissions  in  sectors  such  as  transport,  smart  energy  networks  (smart  grids), 
(precision 
manufacturing 
farming).These baselines and ongoing trends show that without sustained and game-changing 
actions,  the  EU  will  not  succeed  to  shape  the  digital  transformation  it  aims  for  -  i.e. 
demonstrating  digital  leadership  to  empower  businesses  and  people  in  a  human  centred, 
sustainable  and  more  prosperous  digital  future  -  and  mobilising  the  means  and  processes 

(industry  4.0),  smart  cities  and  sustainable  agriculture 

7 McKinsey. Shaping the digital transformation in Europe, September 2020. 
8 Six times more as compared with the US and 2,5 times more with China. Mind the Bridge. Tech Scale-up 
Europe – 2019 Report. The US has seen approximately €60 billion of annual investment in AI/big data 
companies in 2018-2019, compared to approximately €5 billion spent in Europe and approximately €17 billion 
in China. 
9 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/shaping-digital-transformation-europe-working-paper-economic-
potential  
10 https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/digital-economy-and-society-index-desi 

8 

 
                                                 
necessary  to  deliver  it.  The  above  analysis  is  strongly  supported  by  the  views  expressed  by 
citizens,  Member  States  and  stakeholders  from  industry,  business  and  civil  society  in  the 
context of the consultation process.  

Responses to the targeted consultation further reinforced the need for action. 

Almost all respondents agree that the pandemic demonstrated a need to accelerate the pace of 
the digital transformation (95.5%) and ensure that everyone can fully benefit from it (95,5%). 
This  assessment  was  often  backed  up  by  reference  to  personal  experience.  Notably,  the 
pandemic  altered  respondents’  need  for  and  reliance  on  secure,  performant  and  sustainable 
digital infrastructures (89.7%), followed by digital public services (86.1%), digital products, 
tools, and services (85.5%), a digitally skilled population (81.3%), and highly skilled digital 
professionals (72%).  

There  is  broad  agreement  across  stakeholder  groups  that  it  is  important  to  have  a  solid 
cooperation  mechanism  in  place  to  drive  European  progress  on  all  of  these  fronts.  A  large 
majority  of  respondents  to  the  targeted  consultation  identified  substantially  increasing 
investments (90.7%) and coordinating the digitalisation efforts of Member States (78.8%) as 
crucial drivers for the EU’s successful digital transformation. Most see strong benefits in the 
proposed monitoring and cooperation mechanism, finding it extremely or very relevant that it 
supports  the  development  and  implementation  of  Multi-Country  Projects  (75.4%),  that  it 
sends a clear signal to market actors to incentivise private investments (73.6%), that it ensures 
the effective delivery of Digital Decade goals on an EU level (70.9%), and that it stimulates 
cooperation between Member States (68.5%).  

Many  stakeholders  also  underline  the  importance  of  common  governance  and  coordinated 
investment  for  ensuring  that  the  digital  transformation  advances  in  the  interest  of  a  more 
inclusive,  sustainable  and  prosperous  future  for  all.  Civil  society  stakeholders  called  for  a 
robust  governance  framework  to  stimulate  and  direct  investments  in  a  socially  and 
environmentally  responsible  way  that  places  citizen’s  rights  at  the  center.  Industry 
stakeholders  would  like  to  see  more  coordinated  policies  to  align  investment  friendly 
conditions,  particularly  for  the  deployment  of  digital  infrastructures,  across  the  EU. 
Businesses  and  public  administrations  emphasized  the  importance  of  legal  certainty  and 
interoperability for the digitalization of their operations and services. 

Against  this  background,  the  following  sections  present  further  detailed  evidence  to 
complement and support the Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade” .  

3.  TARGETS  

3.1. 

Introduction 

On  targets  and  indicators,  the  Policy  Programme  “Path  to  the  Digital  Decade”  relies  on  an 
enhanced  Digital  Economy  and  Society  Index  (DESI),  a  composite  index  that  monitors 
Europe’s  digital  performance  and  tracks  the  evolution  of  EU  Member  States  in  digital 
competitiveness,  including  the  analysis  of  national  digital  policies11.  DESI  indicators  are 
based on Eurostat data and alternative sources such as data collections through multi-annual 

11 DESI’s thematic reports will continue to present a quantitative analysis of a broad set of indicators for the four 
cardinal points and other aspects of digital (such as an analysis of the ICT sector and EU spending on ICT 
projects) at EU level. 

9 

 
                                                 
studies.  They  will  serve  as  the  analytical  basis  for  the  Report  on  the  state  of  the  Digital 
Decade (RSDD). In this regard, Member States expressed strong support for enhancing DESI 
as  a  monitoring  tool  for  the  Digital  Decade,  with  consistent  but  adaptable  indicators  to 
facilitate comparisons across time and space. 

When  selecting  targets,  the  Commission  looked  at  existing  Key  Performance  Indicators 
(KPIs),  having  in  mind  that  targets  need  to  be  measurable  in  order  to  be  monitored.  These 
KPIs are outlined in table below. The choice of lead KPIs was guided by existing KPIs which 
are currently monitored in the DESI. For the majority of the targets, where a data collection is 
already in place, the baseline and data source are presented in this Staff Working Document. 
As explained below, there are also potential KPIs where studies (ongoing or future) or other 
sources are needed, methodologies still to be developed or relevant data still to be acquired to 
measure progress towards the 2030 targets.  

Currently existing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)  

1. 

A digitally skilled population and highly skilled digital professionals 

(a)  At least basic digital skills (Member State level) 

This  measures  the  percentage  of  individuals  with  ‘basic’  or  ‘above  basic’  digital 
skills in each area of the Digital Competence Framework. 

Data source: Eurostat Community survey on ICT usage in households and by individuals.  

(b) 

ICT specialists (Member State level) 

This  measures  the  percentage12  of  the  workforce  employed  as  ICT  specialists, 
using  a  broad  definition  based  on  the  ISCO-08  classification  and  including  jobs 
such as ICT service managers, professionals, technicians, installers and servicers.  

Data source: Eurostat labour force survey. 

(c)  Female ICT specialists (Member State level) 

This measures the percentage of ICT specialists who are women.  

Data source: Eurostat labour force survey. 

2. 

Secure, efficient and sustainable digital infrastructures 

(a)  Gigabit coverage (Member State level) 

This  measures  the  percentage  of  households  covered  by  a  network  capable  of 
gigabit speeds. At the current state of technological development, in line with the 
principle  of  technological  neutrality,  the  technologies  able  to  provide  gigabit 
download speeds are fibre to the home, fibre to the building, and cable Docsis 3.1. 
However each of these technologies is subject to different performance levels for 
the uplink. 

Data source: ‘Broadband coverage in Europe’ studies by IHS Markit, Omdia and Point 
Topic. 

(b)  5G coverage (Member State level) 

12 To ease cross-country comparisons, figures at Member States level will be expressed as the percentage of the 
workforce. 

10 

 
                                                 
This  measures  the  percentage  of  populated  areas,  including  the  most  remote 
regions, covered by at least one 5G network.  

Data source: ‘Broadband coverage in Europe’ studies by IHS Markit, Omdia and Point 
Topic . 

3. 

Digital transformation of businesses 

(a)  SMEs with at least a basic level of digital intensity (Member State level) 

This  measures  the  percentage  of  SMEs  using  at  least  four  of  12  selected  digital 
technologies13.  

Data source: Eurostat Community survey on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises. 

(b)  Cloud computing (Member State level) 

This  measures  the  percentage  of  enterprises  using  at  least  one  of  the  following 
cloud computing services:  

  hosting of the enterprise’s databases;  

  accounting software applications;  

  CRM software and computing power.  

Data source: Eurostat Community survey on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises. 

(c)  Big data (Member State level) 

This  measures  the  percentage  of  enterprises  analysing  big  data  from  any  data 
source (internal or external).  

Data source: Eurostat Community survey on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises. 

(d)  Artificial intelligence (Member State level) 

This measures the percentage of enterprises using at least two artificial intelligence 
technologies.  

Data  source:  European  enterprise  survey  on  the  use  of  technologies  based  on  artificial 
intelligence by IPSOS.. 

(e) 

‘Unicorns’ (only at Union level) 

This measures the sum of realised ‘unicorns’ (i.e. companies founded after 1990 
that have had  an initial  public offering (IPO) or trade sale above USD 1 billion) 
and  unrealised  ‘unicorns’  (i.e. companies  that  were  valued  at  USD 1 billion  or 
more  in  their  last  private  venture  funding  round,  meaning  the  valuation  has  not 
been confirmed in a secondary transaction). 

Data source: Dealroom 

4. 

Digitalisation of public services 

13  The list of technologies varies every year. In 2020, it included the following: internet for at least 50% of 
employed people, employment of ICT specialists, fast broadband (30 Mbps or above), mobile internet 
devices for at least 20% of employed people, a website, a website with sophisticated functions, 3D printing, 
advanced cloud computing, e-invoices, industrial or service robots, e-commerce turnover accounting for over 
1% of total turnover and big data.  

11 

 
                                                 
The following services are considered for the below KPIs: 

 

regular business operations; 

  moving house;  

  owning and driving a car; 

 

starting a small claims procedure; 

  a business start-up; 

 

 

 

family life; 

losing and finding a job;  

studying. 

(a)  Online provision of key public services for citizens (Member State level) 

This measures the degree to which people can complete major procedures with the 
public administration completely online.  

Data source: e-government benchmark studies by Capgemini. 

(b)  Online provision of key public services for businesses (Member State level) 

This measures the degree to which businesses (i.e. enterprises defined as economic 
undertakings established in one of the Member States) can carry out various steps 
in dealing with the public administration completely online.  

Data source: e-Government benchmark studies by Capgemini. 

Figure 1: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)  

Clearly, not all of the Digital Decade targets require common efforts across all Member States 
to  be  reached  and  not  all  need  to  be  mirrored  at  national  level.  Instead  some  of  the  targets 
require  a  degree  of  specialisation  of  some  Member  States.  In  the  latter  case,  the  different 
potential of Member States to contribute to the Union level targets will be taken into account 
and  developed  in  the  future  through  national  strategic  roadmaps.  When  the  current  baseline 
data  at  the  level  of  Member  States  is  available  in  DESI,  they  are  presented  in  the  analysis 
below. 

Building  on  the  current  practice  and  with  an  enhanced  set  of  indicators,  the  RSDD  will 
analyse the performance at EU level and of each Member State across the cardinal points of 
the  Policy  Programme  “Path  to  the  Digital  Decade”,  based  on  the  DESI  index  and  a 
description of national  policies. Additional  indicators will be introduced  to  capture  all KPIs 
necessary to monitor progress towards the 2030 targets. As KPIs are in constant evolution in 
the area of digital, some definitions, data sources and methodologies may change over time to 
improve  the  quality  of  statistics.  These  changes  will  be  reflected  in  the  subsequent  reports. 
Such  modifications  may  also  result  in  a  break  in  series  in  the  statistical  data,  requiring 
adjustments or revision of the related trajectories. 

In consultation with the Member States, and in view of effective monitoring, the Commission 
will review and update if needed annually key methodological aspects of DESI, including the 
list  and  definitions  of  indicators  and  the  data  collection  methodologies.  The  relevant 
authorities of the Member States are required to contribute to this process. The Commission 
will  implement  and  if  necessary  extend  its  current  roadmap  in  this  regard.  In  addition  ,  in 

12 

 
accordance  with  Article  5,  the  Commission  will  adopt  via  implementing  act  the  KPIs 
necessary to monitor each target  

Several  Member  States  explicitly  welcomed  the  concreteness  and  level  of  ambition  of  the 
proposed  targets  and  KPIs,  and  found  that  they  are  well  chosen  to  address  the  structural 
shortages and gaps hampering the ability of EU citizens and businesses to take full advantage 
of  the  digital  transition  today.  Others  combined  their  support  with  additional  suggestions  to 
expand or adjust the initial list of targets and corresponding KPIs. 

This SWD presents the KPIs, baseline and trends available at the time of writing.  

3.2.  A digitally skilled population and highly skilled digital professionals 

3.2.1.  Basic digital skills 

-  Target:“80% of those aged 16-74 have at least basic digital skills”14 

-  Baseline (2019): 56%15 

-  Source: Eurostat 

-  What is the rationale for the set target value? 

The COVID-19 pandemic has accentuated the necessity of digital skills to be active in society 
and  to  participate  in  the  labour  market.  In  an  unprecedented  and  unexpected  shift,  digital 
technologies have allowed pupils and students to study remotely, adults to work from home, 
and  the  world  population  to  continue  socially  interacting  despite  social  distancing 
requirements.  A  precondition  for  delivering  on  the  twin  transition  and  for  inclusion  and 
participation in the labour market and society is basic digital skills. Therefore all Europeans 
should have the skills needed to benefit from the digital transformation and no one should be 
left  behind.  Achieving  the  target  will  require  significant  reforms  and  investments  at  both 
European  and  national  level  in  order  to  support  the  development  of  high-performing  digital 
education ecosystems across Europe.  

There  exists  a  consensus  among  stakeholders  that  insufficient  digital  education  and  training 
are  the  main  bottlenecks  on  the  way  to  a  digitally  skilled  population.  Respondents  to  the 
targeted consultation frequently referenced digital divides caused by socio-economic factors, 
such  as  income,  demographic  factors,  such  as  age,  or  geographic  factors,  such  as  limited 
connection opportunities in rural areas, as a barriers to digital education and skills.  

-  What are the baselines and current trends? 

In 2019, only 56% of adults in the EU had at least basic digital skills. There was only a slight 
increase  (2  percentage  points)  since  2015.  The  EU  will  need  more  than  three  times  higher 
growth  to  reach  the  target  of  80%  (the  current  growth  rate  is  only  0.9%).  This  past  growth 
trend is expected to accelerate due to (1) an increased use of digital tools during the Covid-19 
pandemic; (2) less skilled people moving out from the 16-74 years age bracket and (3) more 

14 Target established in the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan: COM/2021/102 final - https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2021:102:FIN 
15 Source: Eurostat - Community survey on ICT usage in Households and by Individuals 

13 

 
                                                 
digitally  skilled  young  people  moving  into  the  same  age  bracket,  and  (4)  significant 
investments in digital skills by Member States in their Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRPs). 

At least basic digital skills

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

5
1
0
2

6
1
0
2

7
1
0
2

8
1
0
2

9
1
0
2

0
2
0
2

1
2
0
2

2
2
0
2

3
2
0
2

4
2
0
2

5
2
0
2

6
2
0
2

7
2
0
2

8
2
0
2

9
2
0
2

0
3
0
2

Baseline

Digital decade

Figure 2: Percentage of adults with at least basic digital skills (EU trajectory to 2030) 

Source: Commission services based on data from Eurostat. 

As the graph below shows, the situation in different Member States varies significantly. The 
Netherlands,  Finland,  Sweden  and  Germany  are  the  most  advanced  with  more  than  70%  of 
the  adult  population  having  at  least  basic  digital  skills,  while  Romania  and  Bulgaria  are 
lagging far behind, with only 30% of the adult population having at least basic digital skills. 

Figure 3: At least basic digital skills (% of those aged 16-74) by Member State, 2019 

Source: Eurostat - Community survey on ICT usage in Households and by Individuals. 

-  What is needed to achieve the target? 

14 

 
 
 
In their responses to the targeted consultation, several stakeholders found that Member States’ 
digital  skills  initiatives  would  benefit  from  more  guidance  and  coordinated  investment.  For 
example,  business  stakeholders  see  a  role  for  the  EU  in  facilitating  the  exchange  of  best 
practices.  Social  partners  emphasized  the  importance  of  not  only  providing  but  also 
coordinating funding for digital skills programmes to avoid risking learning disadvantages as 
a result of unbalanced investment. 

The EU already supports Member States with initiatives such as the Digital Education Action 
Plan 2021-202716, which builds on the lessons learned during the pandemic and focusses on a 
set  of  concrete  actions  to  achieve  its  twin  strategic  priorities  of  fostering  high-performing 
digital  education  ecosystems  and  enhancing  digital  skills  and  competences.  The  European 
Skills  Agenda17  is  a  five-year  plan  that  supports  the  green  and  digital  transitions  with 
initiatives  such  as  the  Pact  for  Skills.  It  helps  mobilise  the  private  sector  and  other 
stakeholders to upskill and reskill Europe’s workforce. The European Pillar of Social Rights 
Action  Plan18  supports  the  development  of  basic  digital  skills  for  the  workforce.  Moreover, 
the  European  Industrial  and  SME  strategy19,  the  European  Strategy  for  Data20  and  the 
Coordinated  Action  Plan  on  Artificial  Intelligence21  include  actions  targeting  improving 
digital skills among the population and workers.  

The  European  Social  Fund  supports  action  for  digital  skills  development  at  local  level 
according  to  the  needs  of  the  territories.  The  Commission  has  also  carried  out  a  number  of 
different  actions to support the development of digital skills in the population. In particular, 
the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition has reached nearly 16 million people with trainings and 
awareness  raising  activities.  The  EU  Code  Week  initiative  has  trained  15  million  young 
Europeans in computing and digital literacy skills. The RRPs include significant investment to 
boost digital skills: According to a preliminary analysis22 the budget dedicated to digital skills 
development  accounts  for  17%  of  the  total  digital  budget.  A  number  of  countries  plan 
investments  and  reforms  to  introduce  compulsory  digital  skills  training  in  primary  and 
secondary  curricula,  revise  text  books  and  train  teachers  with  the  necessary  competences  to 
use and teach with  digital  technologies. Reforms to  improve adult learning and increase the 
offer and accessibility of digital training, including to the most vulnerable, are also foreseen, 
for example by setting up proximity centres to help people learn how to use digital services.  

In addition, as proposed also by participants to the consultation process,  Member States can 
put in place a number of reforms and investments to encourage digital skills development for 
different target groups, which may include: 

16 COM(2020) 624 final - https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52020DC0624  
17 COM/2020/274 final - https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52020DC0274  
18 COM/2021/102 final - https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52021DC0102  
19 COM/2021/350 final - https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/communication-industrial-strategy-update-
2020_en.pdf  
20 COM/2020/66 final - https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?qid=1593073685620&uri=CELEX%3A52020DC0066  
21 COM/2021/205 final - https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/dae/redirection/document/75787  
22 The calculations are based on the Recovery and Resilience Plans as approved on 1 September 2021 and on the 
basis of the methodology for digital tagging set out in Annex VI of the Recovery and Resilience Facility22, which 
includes specific Intervention fields for Digital Skills – corresponding to DESI Field 2 Human Capital. These 
calculations provide a temporary view of the RRF and are without prejudice to the final figures that will only be 
available once the 27 plans have been adopted. 

15 

 
                                                 
  Empowering 

the 

teaching  profession 

innovative  methods  and  digital 
technologies, including through more attractive and stable career paths, flexible pathways 
into  teaching,  and  improved  selection  procedures  and  professional  development 
frameworks.  

to  adopt 

  Fostering  high-performing  digital  education  and  training  systems  by  strengthening 
teachers’ initial and continuous training on digital skills, systematic technology integration 
in  pedagogy,  updated  curricula  and  assessment  approaches,  availability  of  suitable 
devices,  high  quality  pedagogical  content,  robust  infrastructure,  and  adequate  support  to 
disadvantaged students and those with special needs.  

 

Integrating computational thinking, computing and digital literacy in the curricula.  

  Putting  in  place  funding  mechanisms  that  reduce  inequalities  in  education  outcomes 
between students and schools and allowing schools to respond swiftly to changing needs.  

 

Investment  in  digital  infrastructure  (e.g.,  high-speed  internet  connectivity  and  digital 
devices). Addressing accessibility and availability of assistive technologies.  

  Expanding  the  availability  and  accessibility  of  flexible  second  chance  education 

programmes tailored to adult learners’ diverse needs.  

  Addressing  SME’s  barriers  in  providing  training  to  their  workers,  e.g.,  through 

collaborative approaches between businesses and training providers.  

  Making  financial  support  to  short-time  work  schemes  conditional  on  providing  relevant 

on-the-job training to workers (in particular for digital skills).  

  Putting in place comprehensive, quality and inclusive adult learning systems, or reforming 
existing  ones  to  address  barriers  to  participation.  Introducing  new  active  labour  market 
policy programmes or adjusting existing ones, drawing on best practices and including a 
plan for continuous monitoring and evaluation. 

  Combining  investments  in  the  digital  infrastructure  of  schools  with  free  basic  education 
courses for people with formally low qualifications to ensure that no one gets left behind.  

3.2.2.  ICT specialists  

-  Target: “20 million employed ICT specialists, with convergence between women and 

men” 

-  Baseline (2020): 8.4 million employed ICT specialists, with 19% being women23 

-  Source: Eurostat 

-  What is the rationale for the set target value? 

The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the need for advanced digital skills, exposed 
the  EU’s  dependency  on  foreign  technologies,  and  emphasised  how  critical  safe  and  robust 

23 DESI indicator “2b1”.  

16 

 
                                                 
networks and technologies are in the digital and information space. For a successful recovery 
and  to  be  able  to  develop  and  innovate  with  digital  technology,  Europe  needs  to  rely  on 
digitally  empowered  and  capable  citizens,  a  digitally  skilled  workforce  and  substantial 
increase of digital experts.  

Throughout  the  consultation  process,  business  representatives  repeatedly  pointed  to  the 
importance of digital skills for facilitating the digital transformation of SMEs and supporting 
the creation of innovative companies and unicorns in the EU. Representatives of SMEs placed 
particular  emphasis  on  the  need  for  a  joined  approach  to  upskilling  and  reskilling  of  the 
workforce to cope with the new labour demand.  

To emerge from the crisis as a digital leader, the EU must rely on ICT specialists who are able 
to  develop,  operate, and maintain information  and communications technology systems  in  a 
digitally accessible way, respecting EU values. ICT specialists are defined as those who have 
the ability to develop,  operate and maintain  ICT systems  and for whom  ICT  constitutes the 
main  part  of  their  job.  The  European  Union  currently  faces  a  critical  shortage  of  such 
specialists across all Member States, hampering the development, uptake and use of emerging 
key  digital  technologies.  Training  and  education  should  therefore  support  a  workforce  in 
which  women  and  men  can  acquire  specialised  digital  skills  in  areas  such  as  Artificial 
Intelligence,  quantum  computing  and  cybersecurity,  while  striving  to  close  the  gender 
imbalance in the field. ICT specialization in digital accessibility can also support the inclusion 
of  people  with  disabilities  in  the  workforce  through  their  involvement  in  the  accessibility 
testing of digital environments. 

-  What are the baselines and current trends? 

As of 2020, there were 8.4 million ICT specialists, up from 6.1 million in 2013, and with an 
annual  growth  of  4.7  %.  If  this  growth  continues,  the  EU  will  have  13.5  million  ICT 
specialists  by  2030  under  a  ‘business  as  usual’  scenario.  This  is  far  from  being  enough  in 
order to reach the target of 20 million by 2030. The graph below shows the deviation from the 
current growth trend that is needed to reach the target of 20 million ICT specialists in 2030. 

Figure 4: Number of employed ICT specialists (EU projection to 2030) 

17 

 
 
Source: Commission services based on data from Eurostat. 

At EU level, 4.3% of its workforce are ICT specialists, while figures per Member States range 
from 2% in Greece to 7.6% in Finland. 20 million ICT specialists would correspond to about 
10% of the workforce. 

Figure 5 : ICT specialists (% of individuals in employment aged 15-74) by Member State, 
2020 

Source: Eurostat, Labour force survey. 

The  shortage  of  ICT  experts  leads  to  delays  in  developing  new  products  and  services, 
hampering innovation and growth in all industrial ecosystems, far beyond the ICT sector. The 
number  of  vacancies  keeps  growing  as  new  jobs  emerge.  For  example,  according  to 
industry  research,  168.000  cybersecurity  experts  were  missing  in  Europe  in  202024.  Other 
sources  report  that  there  were  341.000  unfilled  jobs  for  data  professionals  in  Europe  in 
202025. The European electronics industry, for example, is facing an acute shortage of skills in 
all tiers of its value chain. The number of open positions for electronics engineers is growing 
at  an  alarming  rate.  More  generally,  nearly  1.1  million  job  advertisements  for  electro 
engineering workers (overall, not only microelectronics) were placed in the EU between mid-
2018 and end-201926. The demand for ICT expertise varies depending on the industry27 and 
across regions. For instance, the most demanded ICT skills in Central and Eastern Europe are 
related to manufacturing and resources, while distribution and services will be most important 
in Western Europe28.  

24 https://www.isc2.org/Research/Workforce-Study# 
25 https://datalandscape.eu/sites/default/files/report/D2.9_EDM_Final_study_report_16.06.2020_IDC_pdf.pdf 
26 Cedefop 
27 Eurostat data: Enterprises employing, recruiting and having hard-to-fill vacancies for ICT specialists, by 
economic activity, EU, 2020 (% enterprises)  
28 IDC, European IT Spending Forecast, 2019-2023: Key Digital Trends Across European Industries 

18 

 
 
                                                 
More than 77% of businesses report the lack of  staff with  adequate skills,  as an obstacle to 
investment posing particular problems for innovative and digitalising firms29. There is also a 
severe  gender  imbalance,  with  only  one  in  six  ICT  specialists  and  one  in  three  STEM 
(Science,  Technology,  Engineering,  Mathematics)  graduates  being  women.30  Finally,  this  is 
compounded by a lack of capacity in terms of specialised education programmes in areas such 
as Artificial Intelligence, quantum and cybersecurity and by a low integration of digital topics 
in other disciplines. 

-  What is needed to achieve the target?  

The  Commission  already  has  several  instruments  in  place  to  contribute  to  the  attainment  of 
the ICT specialists target, in particular the Digital Europe Programme, which devotes almost 
EUR  600  million  to  the  development  of  advanced  digital  skills  in  cutting-edge  domains31. 
Universities,  VET,  training  providers,  research  and  excellence  centres  will  join  forces  to 
deliver high-quality training in areas like cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, cloud or data. 

Under  the  Digital  Education  Action  Plan  2021-2027,  the  Digital  Opportunity  Traineeships 
scheme32  provides  trainees  with  the  opportunity  to  strengthen  their  ICT-specific  skills  in 
fields such as cybersecurity, big data, quantum technology and machine learning, and to boost 
digital  skills  for  businesses  in  areas  including  web  design,  digital  marketing  and  software 
development.  The  Action  Plan  also  includes  activities  supporting  young  female  students  to 
develop their digital and entrepreneurship competences33. 

The Joint Undertaking on high-performance computing (HPC) is expected to support actions 
for  advanced  digital  skills  development  in  HPC  to  train  specialists  able  to  design,  deploy, 
operate  and  exploit  the  fastest  super  computers  in  the  world34.  The  Artificial  Intelligence 
Coordinated Plan35 includes actions to boost the number of AI specialists in the EU, introduce 
AI and computational thinking in education and also train professionals in non-ICT fields to 
use and understand AI applications. In the field of microelectronics, a number of CEOs have 
already  committed  to  upskill  and  reskill  their  workforce  to  reduce  shortages  in  this  domain 
and they have joined the Pact for Skills36. 

Investment  for  advanced  digital  skills  development  appears  to  be  less  present  in  the  RRPs 
compared  to  basic  skills.  Measures  address  notably  the  strengthening  of  higher  education 
institutions,  both  by  encouraging  cooperation  with  other  organisations,  also  cross-border, 
supporting students participation and, in some cases, developing an increased offer in STEM 
and digital courses, available also to people already in employment.  

29 EIB investment report 2019/2020 Accelerating Europe’s transformation: 
https://www.eib.org/attachments/efs/economic_investment_report_2019_key_findings_en.pdf 
30 Women in Digital Scoreboard 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/women-digital-
scoreboard-2020. 
31 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/activities/skills-digital-programme  
32 https://ec.europa.eu/education/education-in-the-eu/digital-education-action-plan/action-12_en 
33 https://ec.europa.eu/education/education-in-the-eu/digital-education-action-plan/action-13_en 
34 Training and Education on High Performance Computing | European High Performance Computer Joint 
Undertaking (europa.eu)  
35 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/coordinated-plan-artificial-intelligence-2021-review  
36 https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1517&langId=en  

19 

 
                                                 
In addition, as proposed also by participants to the consultation process,  Member States can 
put in place a number of reforms and investments to increase the number of ICT specialists, 
which may include: 

  Developing and supporting the offer of shorter courses with flexible modes of study (part-

time, distance) in key digital technologies, leading to micro-credentials.  

 

Introducing  performance-oriented  funding  schemes,  setting  up  competitive  programmes 
for funding of research and educational innovations and independent quality institutions.  

  Developing  skills  projection  and  graduate  tracking  mechanisms  and  using  the  resulting 

insights to update the higher education offer.  

  Promoting  the  development  of  new  higher  education  curricula  for  engineering,  ICT  and 
advanced  digital  technologies  and  provide  flexibility  to  hiring  non-academic  staff 
proficient in digital technologies, involving employers in curriculum reform. 

 

Investing  in  sustainable  education  and  training  infrastructure  and  renovating  existing 
buildings.  Investing  in  courses  in  advanced  digital  technologies  such  as  artificial 
intelligence and cybersecurity as well as in integrated competence centres, industries and 
universities that can deliver an ecosystem of excellence to attract and retain talent. 

 

Introducing work-study training programs to reduce the gap between the supply of higher 
education and the demand of companies. 

  Designing  a  collaborative  intelligence  programme  so  that  engineers  and  related 

professionals around the world can contribute their knowledge. 

  Promoting powerful  campaigns, starting in  primary schools, to  encourage  young girls  in 
scientific and technological disciplines and spark a broad social dialogue about gender in 
ICT professions. 

3.3.  Secure and performant sustainable digital infrastructures 

3.3.1.  Connectivity 

-  Target: “All European households  will be covered by a Gigabit network, with all 

populated areas covered by 5G” 37 

For  its  prosperity,  the  European  Union  needs  a  digital  connectivity  infrastructure  of  top 
performance,  security  and  sustainability,  optimised  to  leverage  the  latest  optical  fibre 
technologies  in  fixed  networks  and  to  connect  innovative  wireless  systems  such  as  5G,  6G 
and Wi-Fi. 

3.3.1.1.  Gigabit coverage  

-  Target: All European households will be covered by a Gigabit network 

-  Baseline (2020)38: 59% 

37 Continuation and extension of the Gigabit society targets for 2025, which are that all European households, 
urban or rural, will have access to internet connectivity of at least 100 Mbps upgradable to Gigabit; Gigabit 
connectivity for all main socio-economic drivers (…) as well as digitally intensive enterprises; all urban areas 
and major terrestrial transport paths to have uninterrupted 5G coverage by 2025. 

20 

 
                                                 
-  Source: Broadband Coverage in Europe studies39 

-  What is the rationale for the set target value? 

Societal  needs  for  upload  and  download  bandwidth  are  constantly  growing.  By  2030, 
networks  with  gigabit  speeds  should  become  available  at  accessible  conditions  for  all  those 
who need or wish such  capacity. A universal  Gigabit target is  needed to ensure that  all EU 
citizens and businesses are reached by at least one modern, energy efficient and future proof 
digital connectivity infrastructure wherever they live or work. Similar to electricity, these data 
transport networks are the precondition for citizens and enterprises to benefit from new digital 
communications services and capabilities. In particular, the amount of information that light 
can  carry  as  a  data  transmission  medium  on  optical  networks  that  reach  all  end-users’ 
premises and wireless communications’ base stations can be considered as a reference point to 
what  is  the  most  sustainable  and  future-proof  solution  to  address  the  exponential  growth  of 
data  traffic.  Although  the  cost  of  reaching  remote  locations  with  Gigabit  networks  may  be 
proportionally  high,  advanced  connectivity  will  play  an  essential  role  to  avoid  the 
depopulation  of  those  areas,  delivering  digital  services  (both  public  and  commercial)  and 
supporting economic activity. For this reason the proposed target has a universal scope. 

-  What are the baselines and current trends?  

In 2020, fixed very high capacity networks (fixed VHCN)40 covered 59% of EU households. 
In  Malta,  Luxembourg,  Denmark  and  Spain  fixed  VHCN  is  available  in  at  least  90%  of 
households, while in Greece only one in ten households has such coverage.  

38 Gigabit coverage is currently measured by the DESI indicator “Percentage of households covered by any 
fixed Very High Capacity Networks (VHCN)” . The types of networks taken into account for the calculation of 
this indicator are: “Fibre to the Home” (FTTH), Fibre to the building (“FTTB”) and Cable “Docsis 3.1”, which 
are generally capable to deliver at least a 1Gbps downlink. Although significant improvements have been made 
in mobile data rates, at this stage mobile broadband connections are not taken into account. Space-based assets 
can also contribute to reach the 100% target by covering users located in remote and/or sparsely populated areas 
hard to reach otherwise, but are not currently considered a functional equivalent to fixed VHCN technologies. 
For a legal definition of VHCN, see Art. 2(2) of Directive (EU) 2018/1972 and BEREC guidelines on very high 
capacity networks (BoR (20) 165). 
39 IHS Markit, Omdia and Point Topic: “Broadband Coverage in Europe” studies, see: https://digital-
strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/desi-connectivity 
40 DESI indicator “Percentage of households covered by any fixed Very High Capacity Networks (VHCN)” . 
The types of networks taken into account for the calculation of this indicator are: “Fibre to the Home” (FTTH), 
Fibre to the building (“FTTB”) and Cable “Docsis 3.1”, which are generally capable to deliver at least a 1Gbps 
downlink. However, these technologies are respectively subject to different performance levels for the uplink. 

21 

 
                                                                                                                                                         
Figure 6: Fixed Very High Capacity Network (VHCN) coverage (% of households) by 
Member State, 2020 

Source: IHS Markit, Omdia and Point Topic, Broadband coverage in Europe studies. 
Today, the total European Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) take-up rate of approximately 41%41 
is  generally  lower  than  in  the  Asian  countries  where  fibre  networks  have  already  been 
deployed42. A relatively low take-up rate can also be observed in Members States and regions 
where fibre-based Gigabit offers are readily available43. The main drivers of such demand are 
user  experiences  with  Gigabit  connectivity  at  work  or  at  school/university  as  well  as 
competitive  affordability44.  In  order  to  meet  the  connectivity  demands  of  its  consumers  and 
businesses  in  Europe,  it  will  be  necessary  to  accelerate  investment  in  such  optical  fibre 
networks  within  the  next  few  years,  which  will  also  have  long-term  operational  cost  saving 
potentential for operators45. 

This  is  why  a  relatively  high  growth  rate  for  Gigabit  coverage  is  assumed  in  the  years  to 
come,  followed  by  a  slowdown  towards  the  end  of  the  decade.  This  is  a  result  of  the 
increasing unit costs when reaching rural areas.  

41 Analysis Mason “Full-fibre access as strategic infrastructure: strengthening public policy for Europe” June 
2020 
42 According to Analysis Mason (2020), this is due to the fact that during the first years of the digital transition, 
Europe benefited  from  widely deployed and performant copper broadband networks. By contrast,  many  Asia–
Pacific  countries  have  already  deployed  optical  fibre  infrastructures,  which  are  now  also  booming  in  Latin 
America, South and Southeast Asia. Europe is therefore competing not only with other advanced economies like 
China and Japan, but also with many emerging economies in modernising the connectivity networks on which 
digital transformation builds. 
43 Such as in Spain, Sweden, and Portugal. 
44 “Entry-level FTTP frequently commands a similar price to, and sometimes even a lower price than, copper-
based legacy alternatives. Obviously a better service at a lower price is a winning formula.” Analysys Mason, 
June 2020. 
45 According to Analysys Mason (June 2020), due to the passive nature of PON FTTP networks, operators can 
realise Opex savings compared to copper and cable networks, which rely on powered active equipment in the 
field and require cooling. Decommissioning the copper network allows operators to consolidate their central 
offices and to reduces the energy consumption per line from central office equipment to around a tenth of that for 
the copper acceleration technologies VDSL2 and G.fast and for DOCSIS 3.1. 

22 

 
 
                                                 
Figure 7: Percentage of households covered by a Gigabit network (EU projection to 2030) 

Source: Commission services based on data from IHS Markit, Omdia and Point Topic. 

This preliminary projection is based on currently observed trends and expected future trends. 
Already  before  the  COVID-19  pandemic,  while  purchases  of  broadband  services  have 
stabilised,  data  usage  has  continued  to  grow  at  a  significant  pace.  Cisco  and  other  analysts 
foresee  a  gradual  migration  away  from  broadcast  and  “managed”  television  towards  online 
viewing. For example, 92% of global Internet users watch videos online each month and 58% 
stream TV content via the Internet. At a global scale, Internet users already spend 6:42 hours 
per day on the Internet, of which 2:16 are dedicated to social media.46 

The  drastic  confinement  measures  taken  during  the  acute  phase  of  the  pandemic  forced  an 
unprecedented number of people to  resort to  their home internet  access  for work, education 
and  leisure.  This  resulted  in  a  sharp  increase  of  network  traffic,  driven  primarily  by  video 
related  services.  According  to  ETNO47,  up  to  50%  increase  in  voice  traffic,  up  to  40% 
increase in mobile data traffic, and up to 70% in fixed data traffic were observed. Thanks to 
the targeted actions of EU operators there were no major episodes of congestion; however, the 
limits of the existing network infrastructure became evident. The key facts are that, following 
the pandemic, more citizens will work or study from home, more companies will use digital 
communication  to  reach  customers  and  operate  industrial  processes  remotely  and  more 
government institutions will use digital technologies to provide public services to citizens and 
companies.  

The  availability  of  Gigabit  connectivity  services  will  therefore  become  an  increasingly 
important factor for the attractiveness of regions, cities and even real estate assets. This will 
create  demand  that  can  accelerate  the  ongoing  trend  to  modernise  digital  connectivity 
networks  by  replacing  copper  with  fibre  cables,  thus  increasing  their  capacity  and  lowering 

46 WIK Report: “Future electronic communications product and service markets subject to ex-ante regulation 
Recommendation on relevant markets”, 2020 (“WIK Report” see: Study on Future electronic communications 
product and service markets subject to ex-ante regulation | Shaping Europe’s digital future (europa.eu)). 
47 ETNO Policy Note: The role of Digital Communications at the time of COVID-19  

23 

 
 
                                                 
the  operational  energy  consumption  per  data  transmitted48.  Also  the  deployment  of  5G 
wireless networks will depend on optical fibre backhaul infrastructures to provide very high 
quality wireless connectivity. 

Analysis of household behaviour and upcoming digital use cases suggests that both residential 
and  business  consumers  will  progressively  require  Gigabit  connections  to  meet  their  needs, 
such  as  use  of  improved  video  standards,  cloud  services,  applications  based  on  virtual  and 
augmented  reality,  artificial  intelligence  (AI)  applications,  automated  driving,  logistics  and 
manufacturing processes. For some of these applications, in particular those relying on real-
time, distributed data processing capacities, users will produce and share as much data as they 
consume, requiring the underlying connectivity infrastructure to support in a reliable manner 
increased  balance  of  upload  and  download  speeds  and  low  latency.  Even  though  some 
improvements  of  existing  copper  networks  can  be  obtained  (e.g.,  through  vectoring 
technologies over  copper networks), ultimately, it  is  the progressive  replacement of  copper-
based sections of the infrastructure with fibre elements that will drive significant performance 
gains.  

Although  today  some  of  the  connectivity  needs  of  regular  businesses  still  can  be  met  by 
standard  mass  products49,  the  connectivity  needs  of  digitally  intensive  businesses  can 
increasingly  only  be  met  with  fibre  broadband  connection  reaching  closer  and  closer  to  the 
end  users,  such  as  Fibre  to  the  Premises  (FttP)  and  upgraded  cable  connections.  Fibre-
connections are also key to enabling small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and public 
sector  sites  such  as  schools  to  drastically  reduce  own  servers,  dedicated  IT  resources  and 
ultimately unnecessary cost.  

Well  before  the  end  of  the  decade,  digitally  intensive  businesses  in  all  sectors  will  need 
Gigabit  connections  and  data  infrastructures  with  reliable,  fast  in  both  uplink  and  downlink 
directions,  and  low-latency  fibre  access  greatly  facilitating  cloud  computing  and  data 
processing. The high bandwidth and reliability offered by Gigabit connectivity networks will 
for instance be important in offices, permitting work outside their premises, faster upload and 
download  of  files  and  more  reliable  access  to  Software-as-a-Service  and  cloud-based 
software. The flexibility offered by fibre networks together with the increased virtualisation of 
networks allows the dynamic configuration of up- and down-stream bandwidth depending on 
business requirements, for instance including holographic and AR-based video conferencing. 
Many use cases within different industry verticals are also related to developing the necessary 
IoT systems, with the high bandwidth, security and reliability provided by full fibre networks 
allowing the transfer of large amounts of data: 

 

In manufacturing, fibre networks will provide support for industrial IoT based on Wi-
Fi 6, or local backhaul for use cases based on 5G, for instance serving as the local area 
network in industrial or campus sites.  

48 The race to gigabit fibre | Arthur D Little (adlittle.com)  
49 Explanatory Note accompanying the Commission Recommendation on relevant product and service markets 
(…), 2020, footnote 94 states that “already today, a significant number of ‘high quality’ lines have been offered 
via  “mass-market”  broadband  technologies,  including  FttH/B,  FttC  and  cable,  while  the  number  of  symmetric 
dedicated connections for business (leased lines provided via point to point FttP or copper) has remained stable 
or in some cases (especially for copper) has been in decline.” See: Commission updated the Recommendation on 
Relevant Markets | Shaping Europe’s digital future (europa.eu) 

24 

 
                                                 
 

 

 

In the public sector, fibre networks will accelerate the development of ‘smart cities’ by 
enabling  the  application  of  IoT  technology  to  utilities  and  services  in  public  spaces, 
including street lighting, energy, waste and water management.  

In  education,  fibre  networks  will  enable  enhanced  digital  learning,  allowing  the 
download  of  large  amounts  of  educational  content  at  the  same  location,  immersive 
learning environments and virtual field trips.  

In  healthcare,  the  higher  bandwidths  provided  by  fibre  networks  will  permit  more 
detailed remote patient monitoring using smart sensors, remote video consultation and 
surgery and remote AI-supported diagnosis.  

In  addition  to  the  use  cases  mentioned  above,  it  is  probable  that  other  technologies, 
applications  and  services  will  emerge,  which  will  benefit  from  fibre  networks  well  into  the 
future50.  High  performance  computing  (HPC)  already  points  at  the  need  for  terabit 
connectivity to allow real-time data processing51. All these use cases highlight the importance 
of reliable Gigabit connectivity offers being available from operators throughout the European 
Union to support the long-term digital investment of businesses and governments.  

As businesses will use digital  services, the end users will increasingly take up such Gigabit 
connectivity  offers  also  at  their  home  and  on  the  move  in  order  to  use  new  digital 
communications features and capabilities such as high-precision, virtual  reality, holographic 
media,  and  digital-senses  over  the  networks,  and  to  take  part  in  a  digitally  enabled  society. 
Moreover, the new ways of working brought about by the pandemic are likely to remain and 
evolve  further  in  the  post-COVID  world.  For  instance,  virtual  or  augmented  reality 
technology can be used to enhance the experience of online meetings. Residential demand is 
therefore  likely  to  also  progressively  require  higher  bandwidths  and  a  more  balanced 
distribution of traffic between uplink and downlink speeds. 

-  What is needed to achieve the target? 

Stakeholders  see  a  role  for  the  EU  in  ensuring  that  the  regulatory  environment  encourages 
operators  to  invest  in  rolling  out  and  increasing  the  capacity  of  their  networks  to  anticipate 
growing  user  demands.  Several  industry  contributions  to  the  targeted  consultation  call  for 
more  harmonization  of  conditions  for  the  deployment  of  connectivity  infrastructure  and 
services, e.g., through complete implementation of the European Electronic Communications 
Code. Others identify the timely review of the Broadband Cost Reduction Directive and the 
Broadband  State  Aid  Guidelines  as  a  way  to  improve  legal  certainty  and  foster  a  more 
efficient  and  fast  deployment  of  very  high  capacity  networks,  including  fibre  and  5G 
networks. 

As  it  is  critical  that  an  important  part  of  the  networks  necessary  to  achieve  those  targets  is 
deployed  primarily  by  commercial  operators52,  the  EU  has  already  adopted  a  series  of 

50 See Analysys Mason, June 2020.  
51 Study on Future electronic communications product and service markets subject to ex-ante regulation | 
Shaping Europe’s digital future (europa.eu) 
52 The EU requires a very high level of investment in broadband networks to achieve the Gigabit targets in 2030, 
with  most of the gap taking  place in suburban, semi-rural and rural. There is a considerable consensus among 
market analysts and experts on this issue, putting the figure on the investments needed for the European Gigabit 
Society interim targets (by 2025) in the range of EUR 345 to 360 billion for the EU-27, with about one third of 
this figure potentially coming from already expected private funding, and therefore leaving an investment gap of 
about EUR 250 billion. See: Ferrandis-et-al.pdf (econstor.eu) 

25 

 
                                                 
initiatives designed to establish the right conditions for these investments to take place. These 
consist of a major reform of the regulatory framework for electronic communications, in the 
form  of  a  European  Electronic  Communications  Code53,  and  of  other  key  regulatory 
measures.  Together,  these  aim  to  identify  the  most  efficient  measures  to  support  and 
encourage operators to roll-out fibre and 5G. 

For  example,  the  Commission  adopted  on  18  December  2020  a  revised  Commission 
the  electronic 
Recommendation  on 
communications  sector  susceptible  to  ex  ante  regulation54.  This  Recommendation  is  an 
important regulatory and harmonization tool, which helps to focus regulatory intervention to 
those product and geographic markets in which significant market failures persist.  

relevant  product  and  service  markets  within 

The Connectivity Recommendation55 aims to identify the most efficient measures to support 
and encourage operators to roll out very high capacity networks, including fibre and 5G. The 
Recommendation  was  followed  by  the  publication  of  a  Connectivity  Toolbox56,  agreed  by 
Member  States  in  close  cooperation  with  the  Commission,  with  best  practices  to  reduce 
network deployment costs and facilitate access to 5G spectrum.  

The  review  of  the  Broadband  Cost  Reduction  Directive57  will  provide  an  important 
opportunity  to  foster  a  more  efficient  and  fast  deployment  of  very  high  capacity  networks, 
including fibre and 5G networks. In particular, the review aims at simplifying procedures and 
reducing further the administrative burden associated with the deployment of such networks, 
at  enhancing  transparency,  and  harnessing  the  potential  of  additional  assets  suitable  for 
network deployments. Moreover, the Commission is currently revising two recommendations 
issued in the early 2010s in the field of access regulation, with a view to further encourage the 
deployment  of  very  high  capacity  networks,  in  line  with  the  European  Electronic 
Communications Code. 

Finally, in its 2021 to 2027 budget, the EU has made available funds complementing national 
and local support through several programmes and is updating the relevant state aid rules in 
line with the 2030 targets58. As a first step, the General Block Exemption Regulation has been 
amended  to  include  inter  alia  additional  possibilities  for  Member  States  to  support  the 
deployment  of  fixed  broadband  networks,  4G  and  5G  mobile  networks,  including  with 
vouchers,  and  certain  trans-European  digital  connectivity  infrastructure  projects59.  The 
funding  linked  to  5G  and  Gigabit  networks  in  the  already  adopted  RRPs  is  estimated 
aproximately  at  over  EUR  13  billion60.  In  addition,  the  digital  transition  is  part  of  the  five 
policy  objectives  that  will  be  supported  by  Cohesion  Policy  Programmes.  The  Commission 
also supports directly a number of connectivity projects, including 5G connectivity, through 

53 Directive 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the European Electronic 
Communications Code, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32018L1972  
54 C(2020) 8750 final. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/dae/document.cfm?doc_id=72437  
55  Commission  Recommendation  (EU)  2020/1307  of  18  September  2020  on  a  common  Union  toolbox  for 
reducing the cost of deploying very high capacity networks and ensuring timely and investment-friendly access 
to 5G radio spectrum, to foster connectivity in support of economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis in the 
Union C/2020/6270, OJ L 305 of 21.9.2020. 
56 https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/dae/document.cfm?doc_id=75185 
57 https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12463-High-speed-broadband-in-the-
EU-review-of-rules_en 
58 See: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_1576  
59 https://ec.europa.eu/competition-policy/state-aid/legislation/regulations_en. 
60 Internal estimations based on the national RRPs adopted as of 1 September 2021.  

26 

 
                                                 
the  new  Connecting  Europe  Facility.  In  the  same  period,  Invest  EU  and  the  European 
Investment Bank will continue to support connectivity projects through loans and guarantees. 
Furthermore,  the  Connecting  Europe  Broadband  Fund  (CEBF)61  will  continue  to  invest  in 
new connectivity projects  in  underserved areas until June 2023 thanks to private and public 
investors. 

3.3.1.2.  5G coverage 

-  Target: All populated areas covered by 5G 

-  Baseline (2020): 14% of populated areas with 5G coverage62 

-  Source: Broadband coverage in Europe studies63  

-  What is the rationale for the set target value? 

5G  connectivity64  is  a  main  driver  for  digital  transformation  in  virtually  all  sectors  of  the 
economy  and  society  and  the  actual  availability  of  5G  services  will  dictate  the  pace  of 
development  of  many  new  services  and  applications  that  have  a  potentially  high  economic 
and  societal  value,  in  particular  vertical  industry  use  cases65.  As  a  result,  it  is  expected  that 
access to will be needed in all parts of the territory where people live, work, gather and travel. 
Several respondents to the targeted consultation indicated the need to aim for a step change in 
quality in addition to mere 5G population coverage. 

Mobile coverage is usually measured by regulators and market players (e.g., in the context of 
spectrum licenses) using “population coverage”, i.e. the percentage of the population covered 
by  at  least  a  mobile  network  at  their  homes.  In  most  cases,  the  availability  of  the  mobile 
service  at  a  given  place  is  determined  on  the  basis  of  the  declaration  of  mobile  network 
operators (as it is the case currently in DESI). The Digital Compass target of full 5G coverage 
in  all “populated areas”  is  also  based on the population  coverage.  In addition, one will also 
have to monitor closely the progress against the intermediate target set in the 5G Action Plan 
of “all urban areas and major terrestrial transport paths to have uninterrupted 5G coverage by 
2025”.  This  target  is  particularly  impoprtant  to  address  the  emerging  demand  for 
uninterrupted  coverage  along  motorways  to  enable  Connected  and  Automated  Mobility,  as 
well as to ensure the availability of very very high quality 5G connectivity in geographically-
limited  areas  to  support  applications  such  as  industrial  campuses,  smart  agriculture,  or 
ehealth. These applications have a huge socio-economic impact while not adding significantly 
to the amount of territorial areas to be covered.  

61 https://www.cebfund.eu/ 
62 Percentage of populated areas (i.e. percentage of all places where households are located, including remote 
areas) with coverage by 5G - measured as the total coverage of telecom operators in each country. A household 
has 5G coverage if it is in the stated coverage area for at least one 5G mobile network. Population coverage (in 
percentage terms) in a given area is understood to be equal to household coverage.  
63 IHS Markit, Omdia and Point Topic: “Broadband Coverage in Europe” studies, see: https://digital-
strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/desi-connectivity 
64 5G is the fifth-generation technology standard for mobile broadband standardised by the 3rd Generation 
Partnership Project and capable of supporting downstream speeds of up to 10Gbps.  
65 e.g. The PwC Study 2021 “The global economic impact of 5G” estimates 5G boost to global GDP by 2030 at 
US$1.3tn (€1.1 trillion) https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/industries/technology/publications/economic-impact-
5g.html 

27 

 
                                                 
Moreover, beyond mere coverage criteria, it will be increasingly important to closely monitor 
the  level  of  service  quality  provided  throughout  the  relevant  territories.  This  is  particularly 
important  in  the  current  context  where  mobile  operators  mainly  use  lower  frequency  bands 
(mainly  frequencies  shared  with  4G  and  the  700  MHz  band)  and  existing  sites  to  add  5G 
modules, which leads to significantly lower speeds and capacities at the cell edges where only 
a lower 5G signal is available.  

In  order  to  achieve  a  consistent  higher  quality,  low  density  5G  connectivity  throughout  the 
relevant territories significant investments for network densification will be required as well 
as  a  more  extensive  geographical  coverage  using  the  3.5  GHz  mid-band  (new  base  stations 
using mid-band frequencies are rather limited in Europe, whereas other regions such as Korea 
and  China  are  deploying  in  the  order  of  100,000  new  base  stations).  Therefore,  the  current 
KPI of ‘5G population coverage’ may have to be complemented in the future with secondary 
indicators  adequately  reflecting  the  actual  usability  and  quality  of  the  5G  service  based  on 
Quality  of  Service  levels  as  well  as  data  concerning  specific  geographical  availability 
(geographical mapping).  

The  definition  of  5G  service  quality  will  require  a  harmonised  approach  to  enable 
comparative  analysis  as  well  as  possible  in-field  measurements  to  circumvent  the 
shortcomings of theoretical coverage calculations. The ongoing work on this topic within the 
framework of BEREC’s activities66 will be instrumental to establish such a common approach 
to  5G  service  quality  in  the  EU  including  for  the  comparability  of  measurements  and 
monitoring data. 

- 

What are the baselines and trends? 

In 2020, only 14% of populated areas in the EU were covered by a 5G network. This is also 
due  to  the  fact  that  only  half  of  the  Member  States  started  commercial  5G  network 
deployments  by  mid-2020.  Highest  coverage  levels  were  recorded  in  the  Netherlands  and 
Denmark  (80%  of  populated  areas  each),  followed  by  Austria  (50%),  Ireland  (30%)  and 
Germany (18%). 

66 e.g., BEREC feasibility study on development of coverage information for 5G deployments - Document 
number: BoR (19) 191 available at: 
https://berec.europa.eu/eng/document_register/subject_matter/berec/reports/8848-berec-feasibility-study-on-
development-of-coverage-information-for-5g-deployments 

28 

 
                                                 
Figure 8: 5G coverage (% of populated areas) by Member State, 2020  

Source: IHS Markit, Omdia and Point Topic, Broadband coverage in Europe studies. 

The projected 5G coverage growth is based on an increase of the planned investments in 5G 
infrastructure (by an approximate factor of 25%) to fill in the estimate investment gap to reach 
the set deployment target by 2030.  

The  below  projection  for  5G  coverage  is  based  on  the  historical  evolution  of  4G  coverage 
(2011-2020) taking into account completed and planned spectrum assignments.  

Figure 9: Percentage of populated areas covered by 5G (EU projection to 2030) 

Source: Commission services based on data from IHS Markit, Omdia and Point Topic. 

-  What is needed to achieve the target? 

29 

 
 
 
The  5G  Action  Plan  for  Europe67  already  delivered  a  common  5G  network  deployment 
roadmap  and  set  out  ambitious  5G  targets  for  2020  and  2025,  in  particular  the  target  of 
achieving  5G  coverage  of  all  urban  areas  as  well  as  deploying  uninterrupted  5G  coverage 
along the main transport paths by 2025. The Commission is closely monitoring the progress 
of the Plan and took several policy initiatives to support Member States, including: 

  Cooperation with Member States to ensure timely availablilty of the 5G pioneer bands. 

  The adoption of the implementing regulation on small-area wireless access points68.  

  A structured exchange of Best Practices concerning national broadband strategies and 5G 

"path-to-deployment"69. 

 

Identification of regulatory best practices as part of the connectivity toolbox70 (Measures 
to cut the cost and speed up network rollout and to ensure timely and investment-friendly 
access to radio spectrum for 5G rollout). 

  A  joint  concept  with  the  European  Investment  Bank  on  “Boosting  Investments  in 

European digital ventures to unleash the full potential of 5G”71. 

  The establishment of the European 5G Observatory which provides periodic reports on the 

progress of the 5G Action Plan72. 

The achievement of the objectives and targets set out in the Decision will depend on a number 
of  key  factors  to  be  taken  into  account  by  the  Commission  and  Member  States  in  order  to 
enable the swift deployment of secure 5G. 

Efficient investment in 5G networks: Besides the support of 5G use cases with high societal 
value,  such  as  connected  and  automated  mobility,  for  which  a  broad  set  of  national  and 
European  funding  programmes  is  available,  including,  for  instance,  the  Recovery  and 
Resilience  Facility  (RRF),  CEF  Digital,  as  well  as  other  national  funding  programmes,  it  is 
important  to  stimulate  private  investors  with  a  clear  policy  framework  enabling  new 
investment  models  optimising  individual  return  on  investment.  Such  models  include  co-
investments  and  network  infrastructure  sharing.  Another  way  to  increase  private  investment 
relies  on  developing  new  business  opportunities  from  vertical  industry  users  and  provide 
strategic public support to 5G venture financing. 

Accelerated  deployment  of  secure  5G  networks  in  light  of  the  requirements  of  the  5G 
cybersecurity  toolbox:  The  implementation  by  Member  States  of  the  new  5G  cybersecurity 
requirements can act as incentive for operators to invest in modern and more secure network 
equipment,  including  accelerating  the  deployment  of  fully-fledged  (‘stand-alone’)  5G  core 
networks and of 5G  radio access  networks.  It  will be beneficial to  continue the coordinated 
approach at EU level on 5G cybersecurity, led by national authorities in the NIS Cooperation 
Group with the support of the Commission and ENISA, in order to  fully implement the EU 
Toolbox, monitor new technological and market developments and assess potential new risks. 

67 COM(2016) 588 
68 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2020/1070/oj 
69 See Report to the Communications Committee COCOM18-06 of 22/09/2018 at 
https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/dae/document.cfm?doc_id=55605 
70 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/connectivity-toolbox-member-states-agree-best-practices-boost-
timely-deployment-5g-and-fibre 
71 https://www.eib.org/en/publications/accelerating-the-5g-transition-in-europe-executive-summary 
72 www.5gobservatory.eu 

30 

 
                                                 
The Green Deal and energy efficiency of 5G networks: Mobile networks represent the single 
largest  consumer  of  energy  of  all  system  categories  in  the  telecommunications  sector.  The 
issue  at  stake  is  therefore  the  key  contribution  of  5G  and  later  6G  networks  to  meeting  the 
objectives of the Green Deal. Therefore, the existing best practices in this domain73 could be 
reviewed, in order to assess whether common measures and/or goals are needed. A common 
approach would contribute to the well-functioning of the single market as well as to secure a 
level playing field between market players. 

Societal  concerns  regarding  the  deployment  of  5G  networks:  Another  key  factor  is  to 
address  societal  concerns,  e.g.  with  regard  to  an  alignment  of  the  public  communication 
strategy on health aspects or possible transparency measures concerning rules applicable for 
the  deployment  and  operation  of  network  elements  such  as  base  stations.  Public  sector 
stakeholders  agree  that  raising  awareness  can  tackle  misinformation  and  thereby  increase 
public acceptance of the technology. To this end, social partners proposed a comprehensive 
EU monitoring exercise to adequately inform citizens about rollout plans and health impacts. 

EU  roadmap  towards  6G:  The  commercial  deployment  of  6G  networks  is  not  expected  to 
start  before 2028-2030.  However, 6G networks  will rely on infrastructural  elements  already 
deployed in  the context  of 5G networks. 6G deployment roadmaps need  to  complement the 
6G  research  agenda,  including  needs  and  suitability  of  6G  spectrum,  pro-investment 
measures,  in  particular to enable  emerging 6G ecosystems  taking  the synergies  between 5G 
and  6G  infrastructures  into  account.  It  is  important  to  address  how  the  Joint  Undertaking 
initiative  on  Smart  Networks  and  Services  towards  6G  could  enable  the  necessary  supply 
capacities  for  6G,  thereby  fostering  digital  sovereignty  in  Europe,  strengthening  the  value 
chain, and creating an infrastructure and service platform putting Europe in a strong position 
for 6G infrastructure and services. 

3.3.2.  Semiconductors 

-  Target:  “The  production  of  cutting-edge  and  sustainable  semiconductors  in  Europe 

including processors is at least 20% of world production in value.” 

-  Baseline (2020): 10% of world production in value 

-  Source: SIA/ESIA, World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) 

-  What is the rationale for the set target value? 

Semiconductors  are  the  underpinning  technology  for  a  secure  and  sustainable  digital 
transition.  Emerging  data  processing  capabilities,  new  applications  for  AI,  the  shift  towards 
edge-computing  and  the  growing  need  for  cloud  and  infrastructure  to  support  a  distributed 
workforce,  accelerated  by  the  Covid-19  pandemic,  all  require  the  computational  power, 
reduced  energy  consumption  and  added  security  offered  by  cutting-edge  semiconductor 
technologies.  The  market  for  AI  chips  is  expected  to  be  a  major  driver  of  growth  for  the 
whole industry during the Digital Decade. 

As  of  2021,  the  EU  has  a  small  amount  of  total  manufacturing  capacity  compared  to  other 
regions  in  the  semiconductor  value  chain  because  of  decreasing  levels  of  investment.  This 
industrial  automation, 
creates  dependencies 

(e.g.,  automotive, 

industries 

in  EU 

73 e.g., European Green Digital Coalition 

31 

 
                                                 
communications) from third-country chip manufacturers which can result, as happened during 
the  COVID-19  pandemic,  in  supply  shortages  that  can  disrupt  entire  industrial  sectors.  The 
EU wants to reverse this trend, and the Member States have already started with the launch of 
the first Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) on microelectronics, which 
resulted in a new advanced 300mm wafer fabrication plant (“fab”) in Germany and will lead 
to  new  process  lines  in  fabs  in  Italy,  France,  and  Austria  for  analogue  and  discrete 
components. Concerning digital processors, Europe is leading in microcontrollers, but misses 
the  necessary  design  capacity  and  manufacturing  facilities  for  the  more  advanced  logic 
components, and is therefore highly dependent on imports and foreign foundries.  

Over  time,  leading-edge  chips  have  become  more  difficult  and  more  costly  to  produce, 
resulting in  a reduction in  the number of manufacturers able to  satisfy  customers’ needs.  In 
2020, the only two companies manufacturing chips at 5nm were located in Taiwan (TSMC) 
and South Korea (Samsung).  

Geopolitical  tensions  further  undermine  a  level  playing  field  and  harm  competition,  as 
countries like China and the US subsidise with large amounts of public resources to minimise 
strategic  dependencies.  The  US  government  plans  investments  of  USD  52  billion  in 
semiconductors. The CHIPS Act74 proposes to invest USD 22 billion to support the reshoring 
of advanced semiconductor manufacturing firms and the American Foundries Act75 seeks to 
support semiconductor manufacturing and research in the US with USD 25 billion in grants. 
China  aims  to  boost  spending  and  drive  research  into  cutting-edge  chips  and  artificial 
intelligence  in  its  latest  five-year  targets76.  About  a  trillion  dollars  of  government  funding 
have  been  set  aside  under  the  overall  technology  initiative,  part  of  which  will  be  used  by 
central and local governments to jointly invest in a series of third-generation chip projects77.  

Europe  has  no  foundries  that  offer  manufacturing  of  components  with  feature  sizes  below 
22nm. Consequently, the EU’s semiconductor footprint compared to other regions is small in 
particular  in  the  digital  sector.  For  example,  the  EU  shares  of  global  revenues  for 
semiconductor chips is only around 6% for the computing and communication segments. This 
is  problematic  because  the  miniaturisation  of  feature  sizes  is  at  the  core  of  both  faster  and 
more  power-efficient  microprocessors  used  in  communications,  consumer  electronics  and 
computing  that  will  drive  demand  over  the  Decade.  Therefore,  with  no  additional  actions, 
Europe’s  share  in  chip  manufacturing,  especially  for  advanced  nodes,  is  likely  to  further 
decrease. 

As AI proliferates, as computing shifts towards the edge of the network, and as secure chips 
become a precondition for the security of networks and data infrastructures, the EU needs to 
step up its capabilities in digital logic where it has only a 9% share today (see chart below), in 
particular  the  processor  chips  that  are  needed  to  help  make  sense  of  the  ever-increasing 
quantities of data.  

74 “Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors” (CHIPS) for America Act. This bill establishes 
investments and incentives to support U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, research and development, and supply 
chain security. https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/7178  
75 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/4130  
76 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-05/chinese-premier-calls-for-major-breakthroughs-in-
core-tech  
77 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-17/xi-taps-top-lieutenant-to-lead-china-s-chip-battle-
against-u-s  

32 

 
                                                 
Figure 10: EU semiconductor industry market share by subproduct 

Source: Semiconductor Industry Association78 

Processing data at the speed needed to capture its benefits will require an  important shift in 
the  production  of  processor  chips.  Scaling  up  the  computing  performance  with  today’s 
technologies  will  make  computing  one  of  the  biggest  energy  consuming  activities.  Future 
chips  should therefore exhibit  radically  lower energy consumption to  be  able to  harness  the 
benefits of data growth. This is an opportunity for growth in burgeoning markets such as AI 
and  edge-computing,  and  to  make  further  inroads  into  the  computing  and  communications 
markets where EU industry has limited presence today. 

Investments in manufacturing capacity need to be matched by demand. An EU foundry would 
predominantly serve European customers, and there are few semiconductor companies in the 
EU designing chips on 7nm or 5nm nodes today. The EU’s weakness in design, which creates 
the demand for semiconductor manufacturing companies, was highlighted in the update of the 
2020 Industrial Strategy package79. The Industrial Strategy update presents a first analysis of 
dependencies  in  the  semiconductors  ecosystem,  and  in  other  sensitive  ecosystems.  This 
analysis shows a number of European weak points:  

  Europe has notable weaknesses in design and design automation tools. These parts of 

the supply chain are mainly under US proprietary control. 

  The EU has no production capacity for the most advanced chips. 

  The current shortage of semiconductors is slowing down the recovery of key economic 
sectors in Europe, including the automotive industry, and in the long-term could affect 
promising economic strongholds, such as the 5G/6G value chain. 

78 https://www.semiconductors.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2020-SIA-State-of-the-Industry-Report-FINAL-
1.pdf  
79 swd-strategic-dependencies-capacities_en.pdf (europa.eu), or the 2018 report 
https://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/image/document/2018-
26/boosting_electronics_value_chains_in_europe_B4A48BEC-FDC8-5B40-42B8227ADABD9E3E_53119.pdf 
and the 2020 study Study-on-the-Electronic-Ecosystem_Decision_Feb2020.pdf (ipcei-me.eu) 

33 

 
 
                                                 
  Packaging,  assembly  and  testing,  and  chip  fabrication  are  located  mostly  in  Asia. 
Advanced  packaging  technologies  are  increasingly  important  to  address  increasing 
power  and  energy-efficiency  requirements,  e.g.,  by  electrical  vehicles  and  edge-
computing applications. 

To reverse the trend of a declining share of total EU semiconductor manufacturing capacity 
compared to other regions, the EU has set the ambitious political ambition that by 2030 the 
production of cutting-edge and sustainable semiconductors in Europe including processors is 
at  least  20%  of  world  production  in  value  (meaning  manufacturing  capacities  below  5nm 
nodes aiming at 2nm and 10 times more energy efficient than today).  

The EU represents around 15% of the world’s GDP80 and its output in this key sector should 
at  the  very  least  reflect  this  position.  It  is  well  positioned  in  a  number  of  areas  that  should 
experience  significant  growth  in  the  coming  years,  and  where  micro-electronics  will  play  a 
crucial  part  in  market  development  (e.g.,  security  and  privacy,  sensing,  power  electronics, 
Internet of Things, organic-printable electronics and photonics).  

-  What are the baselines and current trends? 

The European Semiconductor Industry Association states that the EU’s share in world wafer 
fab capacity increased in the 1995-2005 time frame and then decreased in the next decade81.  

The  market  for  semiconductors  is  expected  to  grow  substantially  in  the  next  10  years. 
Analysts expect a market of roughly a USD 1 trillion by 2030 (see projection below).  

Figure 11: Worldwide semiconductor sales in billion USD, 2010-2032 

Source: VLSI Research82 

80 https://www.statista.com/statistics/253512/share-of-the-eu-in-the-inflation-adjusted-global-gross-domestic-
product/ 
81 https://www.eusemiconductors.eu/sites/default/files/ESIA_PR_WWCapacity_2021.pdf 

34 

 
 
                                                 
As of May 2021, the EU share of the worldwide semiconductor market is 8.7%83, representing 
roughly USD 45 billion on an annual basis. Taking into account the projected market size of 
USD 1 trillion by 2030, the EU would have to multiply its annual sales by a factor of 4-5 to 
achieve  20%  in  value  of  the  world  market  by  2030.  The  below  projection  assumes 
investments in semiconductors manufacturing by EU actors to ramp up in the coming years, 
leading to an increasing EU market share by the end of the decade. 

Figure 12: Percentage of semiconductor production of world market in value (EU projection 
to 2030) 

Source:  Commission  services  based  on  data  from  SIA/ESIA,  World  Semiconductor  Trade 
Statistics (WSTS). 

-  What is needed to achieve the target? 

Ongoing  projects  under  the  IPCEI  on  Microelectronics,  approved  in  December  2018,  have 
already  played  an  important  role  in  stimulating  additional  private  investments  in  innovation 
and manufacturing in the EU, in particular for Automotive and IoT markets. Manufacturers of 
chips  at  leading-edge  nodes  (TSMC,  Samsung,  Intel)  rely  for  their  technology  development 
on  specific  EUV  photolithography  machines  produced  by  a  unique  global  supplier,  notably 
ASML  (NL),  which  belongs  to  the  European  electronic  ecosystem.  Moreover,  the  ECSEL 
Joint Undertaking (JU) set up in 2014, which supported over 90 research projects, has been 
instrumental in advancing EUV technology towards 2nm84. As a follow-up to ECSEL JU, it 
has been proposed to develop the Key Digital Technologies Joint Undertaking (KDT JU) until 
2027,  with  public  support  of  up  to  EUR  3.6  billion  shared  equally  between  the  Union  and 
participating national authorities. 

82 https://www.vlsiresearch.com/semiconductor-market-research-services 
83 https://www.eusemiconductors.eu/sites/default/files/ESIA_WSTS_PR_2105.pdf 
84 https://www.ecsel.eu/projects/pin3s 

35 

 
 
                                                                                                                                                         
The  Commission  launched  the  Alliance  on  Processors  and  Semiconductor  technologies  in 
July 202185. The Alliance brings together key actors to design and produce microelectronics 
chips  and  will  identify  current  gaps  in  the  production  of  microchips  and  the  technology 
developments  needed.  The  Alliance  will  also  act  as  a  sounding  board  to  create  synergies 
among related R&D and deployment initiatives. 

Twenty-two  Member  States  have  already  signed  a  declaration  (of  7  December  2020)86 
expressing  their  interest  to  work  together  in  order  to  bolster  Europe’s  electronics  and 
embedded  systems  value  chain  with  a  strong  focus  on  processors  and  semiconductor  chips. 
The  declararion,  among  other  things,  calls  for  the  mobilisation  of  industrial  stakeholders 
through  a future industrial  alliance. Moreover, it calls  for the design of  a multi-country  and 
inclusive European Flagship Project through the development of a proposal for an Important 
Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI).  

A  second  IPCEI  on  processors  and  semiconductor  technologies  would  stimulate  the  design 
and  manufacturing  capacities  of  European  semiconductor  companies.  It  could  take  a  two-
pronged  approach  with  efforts  to  (1)  develop  digital  logic  chips,  such  as  low-power 
processors,  which  would  inter  alia  address  the  large  market  sectors  where  the  EU  has  very 
limited presence today such as computing and communications, and (2) further reinforce the 
EU’s  position  in  market  segments  where  it  needs  to  maintain  current  strengths,  such  as 
automotive and industrial manufacturing. 

In  addition,  as  proposed  during  the  consultation  process,  Member  States  can  put  in  place  a 
number of reforms and investments: 

-  National policies to stimulate domestic chip design capabilities and to attract foreign 
design  companies  would  support  demand  creation  for  advanced  EU  semiconductor 
manufacturing capacities. 

-  National  policies  to  leverage  trusted  electronics  including,  as  necessary,  standards, 
certification  and  common  requirements  for  secure  chips, 
iincluding  security 
requirements and related performance-based specifications in public tenders (e.g., for 
communications  networks  or  data  infrastructures),  could  serve  as  a  means  to  create 
markets for semiconductor products. 

-  Lastly, stronger foreign direct investment policy instruments dealing with attempts by 
companies  from  other  parts  of  the  world  to  acquire  EU  semiconductor  companies 
would help keep intellectual property in Europe.  

3.3.3.  Edge/cloud 

-  Target: “10,000 climate-neutral87 highly secure edge nodes are deployed in the EU, 
distributed in a way that will guarantee access to data services with low latency (few 
milliseconds) wherever businesses are located” 

-  Baseline (2020): 0 

85 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/alliance-processors-and-semiconductor-technologies 
86 https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/joint-declaration-processors-and-semiconductor-
technologies  
87 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/green-cloud  

36 

 
                                                 
-  Source: Annual study on edge deployment under CEF2 (as of 2022); European 

industrial technology roadmap for the next generation cloud-edge offering of 7 May 
202188 

-  What is the rationale for the set target value? 

Globally  and  in  Europe,  the  volume  of  generated  data  is  greatly  increasing  and  a  growing 
proportion  of  data  is  being  processed  at  the  edge,  moving  from  the  traditional  centralised 
model  of  data  processing  to  a  highly  distributed  one  89.  In  this  context,  the  edge  market  is 
maturing.  There  is  currently  no  data  available  on  edge  deployment  across  Member  States. 
Industry players are mainly in testing and piloting phase.  

The target of 10 000 edge nodes has been chosen to ensure an edge node density that would 
allow for an optimal coverage across the EU territory, including in less populated areas90. It 
will also boost Europe’s global leadership in this technology, while other parts in the world 
are moving quickly91. The target has been developed by following a similar model to mobile 
network deployment. It draws on the findings of the European industrial technology roadmap 
for  the  next  generation  cloud-edge  offering92  elaborated  by  27  European  digital  industry 
representatives,  including  telecommunication,  edge  and  cloud  providers.  The  European 
technology roadmap estimates that by 2030, 300 Near Edge nodes and 14.000 Far Edge nodes 
(including 9 000 near premise nodes) could be deployed. 

The target is closely related to the objective of the European strategy for data93 that aims to 
equip Europe with trusted, secure, interoperable and resource-efficient cloud to edge services 
and  infrastructure.  Contrary  to  the  cloud  computing  market,  there  is  currently  no  dominant 
player  or  market  for  edge  nodes.  Europe  has  key  industrial  strengths  to  build  upon,  and  an 
accelerated  deployment  programme  for  edge  nodes  will  also  put  Europe  ahead  of  other 
regions in this new type of data processing that will become mainstream94. 

The achievement of the target is expected to deliver a sufficient density of edge nodes across 
the European territory to provide the processing capacity and low latency required to enable 
the most innovative use cases (few milliseconds). It will support the achievement of a cloud- 
edge continuum, enabling a seamless experience for users across EU territory.  

An  increased  density  of  central-cloud  and  edge  facilities  is  required  for  the  deployment  of 
innovative  middleware  and  cloud  to  edge  services,  which  will  be  supported  by  EU 
programmes  like  the  Digital  Europe  Programme.  Applications  that  were  inviable  or 
impractical  to  deploy  on  the  cloud  because  of  low  latency  requirements  (e.g.,  connected 
mobility),  high  bandwidth  requirements  coupled  with  the  need  to  process  high  volumes  of 

88 European industrial technology roadmap for the next generation cloud-edge offering, 7 May 2021, available 
at: https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/repository/document/2021-
18/European_CloudEdge_Technology_Investment_Roadmap_for_publication_pMdz85DSw6nqPppq8hE9S9Rb
B8_76223.pdf  
89 European Commission, SWD(2021) 352 final Strategic dependencies and capacities 
90 In practice, it can be expected that in rural areas there will be little investments, while in industrial areas and 
commercial areas, there will be a way higher density (hundreds of edge nodes). 
91 Gorkem Yigit, Edge computing: operator strategies, use cases and implementation, July 2020.  
92 European industrial technology roadmap for the next generation cloud-edge offering, 7 May 2021 
93https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1593073685620&uri=CELEX:52020DC0066 
94 European Commission, SWD(2021) 352 final Strategic dependencies and capacities; IDC (2019), The 
Technology Impacts of Edge Computing in Europe 

37 

 
                                                 
data (e.g., video analytics) or data sovereignty and security requirements (e.g., decentralised 
processing of sensitive personal data) will be enabled by edge computing.  

Furthermore,  cutting-edge  climate-neutral,  highly  energy-efficient  and  sustainable  edge 
nodes  will  deliver  the  efficient  infrastructures  for  data  storage  and  processing  and  position 
Europe as a leader on the path towards reaching climate-neutral data centres by 203095. The 
increased number of edge nodes will inevitably increase energy consumption: By 2025, edge 
data centres are expected to account for 12% of the energy consumption of data centres in the 
EU2896.  On  the  other  hand,  the  distributed  nature  of  edge  cloud  infrastructure  can  enable  a 
smarter distribution of data across the network, and hence lead to energy savings compared to 
other alternatives. 

A  key  challenge  for  the  achievement  of  the  target  will  be  to  define  and  monitor  the 
deployment  of  different  types  of  edge  nodes  so  as  to  adequately  answer  to  users’  needs  in 
terms of the processing capacity and latency across EU territory. According to the European 
industrial technology roadmap97, the total of required edge node capacity (near and far edge) 
would represent around 550 MW for the whole of the EU and deliver a latency of less than 5 
milliseconds  anywhere  in  the  Union  by  202598.  These  objectives  can  be  achieved  by 
deploying  a  capillary  network  of  ‘public  edge  data  centres’  across  the  territory  of  the  EU, 
which will combine the benefits of proximity and ultralow latency of on-premise IT-systems 
with  the  flexibility  and  scalability  of  public  cloud.  This  opens  the  door  to  much  higher 
efficiency  in  terms  of  energy  and  resource  consumption,  and  will  unlock  a  myriad  of  use 
cases, e.g., related to the Internet of Things, digitisation of industry and Augmented Reality, 
also in regions of the EU that were previously unable to benefit from these technologies. 

-  What are the baselines and current trends? 

The estimated target considers the rollout of Near Edge99 and Far Edge100 nodes, as well as 
on premise or near premise and cell site edge nodes101. This is to take into account the fact 
that the deployment of edge nodes can follow different models. The edge rollout that uses the 
telco network for edge connectivity will move from the Near Edge to the Far Edge in a Cloud 
to Edge approach. Alternatively, other edge providers may start with an on-premise (private) 
or  near-premise  edge  rollout,  following  an  Edge  to  Cloud  rollout  approach,  starting  very 
close to the customer102. 

95 European Commission, SWD(2020) 67 final, Shaping Europe’s digital future.  
96 Energy-efficient Cloud Computing Technologies and Policies for an Eco-friendly Cloud Market (2020): 
https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/energy-efficient-cloud-computing-technologies-and-policies-eco-
friendly-cloud-market  
97 European industrial technology roadmap for the next generation cloud-edge offering, 7 May 2021, 
https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/repository/document/2021-
18/European_CloudEdge_Technology_Investment_Roadmap_for_publication_pMdz85DSw6nqPppq8hE9S9Rb
B8_76223.pdf  
98 It will also require cloud data centre capacity of 350 MW by 2025.  
99 Several hundred km from device 
100 Less than 100km from the device; a subset might be near-premise (less than 50 km) to cover hotspots  
101 Close to the device (0-5 km) 
102 European industrial technology roadmap for the next generation cloud-edge offering, 7 May 2021, 
https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/repository/document/2021-
18/European_CloudEdge_Technology_Investment_Roadmap_for_publication_pMdz85DSw6nqPppq8hE9S9Rb
B8_76223.pdf  

38 

 
                                                 
Figure 13: Different types of edge technology deployment and distance of edge data 
processing capacities from the end-user 

Source: European industrial technology roadmap for the next generation cloud-edge offering, 
7 May 2021. 

The density of edge nodes across the EU territory will depend on several factors, such as 
the level of technology maturity, the amount of public support, and the market reaction to the 
first deployment of edge nodes.  

Part of the deployment of edge nodes will be market driven, boosted by the development of 
the Internet of Things103, Artificial intelligence, enterprise and consumer use cases as well as 
5G roll-out104. Globally, edge infrastructure spending on compute and storage is expected to 
grow at a five-year Compound Annual Growth Rate of 18.9% to reach USD 33.3 billion by 
2024105. In a first stage, the deployment of near edge and on premise nodes could be sufficient 
to meet the demand. 

Under  a  Digital  Decade  scenario,  it  is  foreseen  that,  in  addition  to  the  market  demand,  the 
deployment of edge nodes will be boosted by key measures enabling for most innovative use 
cases across sectors and the EU territory. In addition to near edge (every 200-300 km) and on-
premise  nodes,  additional  investment  will  enable  a  higher  density  of  nodes  and  boost  the 
deployment  of  far  edge  nodes.  In  a  few  years,  an  exponential  raise  of  nodes,  stimulated  by 
demand and joint public-private investments, is expected.  

The Digital Decade scenario would require public funding, especially for those types of edge 
nodes that are mostly supply-driven (near and far edge). The most realistic and still ambitious 
investment scenario is a 50:50 private-public investment ratio over time, which could translate 
into  a  higher  public  ratio  in  the  first  years  of  deployment  to  pre-empt  market  demand, 

103 IDC estimates that the overall number of "connected" IoT devices worldwide will increase to over 35.2 
billion by 2023 and will reach almost 42 billion by 2025. See: IDC (2020), Worldwide Edge Compute and 
Storage Infrastructure Forecast, 2020–2024: Service Expansion Despite COVID-19 
104 Gorkem Yigit, Edge computing: operator strategies, use cases and implementation, July 2020 
105 IDC (2020), Worldwide Edge Compute and Storage Infrastructure Forecast, 2020–2024: Service Expansion 
Despite COVID-19 

39 

 
 
                                                 
decreasing  over  time.  This  assumption  builds  on  the  European  technology  roadmap  that 
foresees  a  30:70  private-public  ratio  during  the  first  two  years  (and  three  first  years  for  far 
edge), and a 50:50 private-public ratio onwards.  

The trend described below is based on first industry projections and mainly takes into account 
available data on the evolution of near and far edge nodes106.  

It is expected that the number of edge nodes will grow slowly in the next few years, taking 
into  account  the  time  for  deployment.  Vertical  use  cases  still  need  to  reach  maturity  and 
overcome  hurdles  such  as  the  complexity  of  deployment  in  heterogeneous  applications. 
Furthermore, while 5G rollouts are moving forward, they are following a staged approach that 
could take several years before deploying a high density of edge nodes107.  

Once the market will reach maturity, an exponential growth is expected, boosted by demand 
and joint public-private investment, before reaching market saturation.  

Edge node deployment

12000

10000

8000

6000

4000

2000

0

2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030

Figure 14: Number of deployed edge nodes (EU projection to 2030) 

Source: Commission services. 

-  What is needed to achieve the target? 

There is broad consensus among stakeholders that in order to achieve the target, a joint effort 
of EU, national and private investment will be required. According to first estimates, the total 
investment  amount  would  need  to  reach  at  least  6  billion  Euros  by  2025  (without 
connectivity)108. In line with the Member States Declaration on European Cloud109, the public 
sector  should  lead  by  example  using  innovation  procurement  investments  to  reinforce  the 
European  development  and  early  adoption  of  climate-neutral  secure  edge  nodes.  An 

106 European industrial technology roadmap for the next generation cloud-edge offering (2021) 
107 IDC (2020), Ibid.  
108 First industry estimates.  
109 Building the next generation cloud for businesses and the public sector in the EU: https://digital-
strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/towards-next-generation-cloud-europe  

40 

 
 
                                                 
investment channel for the deployment of edge nodes will be the national funding stemming 
from the national RRPs (Next GenerationEU), as well as possibly European Structural and 
Investment Funds.  

The  European  Alliance  for  Industrial  Data,  Edge  and  Cloud,  announced  in  the  updated 
EU industrial strategy110 and launched on 19 July 2021111, will leverage investment synergies 
for  joint  development  and  deployment  of  the  next  generation  of  European  cloud  and  edge 
technologies.  First,  by  contributing  to  stimulate  strategic  partnerships  between  different 
players of the edge  and  cloud  ecosystem (business  match-making), the Alliance  can help  to 
boost investments in edge nodes. Second, by establishing sectorial working groups dedicated 
to  cloud  and  edge  deployment,  including  for  sector-specific  use  cases  (e.g.,  for  the  defence 
sector), the Alliance will assist in identifying concrete investment areas matching the needs of 
key European user industries and the public sector. Third, the Alliance can create synergies 
with other national or industrial initiatives in the area of cloud and edge, such as the private 
initiative Gaia-X112, ensuring that its work will be connected to global market developments.  

In the European strategy for data113, the Commission announced the development of an  EU 
Cloud Rulebook. The EU Cloud Rulebook will compile all existing binding and non-binding 
rules,  codes  of  conduct,  certification  schemes  and  standards  applicable  to  cloud  and  edge 
services.  It  will  ensure  that  the  next-generation  European  disruptive  and  distributed 
computing  technologies  will  comply  with  key  European  rules,  norms  and  standards. 
Furthermore, the EU Cloud Rulebook will be translated into common European standards and 
requirements  for  the  public  procurement  of  data  processing  services.  This  policy  action 
should facilitate procurement of trustworthy cloud and edge services by EU, national, regional 
and  local  authorities  for  improving  the  delivery  of  public  services  to  EU  citizens  and 
businesses. 

Eleven  Member  States  are  currently  working,  as  part  of  the  “European  Common  Data 
Infrastructure  and  Services”  Multi-Country  Project,  on  delivering  the  next  generation 
cloud and edge infrastructure and services, which may take the form of an Important Project 
of Common European  Interest  (IPCEI)114. Such an  IPCEI  could  eventually support some of 
the  first  industrial  development  of  next  generation  climate-neutral  and  highly  secure  edge 
nodes.  It  could  also  help  to  support  a  higher  cloud  and  edge  uptake  among  companies  and 
public entities as positive externalities.  

Furthermore, edge nodes will be stimulated by measures to support the deployment of specific 
use cases, such as 5G for vertical industry applications. In the context of the Multi-Country 
Project “Pan-European deployment of 5G corridors and Connected and Automated Mobility”, 
the EU programme Connecting Europe Facility 2 and the RRF will co-finance edge nodes 
as part of the 5G infrastructure. It is currently difficult to estimate precisely how many edge 
nodes  could  be  deployed  as  part  of  this  MCP,  as  it  will  depend  on  the  chosen  approach  by 

110 Communication from the Commission, Updating the 2020 New Industrial Strategy: Building a stronger 
Single Market for Europe’s recovery, 5.5.2021, COM(2021) 350 final 
111 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/cloud-alliance  
112 https://www.gaia-x.eu/.The Gaia-X initiative aims at building a federated data infrastructure on the basis of 
interoperability. The European Commission has no formal relationship with the Gaia-X initiative. 
113 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and 
Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions A European strategy for data, COM(2020) 66 final 
114 https://www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/EN/Artikel/Industry/ipcei-cis.html  

41 

 
                                                 
industry115.  Depending  on  the  chosen  scenario  (“cloud  to  edge”  or  “edge  to  cloud”),  the 
deployment could range from one edge node every 200-300 km to every 50-60 km, and reach 
a total varying between 100 and 1000 nodes (along highways) across the EU by 2030.  

The  European  Alliance  for  Industrial  Data,  Edge  and  Cloud  should  help  to  ensure 
consistency  across  the  different  funding  instruments  and  investment  tools  mentioned  above, 
and avoid a fragmented approach in different Member States. To bring this into practice, the 
Alliance will gather a wide range of stakeholders relevant to the data processing value chain 
to leverage investment synergies, for instance by developing detailed strategic technology and 
investment roadmaps on cloud and edge. 

3.3.4.  Quantum computing 

-  Target: “By 2025, Europe will have its  first computer with quantum acceleration 
paving  the  way  for  Europe  to  be  at  the  cutting  edge  of  quantum  capabilities  by 
2030.“ 

-  Baseline (2020): 0 

-  Source:  Monitoring  carried  out  by  the  Quantum  Technologies  Flagship’s  Strategic 

Advisory Board 

-  What is the rationale for the set target value? 

During  the  Digital  Decade,  a  whole  generation  of  new  quantum  technologies  will  emerge, 
with  a  far-reaching  impact  on  many  activities  of  Europe’s  economy  and  society.  The  first 
devices, in the form of experimental physical platforms or advanced simulators, are already in 
use, and researchers are now starting to build pilot quantum computers to act as accelerators 
interconnected  with  supercomputers,  forming  “hybrid”  machines  that  blend  the  best  of 
quantum and classical computing technologies. Throughout the consultation process, experts 
highlighted  the  importance  of  the  quantum  computing  target  for  facilitating  unprecedented 
developments and findings in  complex fields of research (e.g., climate change, health, brain 
science,  biology,  sustainable  energy,  materials,  etc.)  and  industrial  development  (e.g., 
simulation sciences, data analytics, AI, digital twins, etc.). 

Based  on  the  progress  made  so  far,  a  fully  programmable  machine  of  this  kind  should  be 
available  in  Europe  by  2025,  capable  of  simulating  problems  with  an  accuracy  and/or 
complexity  beyond  the  capabilities  of  classical  computers.  Several  EU  start-ups  and  SMEs, 
some  of  them  beneficiaries  of  Horizon  2020  projects  under  the  first  phase  of  the  Quantum 
Technologies  Flagship116,  are  already  offering  first  prototypes  of  functional  quantum 
computers capable of solving specific problems. They are investing in the further maturing of 
those  quantum  computers,  with  the  support  of  European  and  national  funding  programmes, 
but also first investments from private donors, aiming for the commercialisation of quantum 
computers  showing  quantum  advantage  (i.e.,  the  ability  to  solve  problems  that  a  classical 
computer cannot realistically solve).  

115 There are two possible trends in the industry on the deployment model for 5G corridors: either to have the 
edge nodes as close as possible to the road premises to satisfy the short latency criteria, or maximize efficiencies 
by not going too close to the premises. See also: https://bscw.5g-
ppp.eu/pub/bscw.cgi/d397473/EdgeComputingFor5GNetworks.pdf 
116 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_18_6205 

42 

 
                                                 
-  What are the baselines and current trends? 

European  quantum  computing  research  already  has  an  excellent  track  record.  In  less  than 
three years, the work of the Quantum Technologies Flagship has led to advances in quantum 
computing  towards  higher  levels  of  technology-readiness,  enabling  researchers  to  start 
building experimental machines and addressing optimisation problems117. Across Europe, but 
also  world-wide,  large  and  small  businesses  are  showing  increasing  interest  in  quantum 
technologies, and are experimenting with first practical use cases, while venture capitalists are 
also increasingly investing in the technology. 

Quantum is also a key area for start-up and SME growth, and currently the EU hosts over 50 
quantum  start-ups.  This  number  is  likely  to  increase  significantly  in  the  coming  years,  with 
several  Member  States  putting  in  place  extensive  support  programmes  for  start-ups  in  the 
domain.  These  activities  will  help  Europe’s  nascent  quantum  computing  industry  further 
develop  its  technological  and  engineering  capabilities  and  build  a  full  software  and 
applications  ecosystem,  most  probably  providing  multiple  quantum  computing  accelerator 
technologies in Europe by 2025.  

It is then expected that ongoing European but also worldwide efforts would make it possible 
to achieve, around the end of this decade, free-standing quantum computers showing quantum 
advantage with real-world applications118. Such computers are expected to comprise of a full 
stack,  highly  connected,  high  fidelity  quantum  computing  engine  of  at  least  one  thousand 
physical  qubits,  exhibiting  scalable  performance  and  the  capability  to  out-perform  classical 
computers on relevant real-world use-cases,. This will provide quantum advantage in several 
fields  such  as  molecular  biology,  logistics,  new  materials  discovery,  process  optimisation, 
machine learning, finance and inventory management. 

-  What is needed to achieve the target? 

The  Quantum  Technologies  Flagship  was  launched  in  2018  under  Horizon  2020,  and  it 
receives continued support under Horizon Europe to reach its overarching goal of enabling the 
transformation of European research into commercial applications that would make full use of 
the  disruptive  potential  of  quantum.  The  Flagship  is  a  central  element  of  the  Commission’s 
ambitions  to  foster  a  world-leading  quantum  ecosystem  in  Europe,  covering  quantum 
computing and simulation but also quantum sensing and quantum communication. 

The  first  European  experimental  quantum  computing  platforms  (based  on  superconducting 
qubits, trapped ions qubits, and semiconductors-based qubits) resulting from the Flagship, are 
becoming  ready  for  concept  validation  and  trial  applications119.  The  latter  is  already 
happening,  as  the  EuroHPC  Joint  Undertaking120  has  launched  in  2020  the  installation  in  a 
supercomputing  centre  of  a  quantum  simulator,  which  should  be  accessible  to  users  for 

117 https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/dae/document.cfm?doc_id=70073 
118 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/new-strategic-research-agenda-quantum-technologies 
119 See https://qt.eu/about-quantum-flagship/projects/?areas%5B%5D=computing for a full list of these projects 
and details about them. 
120 The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (. https://eurohpc-ju.europa.eu/, https://digital-
strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/high-performance-computing-joint-undertaking) was created with the goal of 
enabling the EU and participating countries to pool their resources in order to deployworld-class high 
performance computing, quantum computing and data infrastructure in Europe. Its budget for the period 2021-
2033 is in the order of € EUR 7 billion. In July 2021, an updated Regulation on the Joint Undertaking covering 
its mission and budget for 2021-2033 was adopted (Regulation (EU) 2021/1173). 

43 

 
                                                 
experimental  pilots  in  2022-2023.  In  addition,  it  is  expected  that  in  2021  and  2022,  the 
EuroHPC Joint Undertaking will launch dedicated calls for the development and deployment 
of  advanced  quantum  computers 
into  high-performance 
that  will  be 
supercomputers.  This  will  allow  European  players  to  further  mature  the  systems,  test  them 
under  real-life  conditions,  and  make  them  available  to  a  growing  number  of  scientific, 
industrial and public-sector users.  

integrated 

In  addition,  European  industry  has  recently  launched  the  Quantum  Industry  Consortium  to 
foster the interests of Europe’s industrial players in quantum.121  

Joint  action,  investment  and  coordination  at  European  and  national  level  will  be  needed  to 
achieve these goals as well as co-investment by Member States and matching investments in 
large-scale national and regional R&I activities. Several Member States have already in place 
ambitious  national  quantum  programs,  with  similar  goals  –  examples  include  Germany, 
France, the Netherlands, Austria, and Denmark, among others.  

Public procurements of innovative quantum computing technology at national level, including 
through the Resilience and Recovery Facility (RRF) and the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking are 
expected to contribute to having in the Union, around the end of this decade, a first prototype 
of free-standing quantum computer showing quantum advantage. 

Investments  in  quantum  research  and  infrastructure  must  be  complemented  by  initiatives  in 
skills  and  training  (supported  by  the  Digital  Europe  programme)  to  ensure  that  Europe’s 
workforce is able to meet the challenges of the quantum revolution. 

3.4.  Digital transformation of business 

3.4.1.  Take up of digital technologies 

-  Target:  “75%  of  European  enterprises  have  taken  up:  Cloud  computing  services, 

Big data, and Artificial Intelligence” 

-  Source: Eurostat, IPSOS 

3.4.1.1.  Cloud computing services 

-  Target: 75% of European enterprises have taken up Cloud computing services 

-  Baseline (2020): 26% for medium-high sophistication cloud services (“advanced”) 

-  Source: Eurostat 

-  What is the rationale for the set target value? 

In  2020,  26%  of  EU  companies  used  advanced  cloud  services122.  The  take-up  of  advanced 
cloud services for large enterprises (48%) is well above that of SMEs (25%). Reaching 75% 

121 https://qt.eu/about-quantum-flagship/the-quantum-flagship-community/quic/  
122 I.e., hosting of the enterprise's database, accounting software applications, Customer Relations Management 
software and computing power. 

44 

 
                                                 
adoption of advanced cloud services by businesses across sectors will enable the EU to match 
the growth in cloud uptake with its global trade partners, in particular the US. 

Different  surveys  suggest  that the uptake of (all) cloud  services is  rising  fast  in  the US  and 
could  reach  60  to  80%  in  2022123.  Some  surveys  suggest  that  the  figure  could  be  close  to 
100% for medium and large companies in the US124, with more than half of these companies 
operating  on  the  cloud.  According  to  the  IDC  Cloud  Pulse,  58%  of  large  companies 
worldwide have deployed production applications in a cloud setting125. In the US, the trend is 
also  shifting  for  small  and  medium  enterprises,  where  the  uptake  has  been  historically  low, 
announcing a rapid growth well beyond 50%126. 

In  the  aftermath  of  the  COVID-19  crisis,  a  high  adoption  rate  of  basic  and  advanced  cloud 
services  will  continue  to  be  essential  for  the  resilience  and  competitiveness  of  European 
businesses driving agility and innovation. 

-  What are the baselines and current trends? 

The economic imperative for the adoption of cloud solutions will continue to grow worldwide 
in  the  next  years127.  According  to  Deloitte  (2020),  revenue  growth  will  remain  at  or  above 
2019 levels for 2021 through 2025128. The rapid advance in technologies such as 5G, Internet 
of Things (IoT), big data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) will call 
for the deployment of cloud and edge solutions across sectors and workloads.  

Taking  as  a  baseline  the  conservative  figure  of  26%  of  adoption  rate  of  advanced  cloud 
services,  even  if  the  high  growth  rate  in  2020  would  continue  linearly  until  2030,  cloud 
adoption  by  businesses  would  remain  significantly  below  the  projected  cloud  adoption  of 
main EU trading partners129. To reach 75% of cloud adoption, it is assumed that there will be 
an average annual growth rate of at least 11.4% (for advanced cloud services) over the period 
from 2020 to 2030 and that the projected growth path will follow that of a standard S-curve 
for  technology  diffusion.  After  initially  progressing  more  slowly  up  to  2020,  the  take  up  is 
expected to accelerate over the period from 2021 to 2024 as more firms adopt cloud solutions, 
before gradually decelerating until 2030 as higher rates of diffusion are reached.  

Currently,  cloud  and  edge  penetration  remains  unevenly  distributed  in  Europe  compared  to 
other economies in the world and rises slowly due to the lack of a cloud offering adapted to 
sector  specific  needs.  In  particular,  sectors  such  as  manufacturing,  mobility,  energy, 
healthcare, public administration, and aerospace require highly tailored services due to  their 
need to process highly sensitive data in strict compliance with sectoral legislation. Today, for 

123 https://www.infoworld.com/article/3561329/the-state-of-cloud-computing-in-2020.html ; 
https://www.oreilly.com/radar/cloud-adoption-in-2020/  
124 Deloitte, Data modernization and the cloud, 2019 
125 IDC Cloud Pulse: Worldwide Enterprise Cloud Management Survey Insights, August 2020, By: Mary 
Johnston Turner, Research Vice President, Future of Digital Infrastructure, Michelle Bailey, Sean Riley 
126 IDC, U.S. Small and Medium-Sized Business: The State of Cloud Adoption, 2020 
127 Deloitte, The cloud migration forecast: Cloudy with a chance of clouds, 2020 
128 Deloitte, The cloud migration forecast: Cloudy with a chance of clouds, 2020 
129 Deloitte, Europe’s Digital Decade and the RRF Gap Analysis (2021): The study predicts that it would reach 
40% in 2030 with a linear growth.  

45 

 
                                                 
regulatory reasons, companies from specific sectors might refrain to put certain workloads to 
the cloud130. 

As of 2020, cloud adoption in the EU is the highest in Finland, Sweden and Denmark, where 
the  majority  of  enterprises  rely  on  such  services,  and  the  lowest  in  Poland,  Romania  and 
Bulgaria . 

Figure 15: Cloud uptake (% of enterprises) by Member State, 2030 

Source: Eurostat, Community survey on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises. Data for 
Greece is not available. 

Under a Business as usual scenario, the uptake of cloud solutions will continue to be driven 
by  sectors  that  are  already  most  advanced  in  their  digital  transformation  and  satisfied  with 
existing one-size-fits-all cloud offering of hyperscalers131. The market will become saturated, 
while many European firms will limit their adoption of such services, hampering their long-
term competitiveness.  

Under  the  Digital  Decade  scenario,  European  industry  across  sectors  will  find  solutions  to 
meet  sectoral  and security  needs.  A key  differentiator will be the availability of  an offering 
that meets the requirements for processing sensitive personal data or highly sensitive business 
and public sector data, guaranteeing high compliance with sectoral legislation.  

The  below  projection  assumes  an  S-curve,  built  on  historical  data,  which  is  widely  used  to 
describe technology life cycles.  

130 Deloitte, Data modernization and the cloud, (2019) 
131 The top four global leaders on the public cloud infrastructure market – often referred to as hyperscalers – are 
Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and Alibaba Cloud. They will account for over 
80%  of  global  revenues 
to  Gartner:  https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-
releases/2020-08-10-gartner-says-worldwide-iaas-public-cloudservices-market-grew-37-point-3-percent-in-2019  

in  2021  according 

46 

 
 
                                                 
Figure 16: Percentage of European enterprises using cloud computing services (EU 
projection to 2030) 

Source: Commission services based on data from Eurostat. 

-  What is needed to achieve the target? 

Boosting  cloud  uptake  will  depend  on  both  supply-side  and  demand-side  measures.  On  the 
supply side, the EU will make funding available to boost public-private investments in a next 
generation  cloud  and  edge  offering  meeting  industry  and  public  sector  needs  through 
targeted EU programmes (DEP, CEF2, HE).  

In July 2021, the Commission kick-started the European Alliance for Industrial Data, Edge 
and Cloud132. This Alliance, bringing together key European stakeholders from industry and 
the public sector, will leverage investment synergies at European and national level (e.g., RRF 
Scale-Up  Flagship133)  as  well  as  investments  planned  by  EU  industrial  actors,  including 
between  industrial  actors  themselves.  For  instance,  by  developing  strategic  technology  and 
investment  roadmaps  on  cloud  and  edge,  the  Alliance  can  provide  expertise  to  ensure  that 
European public and/or private investments in cloud and edge will proceed in a strategic and 
streamlined manner to foster trusted EU cloud and edge capacities adapted to the needs of EU 
businesses and the public sector.  

The  “European  Common  Data  Infrastructure  and  Service”  Multi-Country  Project,  of 
which  one  part  may  take  the  form  of  a  possible  Important  Project  of  Common  European 
Interest  (IPCEI)  on  Next  Generation  Cloud  and  Edge  Infrastructure  and  Services134,  will 
contribute to support a higher cloud and edge uptake among companies and public entities as 
positive  externalities  by  delivering  a  trusted  EU  cloud  offering.  Strategic  linkages  might  be 
created  with  other  EU  initiatives,  such  as  the  5G  Infrastructure  Public-Private  Partnership 

132 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/cloud-alliance  
133 Example of component of reforms and investments – Digital components and cloud capabilities: 
https://ec.europa.eu/info/files/examples-component-reforms-and-investment-scale_en  
134 See official website of the on-going IPCEI on Next Generation Cloud Infrastructure and Services: 
https://www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/EN/Artikel/Industry/ipcei-cis.html 

47 

 
 
                                                 
(5G-PPP) and the Joint Undertaking on Smart Networks and Services towards 6G (SNS JU), 
to build the next generation data processing infrastructure.  

On the demand side, the Digital Europe Programme will provide support to businesses for 
the take up of advanced digital technologies such as cloud, in particular through the network 
of European Digital Innovation Hubs (see Section 3.4.2) .  Furthermore, as announced in the 
European strategy for data, the Commission also intends to enhance legal certainty for the use 
of  cloud  services  in  compliance  with  key  EU  rules  and  norms135.  In  particular,  the 
Commission  intends  to  publish  an  EU  Cloud  Rulebook  (Q2,  2022),  which  will  serve  as  a 
reference for services offered on the future EU online cloud marketplace fit for the needs of 
businesses, including SMEs and start-ups, and the public sector (Q4, 2022). The Commission 
also  intends  to  boost  the  uptake  of  cloud  services  in  the  public  sector  by  facilitating  the 
development  of  common  European  specifications  for  the  public  procurement  of  data 
processing services.  

In order to accelerate the adoption rate of advanced cloud services, additional supply-side and 
demand-side measures could  be required at  national  level,  in particular targeting SMEs. An 
investment  channel  for  accelerating  the  digital  transformation  of  SMEs  through  cloud 
adoption  will  be  the  funding  stemming  from  the  national  RRPs  (Next  GenerationEU),  for 
instance  to  provide  both  technical  and  financial  assistance  to  support  the  cloudification  of 
internal IT systems and processes136.  

3.4.1.2.  Big data 

-  Target: 75% of European enterprises have taken up Big data 

-  Baseline (2020): 14% 

-  Source: Eurostat 

-  What is the rationale for the set target value? 

The possibility of extracting information from data through advanced data analytics technique 
will  be  essential  for  the  competitiveness  of  Europe's  economy.  Reaching  75%  adoption  of 
advanced big data analytics by businesses across sectors will enable European companies to 
match the growth in data uptake at global level and fully exploit the rich new ways to explore 
and  interpret  data  using  Artificial  Intelligence,  Natural  Language  Processing  and  eXtended 
Reality technologies. In a recent study by McKinsey, 93% of surveyed EU executives believe 
that better access to data would be important to their organisation (with approximately  40% 
designating  this  as  very  important)137.  Research  by  the  Organization  for  Economic 
Cooperation  and  Development  (OECD)  suggests  that  companies  that  invest  in  data-driven 

135 Examples of currently enforceable legal acts and binding requirements for cloud services are the General Data 
Protection Regulation, the Network Information System Security Directive. Examples of non-regulatory codes of 
conduct and certification schemes for cloud services are the SWIPO data portability Codes of Conduct, Cloud 
Infrastructure Service Providers in Europe and the EU Cloud Code of Conduct, as well as the future European 
Cybersecurity Certification for cloud services. 
136 Example of component of reforms and investments – Digital components and cloud capabilities: 
https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/examples_of_component_of_reforms_and_investment_scale_up_en.p
df  
137 McKinsey. Shaping the digital transformation in Europe, September 2020. 

48 

 
                                                 
innovation  and  data  analytics  exhibit  faster  productivity  growth  than  those  that  do  not  by 
approximately 5% to 10%138.  

The  combined  efforts  of  the  European  data  and  AI  strategies139  to  drastically  increase  the 
availability and take-up of data and AI resources, while providing the required level of trust 
and  certainty  to  innovators,  are  expected  to  contribute  to  the  growth  of  both  Data  and  AI 
fields, which are very interdependent. 

-  What are the baselines and current trends? 

Over  the  last  four  years,  uptake  has  increased  by  an  annual  average  of  9.3%.  Application 
areas  for  big  data  and  big  data  analytics  can  be  found  in  all  sectors,  their  take-up  is  a 
horizontal  trend140.  Demand  for  big  data  analytics  can  be  expected  to  increase  further  as 
policy initiatives address  issues that prevent  companies from  tapping into the value of data. 
The trend is towards big data technologies that are inherently safe, secure, resilient; support 
interoperability, privacy preservation, transparency, traceability, and low energy and resource 
footprints;  and  comply  with  various  societal,  legal  and  ethical  requirements.  This  trend  is   
informed  by  the  more  and  more  frequent  use  of  data  for  the  development  of  artificial 
intelligence solutions that affect practically all aspects of the professional and private life of 
citizens. 

Looking at the Member States, enterprises in Malta, the Netherlands and Denmark have the 
highest adoption rates (above 25%), while Romania, Slovakia and Cyprus record the lowest 
figures (5-6%). 

138 OECD (2015). Data-driven innovation: big data for growth and well-being, OECD Publishing, Paris.  
139 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the 
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Fostering a European approach 
to Artificial Intelligence, COM(2021) 205 final, and Communication from the Commission to the European 
Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions A 
European strategy for data, COM(2020) 66 final. 
140 European Commission, Business Innovation Observatory (2013). Big Data Analytics & Decision Making, 
Case study 8. 

49 

 
 
 
                                                 
Figure 17: Big data uptake (% of enterprises) by Member State 

Source: Eurostat, Community survey on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises. 

In order to achieve the 2030 target, an average annual growth rate of 18% is assumed over the 
period from 2020 to 2030. The projected growth path is assumed to follow that of a standard 
S-curve for technology diffusion. After initially progressing more slowly up to 2020, take up 
is expected to accelerate significantly over the period from 2021 to 2024 as more firms adopt 
Big Data, before gradually decelerating over the period up to 2030 as higher rates of diffusion 
are reached and the target rate of 75% is approached.  

The below projection assumes an S-curve, built on the historical data, which is widely used to 
describe technology life cycles. 

Figure 18: Percentage of European enterprises using big data (EU projection to 2030) 

Source: Commission services based on data from Eurostat. 

-  What is needed to achieve the target? 

Stakeholders across sectors emphasize the need for coordinated investment to create common 
European data spaces in strategic sectors. They expect these spaces to foster an ecosystem of 
companies, civil society and individuals that provides easy and secure access to shared data. 
Companies and others could then use this data to create new products and services, optimise 
supply chains and simplify admminisitration.  

The Commission has announced in the Communication “A European Strategy for data”141 a 
number of initiatives aiming at promoting the access and use of data. The Data Governance 
Act142 and the upcoming Data Act will enhance trust and fairness, and encourage businesses 
to  move  to  the  data  economy.  Moreover,  the  network  of  European  Digital  Innovation  Hubs 

141 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/strategy-data  
142 Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on European data governance (Data 
Governance Act) COM(2020) 767 final 

50 

 
 
                                                 
(see Section 3.4.2) will play a role in meeting the target by supporting SMEs in using data to 
improve their business processes. 

Furthermore,  Member  States  will  need  to  make  complementary  investments  in  data  spaces 
and reforms to support and encourage the uptake of Big Data. 

3.4.1.3.  Artifical Intelligence 

-  Target: 75% of European enterprises have taken up Artificial Intelligence 

-  Baseline (2020): 25% 

-  Source: IPSOS143 

-  What is the rationale for the set target value? 

Artificial  intelligence  (AI)  is  an  area  of  strategic  importance  in  all  domains,  from  precision 
farming in agriculture, more accurate medical diagnosis to safe autonomous driving and a key 
driver of economic development in Europe. However, in 2020, only 7% of enterprises in the 
EU 144 used AI applications. The successful uptake of AI technologies also has the potential to 
accelerate Europe’s economic growth and global competitiveness145. AI systems and the new 
business models they enable are progressively developing to at-scale deployment. 

The target for AI is to reach an uptake of AI technologies by 75% of businesses in the EU by 
2030. This reflects the general purpose character of AI, which can be used across the  entire 
economy and is accessible to SMEs as well as large companies. The current figure by IPSOS 
is a uptake of AI technologies of 25% (2020146). While the target is very ambitious, given also 
the  low  baseline,  it  can  be  achieved  if  overall  economic  growth  is  sufficiently  strong  and 
adequate policies are pursued, including after the end of the current policy cycle. 

-  What are the baselines and current trends? 

2020 is the first year of available data for this indicator, therefore it is difficult to explain with 
certainty  the  trends.  However,  as  with  Cloud,  AI  can  be  assumed  to  have  expanded  rapidly 
over the last few years (as also confirmed by other data sources on the investments and uptake 
of AI technologies147). Additionally, since AI builds on other digital enablers such as Cloud 
and Big Data, it can leverage investments in those areas too. 

143 The source for this indicator is currently IPSOS, but it will change to Eurostat starting 2022. This may have 
an effect on the methodology, the current indicator value and, therefore, the trajectory to the target value for 
2030. 
144 Based on Eurostat figures https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/ddn-20210413-1 
(enterprise in this context if at least 10 people are employed) 
145 According to McKinsey, the cumulative additional GDP contribution of new digital technologies could 
amount to €2.2 trillion in the EU by 2030, a 14.1% increase from 2017, McKinsey, Shaping the Digital 
Transformation in Europe, 2020). 
146 European enterprise survey on the use of technologies based on artificial intelligence, IPSOS, 2020. 
147 Other indicators may serve to a limited extent as a proxy for the uptake of AI: notably, in the past 10 years, 
the rising number of AI patents and AI start-ups, and increased venture capital investment, also in specific 
sectors such as health or transport. These data have been analysed by the AI Watch, cf. JRC Science for Policy 
Brief “EU in the global Artificial Intelligence landscape”, forthcoming. An analysis of AI uptake in the health 

51 

 
                                                 
 
In  2020,  AI  adoption  by  enterprises  stood  at  25%  in  the  EU,  with  national  figures  ranging 
between 14% in Ireland and 40% in Czechia. 

Figure 19: AI uptake (% of enterprises) by Member State, 2020  

Source: IPSOS. Data for Cyprus and Malta is not available. 

To reach the target would require an average annual growth rate of 11.7% between 2020 and 
2030.  Take  up  is  expected  to  accelerate  over  the  period  from  2023  to  2026  as  more  firms 
adopt AI, before gradually decelerating over the period up to 2030 as higher rates of diffusion 
are  reached.  The  set  of  measures  being  rolled  out  by  the  Commission,  as  stated  in  the 
Coordinated  Plan  on  AI,  is  expected  to  support  this  growth  acceleration.  The  projection 
assumes an S-curve, built on the historical data, which is widely used to describe technology 
life cycles. 

Figure 20: Percentage of European enterprises using AI (EU projection to 2030)  

care and mobility sectors can be found in “AI Watch: AI Uptake in Health and Healthcare”, 2020, and “AI 
Watch: AI Uptake in Smart Mobility”, forthcoming. 

52 

 
 
 
                                                                                                                                                         
Source: Commission services based on data from IPSOS. 

-  What is needed to achieve the target? 

In  2018,  the  Commission  together  with  the  Member  States  adopted  a  Coordinated  Plan  on 
AI148. As a result of the actions agreed and facilitated by the Plan, most Member States have 
adopted  national  AI  strategies  and  started  to  implement  them.  Investments  in  AI  have 
increased  and  the  EU  has  been  able  to  mobilise  a  critical  pool  of  resources  to  support  the 
spread of AI in Europe. The Commission has published a review of the Coordinated Plan in 
2021,  putting  forward  a  concrete  set  of  joint  actions  for  the  European  Commission  and 
Member  States  on  how  to  create  EU  global  leadership  on  trustworthy  AI149.  To  further 
support the uptake of AI in Europe and facilitate trust in AI technologies, the Commission has 
also  proposed  in  April  2021  a  risk-based  horizontal  legislation  on  AI,  the  Artificial 
Intelligence  Act150.  This  proposal  sets  harmonised  rules  for  the  placing  on  the  market,  the 
putting into service and the use of artificial intelligence systems (‘AI systems’) in the Union, 
which are proportionate to the degree of risk AI systems are considered to present. The aim is 
to  provide  certainty  for  businesses  while  protecting  the  safety  and  fundamental  rights  of 
citizens and thus facilitate trust and wider uptake of AI technologies in the EU. 

There is broad support across stakeholder groups for the initiative to regulate AI at EU level. 
Member States have welcomed the Commission’s risk-based approach and see the proposal as 
an  important  step  towards  completing  the  single  market.  Business  stakeholders  agree  that 
access  to  the  digital  single  market  is  imperative  for  the  digital  transformation  of  businesses 
and  call  for  the  reinforcement,  simplicity  and  the  stability  of  framework  conditions.  Public 
administrations call for proper guidance for companies in the use of digital technologies and 
in the application of new regulations.  

the  Horizon  Europe151  and  Digital  Europe152  Programmes, 

Through 
the  European 
Commission will promote development and innovation in trustworthy AI and provide support 
to  businesses  for  the  take  up  of  advanced  digital  technologies,  specifically  AI.  The 
forthcoming actions are outlined in detail in the 2021 review of the Coordinated Plan153. For 
example,  measures  to  promote  a  European  Ecosystem  of  Excellence  for  AI  include  a  new 
public-private partnership in AI, data and robotics154 to drive and implement the R&I strategy, 
as well as to strengthen and link AI research excellence centres, aiming in particular to build 

148 Annex to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the 
Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Fostering a European 
approach to Artificial Intelligence, COM (2021) 205 final. 
149 Annex to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the 
Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Fostering a European 
approach to Artificial Intelligence, COM (2021) 205 final. 
150 Proposal for a regulation laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act) 
and amending certain Union legislative acts, COM(2021) 206 final 
151 https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-
open-calls/horizon-europe/cluster-4-digital-industry-and-space_en 
152 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/activities/digital-programme 
153 Sections 4 to 7 of the 2021 Review of the Coordinated Plan, specifically provide set of action related to 
promote ecosystem of excellence.  
154 European Public Private Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, Data and Robotics (ADRA), 2021. For an 
overview of the Partnership and more broadly funding and actions available under Cluster 4 of the Horizon 
Europe Programme, see e.g. Presentation Horizon Europe Info Day: Cluster 4: AI, Data and Robotics, July 21, 
2021. https://ai-data-robotics-partnership.eu/) 

53 

 
                                                 
bridges between stakeholders and increase the cooperation, integration and synergies between 
research teams and with industry.  

The Commission is also setting up AI testing and experimentation facilities (TEFs), a highly 
specialised  resource  to  be  shared  at  the  European  level,  to  support  bringing  innovative 
solutions to market, with a focus on high-impact sectors such as health, manufacturing, smart 
cities/communities and agriculture. Additionally, the Commission is scaling up the European 
AI-on-demand  platform,  which  aims  to  become  the  reference  European  marketplace  for  AI 
resources,  which  will  provide  easy  and  simple  access  to  AI  tools  for  local  distribution  by 
Digital Innovation Hubs or direct use by industry (especially SMEs) or the public sector. 

The planned extension of the network of European Digital Innovation Hubs, with a minimum 
of one hub per Member State focused on AI, will provide support services to SMEs to enable 
the digitisation of their businesses through the adoption of AI technologies. 

3.4.2.  Digital “late adopters” 

-  Target: “More than 90% of European SMEs reach at least a basic level of digital 

intensity” 

-  Baseline (2020): 60% 

-  Source: Eurostat 

-  What is the rationale for the set target value? 

The target  is  to  reach 90% of SMEs in  the EU with  at  least  basic digital  intensity by 2030. 
The  pre-COVID  current  figure  is  60%  (2020)  and  studies  show  that  there  has  been  an 
acceleration  of  between  5  to  7  years155.  Given  this  starting  position  and  recent  progress,  a 
target  of  90%  by  2030  is  ambitious,  yet  necessary  given  the  increased  policy  focus  on  and 
support for the digitalisation of SMEs. 

Stakeholders agree that the digital transformation of businesses, and SMEs in particular, will 
depend on their ability to adopt  to  new technologies  rapidly and across the board. Business 
stakeholders  emphasize  that  the  biggest  barriers  and  bottlenecks  to  achieve  this  target  are  a 
lack of resources and public funding, shortages in skilled labour, lack of infrastructure, lack of 
access  to  data  for  R&D,  and  the  fragmentation  of  laws  across  the  EU.  Public  Authority 
stakeholders point out that SMEs are struggling to implement digital solutions mostly due to a 
lack of knowledge and awareness of the possible benefits of digitalization. 

The  Digital  Intensity  Index  (DII)  measures  the  use  of  different  digital  technologies  at 
enterprise  level,  and  is  based  on  the  Community  survey  on  ICT  usage  and  e-commerce  in 
enterprises  carried  out  by  Eurostat.  The  DII  score  (0-12)  of  an  enterprise  is  determined  by 
counting how many of the selected digital technologies it uses. The figure below presents the 
composition  of  the  DII  in  2020,  and  shows  the  difference  in  answers  from  SMEs  and  large 
companies.  A  basic  level  of  digital  intensity  corresponds  to  a  situation  where  an  enterprise 
scores 4 or more.  

155 Gartner, October 2020 

54 

 
                                                 
Figure 21: Digital intensity by company size, 2020  

Source: Eurostat, Community survey on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises. 

-  What are the baselines and current trends? 

The starting position of the Digital Intensity Index for the EU as a whole is 60% (2020). For 
the projection of this index towards 2030 it is assumed that there will be an average annual 
growth rate of 4.1% over the period from 2020 to 2030 and that the projected growth path will 
follow that of a standard S-curve for technology diffusion.  

Figure 22: Percentage of SMEs with at least a basic level of digital intensity (EU projection 
to 2030) 

Source: Commission services based on data from Eurostat. 

55 

Enterprises where more than  50% of the persons employed used computers with access to the internet for business purposes94%76%Employ ICT specialists92%76%The maximum contracted download speed of the fastest fixed line internet connection is at least 30 Mb/s78%62%Provide more than 20% of the employed persons with a portable device that allows internet connection via mobile telephone networks, for business purposes56%46%Have a website 47%39%Website has at least one of : description of goods or services, price lists; possibility for visitors to customise or design online goods or services; tracking or status of orders placed; personalised content in the website for regular/ recurrent visitors53%32%Use 3D printing48%25%Buy medium-high CC services76%18%eInvoices sent, suitable for automated processing39%17%Use industrial or service robots34%14%Enterprises with e-commerce sales of at least 1% turnover 28%6%Analyse big data internally from any data source or externally17%5%Large SMEs 
 
 
 
The above projection assumes a gradual transformation of SMEs, with a slightly decreasing 
growth  rate  over  time.  Indicator  time  consistency,  notably  in  terms  of  composition  of  the 
Digital Intensity Index, is required to avoid seeing the uneven development observed in 2017-
2020 due to the change of technologies measured156. 

While  the  projection  shows  the  EU  average,  the  level  of  digitalisation  of  SMEs  remains 
uneven, depending on the location of the company and the sector of its activities. The figure 
below  shows  for  each  Member  State  its  percentage  of  SMEs  with  at  least  a  basic  level  of 
digital intensity in 2020. There are two Member States which have already almost reached the 
target of 90%, but there are also two that only have around 32% of SMEs with a basic digital 
intensity.  

Figure 23: SMEs with at least a basic level of digital intensity (% of enterprises) by Member 
State, 2020 

Source: Eurostat, Community survey on  ICT usage and  e-commerce in  enterprises.  Data for 
Greece is not available. 

Moreover, there are disparities within countries, as companies in remote regions struggle even 
more  than  companies  located  in  capitals.  Reaching  the  targets  of  the  Digital  Decade  will 
therefore require a differentiated national or regional approach. The Digital Intensity Score is 
currently  not  available  at  regional  level,  but  would  be  useful  for  such  a  differentiated  and 
localised  approach.  The  European  Commission  is  currently  investigating  whether  and  how 
this data gap could be filled. 

There  are  also  disparities  between  industrial  ecosystems157.  The  below  figure  provides  an 
overview  of  enterprises  with  at  least  a  basic  level  of  Digital  Intensity  Index  by  economic 

156 Over the last years, the indicator has shown little progress, and even experienced a drop in some countries 
because the composition of the indicator has been regularly updated to include more recent technologies. Going 
forward  it  is  necessary  to  benchmark  the  evolution  of  such  an  indicator  against  a  similar  composition  of  the 
technologies as much as possible, to avoid tracking progress towards a moving target. 
157 'A New Industrial Strategy for Europe' identified 14 industrial ecosystems: Tourism, Creative&Cultural 
industries, Aerospace & Defence, Textiles, Electronics, Mobility-Automotive, Low carbon energy intensive 
industries, Renewable energy, Agri-food, Health, Digital, Construction, Retail, Proximity&Social economy. 

56 

 
 
                                                 
sectors. This data is not available for SMEs only, and the NACE158 groups do not correspond 
one-to-one  to  the  14  industrial  ecosystems.  Nevertheless,  it  can  be  derived  from  it  that  the 
Digital and Creative and Cultural industrial ecosystems is already close to the target of 90% 
(represented by the NACE groups “Publishing activities; films & television, sound & music 
publishing, broadcasting”; “Telecommunications”; “Computer programming, consultancy and 
related activities, information services”). Others, such as Construction and Retail (represented 
by the NACE group “Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles”) are at around 
50%.  

A  differentiated  approach  for  each  industrial  ecosystem  is  justified.  Ecosystems  with  high 
numbers  of  SMEs,  which  have  suffered  the  most  from  the  COVID  crisis,  should  be 
prioritised. 

Figure 24: Enterprises with at least a basic level of digital intensity by economic sectors, 
2020 

Source: Eurostat , Community survey on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises. 

-  What is needed to achieve the target? 

The  Commission,  together  with  Member  States  and  regions,  is  deploying  a  network  of 
European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs), to foster the digital transformation of businesses 
through the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL). There will be one hub per region so that 
there  is  always  one  near  every  company.  Every  hub  will  give  support  to  local  companies, 
addressing their needs in the local language, taking into account the local economic context. 
At the same time, because of being part of a network, hubs can learn from each other how to 
effectively support companies. Moreover, if a local hub does not have the right competences 
to  support  a  company,  it  will  find  another  hub  in  the  network  that  can  provide  the  right 
support. Therefore, the network is combining the best of a local and EU-wide support. This 

158  The  Nomenclature  of  Economic  Activities  (NACE)  designates  the  integrated  classification  system  for 
products and economic activities. 

57 

 
  
                                                 
will help to diminish geographical disparities and will give any company in Europe the best 
possible support to increase their digital intensity.  

During the consultation process, stakeholders from business and government expressed strong 
support  for  expanding  the  network  of  EDIHs  to  reach  the  Digital  Decade  targets.  Concrete 
proposals  for  EDIHs  to  support  SMEs  in  their  digitalization  efforts  included  aggregating 
demand and organizing access to finance, pooling expertise and skills, and translating digital 
policies  to  reduce  the  regulatory  burden  and  ensure  compliance.  Many  emphasized  the 
importance  of  a  cross-sectorial  approach,  for  example  in  the  form  of  a  digital  volunteer 
mentoring programme in which larger companies support SMEs in developing the tools and 
skills they need to digitalize their business. 

With  about  EUR  700  million  over  seven  years,  DIGITAL  will  not  provide  all  the  funds 
necessary to cover all regions in Europe and reach out to 90% of businesses. As such, many 
Member States have  committed funds from  the Recovery  and Resilience Facility to  support 
their hubs. Other European funds, such as cohesion funds, and national investments may also 
be used. Differences according to industrial ecosystems and economic sectors will be tackled 
through  the  renewed  industrial  strategy159.  For  each  ecosystem  pathways  supporting  the 
digital and green transition will be co-created by the Commission and relevant stakeholders. 
This  should  lead  to  specific  actions  and  removal  of  barriers  related  to  the  uptake  of  digital 
technologies in each ecosystem, and therefore contribute to reaching the targets. 

Member  States  and  regions  will  need  to  make  complementary  reforms  and  investments  to 
support  and  encourage  the  uptake  of  digital  technologies  broadly,  e.g.,  by  reducing 
administrative  burden,  providing  tax  breaks  and  other  financial  incentives,  and  creating 
dedicated funding schemes.  

Lastly, achieving the targets does not only rely on direct measures to digitalise SMEs. It also 
relies  on  the  availability  of  digital  enablers  such  as  connectivity,  skills  and  education,  and 
favourable regulatory frameworks.  

3.4.3.  Innovative businesses/scale-ups 

-  Target: “Europe will grow the pipeline of its innovative scale ups and improve their 

access to finance, leading to doubling the number of unicorns” 160 

-  Baseline (2021): 122161 

-  Source: Dealroom 

-  What is the rationale for the set target value? 

159 A new Industrial Strategy for a globally competitive, green and digital Europe 
160 By unicorns we understand here both: 1) realised unicorn, i.e. companies founded after 1990 that have had an 
IPO or trade sale above $1 billion and 2) unrealised unicorn, i.e. companies that have been valued at or over $1 
billion in their last private venture funding round (meaning the valuation has not been confirmed in a 
secondary transaction). In 2019 there were 703 unicorns in the US and 206 in China 
(https://blog.dealroom.co/uk-unicorn-tech-update-for-london-tech-week/). 

161  Based  on  data  from  Dealroom.co  (same  data  source  for  Atomico's  well-regarded  and  widely  cited  Annual 
"State of European Tech" report). 

58 

 
                                                 
There has been a growth in the number of EU unicorns over the last 20 years, especially in the 
last  decade.  The  set  target  value  would  represent  a  major  increase  in  the  number  of  EU27 
unicorns. It would be a powerful indicator that the EU delivers a better growth ecosystem for 
innovative start-ups, and thereby raise a new generation of European corporations competing 
globally. 

-  What are the baselines and current trends? 

The average growth rate from 2016 to 2020 for late stage capital investments in Europe (i.e., 
investment  rounds  that  are  >USD  100m  or  >  EUR  85m)  was  15%  per  year162.  Investment 
events of this scale are the ones that most coincide with a start-up moving into the ‘unicorn’ 
category. Our conservative assumption is that this growth of late funding in EU27 companies 
will increase from 2020 at a compounded 10% per annum. This will mean a doubling of late 
stage capital invested in EU27 by 2028. If this trend continues, at minimum a doubling of the 
number of EU27 unicorns in 2030 compared to the 2020 baseline of 122 can be expected. 

The below projection assumes gradual developments with a stable growth until 2030. 

Figure 25: Number of unicorns (EU projection to 2030) 

Source: Commission services based on data from Dealroom. 

-  What is needed to achieve the target? 

Business  stakeholders  agree  on  the  need  for  a  stable,  predictable,  and  supportive  regulatory 
environment  that allows  companies to  start  up, scale, innovate,  and compete across Europe. 
Many  call  for  further  actions  to  remove  internal  market  barriers.  Others  would  like  to  see 
more regulatory sandboxes to test new business models and ideas. Social partners call on the 
EU to facilitate the exchange of best practices at across sectors and Member States. 

All EU Member States already strive to achieve the EU Start-up Nations Standard (EU SNS) 
by 2025. This initiative was launched by the Commission and the Portuguese Presidency of 

162 Growth figures include UK.  

59 

 
 
                                                 
the European Council at Digital Day 4 (19 March 2021)163. To date, 25 Member States have 
committed  to  it.  The  EU  SNS  mobilises  Member  States  to  take  action  under  their  national 
competencies to  improve the framework conditions  for start-ups in  their country. 8 areas of 
action  are  identified  (including  access  to  finance,  treatment  of  stock  options,  procurement 
from start-ups of innovations by public authorities, and access to talent) where best practices 
will be identified, shared and implemented by signatory countries.  

As set out in the Capital Markets Union action plan164 market-based financing is essential to 
sustain the recovery and the return to long-term  growth and to finance the green and digital 
transitions  of  our  economy.  To  make  growth  financing  more  accessible  to  European 
companies, the EU is developing several targeted financial instruments with other institutional 
actors, such as the European Investment  Bank/European  Investment  Fund and the European 
Bank  for  Reconstruction  and  Development.  The  goal  is  to  increase  the  capital  available  for 
EU  start-ups  active  in  strategic  digital  technologies.  Such  instruments,  developed  under  the 
InvestEU  programme,  are  building  on  the  example  of  the  Artificial  Intelligence  and 
Blockchain Fund165. The pilot scheme reached a total investment volume of EUR 1,2 billion 
in the market via private co-investment. Another example of such targeting, launched under 
InnovFin, the Digital Innovation and Scale up Initiative, enhances the access to equity finance 
for  innovative  start-ups  in  Central,  Eastern  and  South-Eastern  Europe166.  These  targeted 
actions  are  also  flanked  by  EU  programmes  supporting  start-ups  and  innovative  SMEs 
directly  or  indirectly  and  SME  friendly  innovation  procurements  (such  as  through  Horizon 
Europe, Digital Europe and LIFE). 

The  Commission  needs  to  also  support  the  launch  of  an  EU27  network  of  Tech  Diligence 
Centres  to  better  valuate  the  technology  behind  innovations,  and  so  enable  more  precise 
valuations  of  digital  start-ups  and  prepare  their  investment  readiness167.  The  tech  due 
diligence services will deliver a benefit to spinoffs, start-ups and scale-ups by improving their 
access to finance. A pilot will be launched under Horizon Europe in late 2021. 

163 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_1186;  
https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/24-eu-member-states-commit-digital-day-take-action-support-
growth-eu-startups 
164 Capital markets union 2020 action plan: A capital markets union for people and businesses | European 
Commission (europa.eu) 
165 https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/eu-artificial-intelligence-and-blockchain-investment-fund-
invest-100-million-euros-startups 
166 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/launch-digital-innovation-and-scale-initiative-central-eastern-
and-south-eastern-europe 
167 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/24-eu-member-states-commit-digital-day-take-action-support-
growth-eu-startups 

60 

 
                                                 
3.5.  Digitalisation of public services  

3.5.1.  Government as a platform 

3.5.1.1.  Online service provision 

-  Target:  “100%  online  provision  of  key  public  services  available  for  European 

citizens and businesses”168 

-  Baseline (2020): 75/100 (citizens), 84/100 (businesses)169 

-  Source: e-Government Benchmark170 

-  What is the rationale for the set target value? 

The  online  availability  of  public  services  has  been  growing  steadily  over  the  last  decade, 
accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic during  which digital  interaction had to become the 
norm. A number of Member States are already close to the 100% target. However, progress is 
uneven across and within Member States. Services for citizens are less likely to be available 
online  when  compared  to  services  for  businesses.  While  the  roll-out  of  basic  digital  public 
services  is  progressing  steadily  (e.g.,  access  to  online  forms,  online  appointment  booking, 
etc.),  the  availability  of  more  advanced  public  services  that  make  use  of  innovative  digital 
technologies (e.g., AI, big data, robotics, etc.) still requires significant investment. This target 
aims to boost Member States’ efforts in making all key public services available online while 
reinforcing  also  the  adoption  of  innovative  ICTs  to  provide  digital  public  services  with 
optimal quality and efficiency. Progress towards this target is contingent on the provision of 
secure and easy-to-use digital identity means (see 3.5.1.3). 

According to public sector stakeholders, the digitalisation of public services is inhibited by a 
lack  of  interoperability,  trust,  and  digital  skills  within  and  between  public  administrations. 
There  is  broad  consensus  that  overcoming  these  barriers  requires  more  public  investment, 
more public-private cooperation and a more robust governance to steer EU and Member State 
action, especially in regards to cross-border access to digital public services. 

-  What are the baselines and current trends? 

The average growth rate of the availability of basic online public services over the last 5 years 
is  2.4%.  If  this  trend  continues,  in  2030  the  score  would  increase  to  95.5  out  of  100. 
Investments in public procurement of innovative ICT-based solutions are at 4% of total public 
procurement  across  Europe,  whereas  a  level  of  10%  is  needed  to  reach  full  speed 
modernisation of public services171. 

168 “Key public services” are services related to the following “life events”: Business start-up, Career, Studying, 
Family, Regular business operations, Moving, Transport, Starting a small claims procedure, Health (source: e-
Government Benchmark). 
169 Data refers to a score (0-100). 
170 CAP gemini https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/egovernment-benchmark-2020-egovernment-
works-people 
171 Results of EU wide benchmarking of innovation procurement investments and policy frameworks across 
Europe | Shaping Europe’s digital future (europa.eu): https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/results-eu-
wide-benchmarking-innovation-procurement-investments-and-policy-frameworks-across-europe 

61 

 
                                                 
Looking at services for citizens, Malta, Estonia and Luxembourg preform best (90 or above 
out of 100), while Romania, Greece and Hungary are lagging behind (with scores below 55) 

Figure 26: Digital public services for citizens (score 0-100) by Member State, 2020 

Source: Capgemini, e-Government benchmark 

Since  past  growth  rates  in  the  availability  of  basic  online  public  services  have  been  rather 
steady, for the projection a similarly linear growth of 2.9% instead of 2.4% is expected.  

The below projection assumes a gradual development with a stable growth until 2030. 

Figure 27: Score in online provision of key public services (EU projection to 2030) 

Source: Commission services based on data from Capgemini. 

-  What is needed to achieve the target? 

62 

 
 
 
Respondents to the targeted consultation agree that overcoming existing administrative silos 
in the provision of public services will require strong political will and EU leadership.  They 
see  a  role  for  the  EU  in  ensuring  the  interoperability  of  digital  technologies,  including 
assistive  technologies,  through  legislation  and  dedicated  funding.  Proposed  actions  include 
streamlining  procedures,  providing  guidance,  creating  faster  implementation  processes, 
providing  more  efficient  coordination  of  similar  initiatives  on  EU  level,  strengthening  the 
digital single market and cross-border services, and ensuring that public services have access 
to  secure,  interoperable,  and  trustworthy  cloud  services.  Moreover,  stakeholders  from  the 
business  and  education  sector  find  that  national  public  administrations  should  recruit  more 
ICT  professionals.  They  proposed  to  strengthen  partnerships  with  academia  and  the  private 
sector  to  benefit  more  from  the  young  academics  and  entrepreneurs  that  are  working  in  the 
GovTech industry. 

To assist and guide those Member States in need of making greater leaps to reach the target, 
accompanying digital government and digital innovation procurement policies at all level of 
government as well as a strengthened EU Interoperability Strategy are needed, which would 
provide  Member  States  with  guidelines  for  the  design,  development  and  continuous 
enhancement of digital public services and facilitate the exchange of good practices between 
Member States. 

The  Single  Digital  Gateway  Regulation172  established  a  single  digital  gateway  to  provide 
access to information, to procedures and to assistance and problem-solving services. It already 
requires Member States to explain online how to carry out certain administrative procedures. 
By 2023 they must make it possible to actually carry out certain procedures online. The public 
face  or  ‘front  end’  of  the  gateway  is  the  Commission’s  online  portal  ‘Your  Europe’.  It  is 
through  the  Your  Europe  website  that  users  access  the  information  that the  SDG  regulation 
requires Member States to put online. 

The  recent  Directive  on  the  use  of  digital  tools  and  processes  in  company  law173  requires 
Member  States  to  make  it  possible  to  establish  a  company,  register  branches  and  file 
documents  in  the  business  registers  fully  online  both  domestically  and  cross-border.  The 
Directive builds on the use of inter-connection of business registers (BRIS) which ensures that 
all EU business  registers can communicate and exchange information  cross-border in  a safe 
and  secure  way,  contributing  thus  to  connected  public  administration  and  enhanced  digital 
interactions  between companies and Member State authorities and fosters public services to 
businesses.  In  addition,  the  Commission  is  preparing  a  new  initiative  on  Upgrading  digital 
company law, which would  aim to  further render company law procedures and tools digital 
proof  to  make  more  information  about  companies  available  on  a  cross-border  basis  and  to 
enable the cross-border use of company data. 

At  national  level,  investments  and  reforms,  could  support  the  attainment  of  the  target. 
Member States could notably adopt  a digital innovation procurement policy and also follow 
an  accompanying  digital  transformation  policy  to  guide  related  existing  investments  and 
reforms. 

172 Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 October 2018 establishing a 
single digital gateway to provide access to information, to procedures and to assistance and problem-solving 
services and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012. 
173 Directive 2019/1151 

63 

 
                                                 
Under the RRF, Member States will invest in the digitalisation of their public administrations 
to  ensure  that  their  digital  public  services  are  interoperable,  available  across  borders, 
accessible,  and  user-friendly,  and  that  their  public  administrations  (re-)use  data  and  novel 
technologies.  

In particular, under the Flagship ‘Modernise’ of the RRF, Member States’ plans, approved on 
1 September 2021, will invest over EUR 40 billion in  e-government,  digital public services 
and local digital ecosystems174. The investments in digital public services under the RRF will 
help  to  achieve  the  targets.  Additionally,  Member  States  can  receive  support  from  the 
Technical  Support  Instrument  in  the  digitalisation  of  their  public  administration.  For  2022, 
DG REFORM has proactively proposed 13 Flagship technical support projects, which focus 
on areas of support largely needed across Member States. Digitalisation of the public sector is 
supported under the Flagship ‘Development of resilient, innovative, and human-centric digital 
government services’. Moreover, Member States can benefit from ongoing digital government 
research projects under Horizon 2020 and foreseen research projects under Horizon Europe.  

3.5.1.2.  Access to medical records 

-  Target:  100%  of  European  citizens  have  access  to  medical  records  (electronic 

health-records, EHRs) 

-  Baseline (2020): Statistical data is not yet available but a majority of Member States 

have started to put in place mechanisms for citizen access to medical records 

-  What is the rationale for the set target value? 

A target value of 100% of citizens with access to their medical  records, means that citizens 
have the opportunity to access part of their Electronic Health Record such as patient summary 
or  lab  results  of  their  electronic  health  records.  As  a  first  step,  an  indicator  could  be:  the 
existence  of  a  nationwide  mechanism,  for  citizen  access  to  health  data,  such  as  a  patient 
portal, or a patient mobile app. Arriving at all Member States having a national mechanism in 
place  for  citizens  should  be  achievable  within  8  years,  as  already  more  than  half  of  MS  do 
have  one  in  place.  Such  mechanisms  could  include  the  possibility  for  guardians  to  access 
medical records of their children/dependents or the possibility of authorizing trusted persons 
who  can  access  medical  records  on  behalf  of  the  patients.  Such  mechanisms  exist  in  some 
Member  States,  and  these  models  practices  could  be  scaled  to  other  Member  States  still 
lacking the support for such cases. However, beyond the existence of a national mechanism 
(such as portal), additional measures should also be in place that enable certain categories of 
people (children, people with disabilities) to also access their data. 

- 

 What are the baselines and current trends? 

As part of a recent survey, 16 Member States reported that they have a mechanism in place, 
such as an on-line portal, routinely used at national level, for providing citizen access to their 

174 The calculations are based on the Recovery and Resilience Plans as approved on 1 September 2021 and on 
the basis on the methodology for digital tagging set out in Annex VI of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, 
which includes specific Intervention fields for e-government, digital public services and local digital ecosystems. 
These calculations provide a temporary view of the RRF and are without prejudice to the final figures that will 
only be available once the 27 plans have been adopted. 

64 

 
                                                 
own health  related data  stored in  an EHR system.  Another six countries have ongoing pilot 
projects.175  

The projected trajectory will be developed once statistical data is available. 

-  What is needed to achieve the target? 

Respondents  to  the  targeted  consultation  emphasize  the  importance  of  cooperation  between 
Member  States  for  improved  interoperability  and  data  exchange.  They  call  on  the  EU  to 
establish common criteria in order to guarantee the same level of accessibility and quality of 
services for citizens across Europe and to facilitate cross-border healthcare provision. 

Actions  at  the  European  level  have  started  to  support  the  development  of  technical  and 
semantic  specifications  for  the  interoperability  (linking)  of  health  data.  While  intended 
primarily to support the secure cross-border linkage of health data, such standards also have 
great  utility  within  Member  States  where  an  individual’s  health  data  may  be  fragmented 
across different entities (e.g. primary clinic, local hospital, dentist, specialist clinic, etc.). 

In 2018, the European Commission published a Communication on the digital transformation 
of health and care176. The Communication aims to empower citizens and to build a healthier 
society. One of the three priorities of the Communication is for citizens to have access to their 
health data, including across borders.  

Enablers  for  citizen  access  to  health  data,  and  for  other  uses  of  health  data,  whether  within 
health care systems or across borders, are common technical specifications for health data as 
well as appropriate trust frameworks for data protection, privacy and security (including e-ID 
systems).  

To this end, the European Commission adopted a Recommendation on a European Electronic 
Health Record exchange format in 2019177. The Recommendation provides a set of principles 
that  should  govern  access  to  and  exchange  of  electronic  health  records;  a  set  of  existing 
common technical  specifications for the cross-border exchange of this data in  certain  health 
information  domains  (patient  summaries  and  e-prescriptions);  and  a  process  to  advance  the 
development of the exchange format to include other health domains (such as laboratory tests, 
medical  images  and  hospital  discharge  reports).  Work  to  develop  the  next  set  of  technical 
specifications is underway with the Horizon funded project X-eHealth178. 

Other  projects  supported  by  the  Commission,  which  have  been  instrumental  to  the 
development  of  common  technical  specifications,  include  Antilope179,  the  Refined  eHealth 
Interoperability  Framework180,  as  well  as  ongoing  projects,  such  as 
European 
InteropEHRate181 and Smart4Health182. 

175 Source: recently concluded survey of Member States, to be published shortly. 
176 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2018%3A233%3AFIN  
177 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32019H0243&rid=2  
178 https://www.x-ehealth.eu/ 
179 https://www.antilope-project.eu/front/index.html 
180 https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/default/files/ehealth/docs/ev_20151123_co03_en.pdf 
181 www.interopehrate.eu 
182 www.smart4health.eu 

65 

 
                                                 
The European Commission is currently working to create the European Health Data Space183. 
A common European Health Data Space is expected to promote better exchange and access to 
different  types  of  health  data  (electronic  health  records,  genomics  data,  data  from  patient 
registries, etc.), not only to support healthcare delivery (so-called primary use of data) but also 
for health research and health policy making purposes (so-called secondary use of data). 

The My health @ EU infrastructure184 is currently operational in eight Member States, with 
more joining in the coming years. Whilst currently the infrastructure is only supporting access 
to  health  data  by  health  professionals,  actions  are  taken  in  order  to  extend  the  functionality 
with  the  possibility  for  patients  to  access  their  own  data  and  have  it  translated  using  code 
systems into another language. 

In addition, as proposed also by participants of the consultation process,  Member States can 
put in place a number of reforms and investments, such as: 

-  Strengthening  capacity  within  health  and  care  systems  to  securely  digitise,  store, 
process  and  use  health  records.  This  includes  putting  in  place  appropriate 
infrastructure, data protection and security aspects, as well as appropriate training for 
staff. 

-  Putting in place modalities that give citizens secure access to their health data. To do 
this,  where  they  do  not  yet  exist,  Member  States  may  need  to  strengthen  the  trust 
frameworks for security and access, among other things.  

-  Putting  in  place  appropriate  systems  for  health  professional  identification  and 

authentication in EHR systems, 

-  Developing  cybersecurity  capacity  such  as  encryption  and  a  security-by-design 

approach to prevent cyber-attacks. 

In addition, further measures may need to be taken across all Member States to ensure that all 
people, including people with disabilities, have access to their health data through established 
modalities. 

3.5.1.3.  e-ID adoption 

-  Target: 80% of citizens use a digital ID solution 

-  Baseline (2020): Currently no baseline for take-up of digital ID185 

-  What is the rationale for the set target value? 

The ability to establish individual identity uniquely and accurately, to prove that a person is 
who  she  says  she  is,  is  becoming  a  critical  enabler  in  an  increasingly  connected  world.  For 
simplicity  reasons,  users  often  resort  to  using  the  same  password  for  many  or  all  of  their 

183 https://ec.europa.eu/health/ehealth/dataspace_en 
184 https://ec.europa.eu/health/ehealth/electronic_crossborder_healthservices_en 
185 Art 48a of the draft Regulation for a European Digital Identity Framework proposed by the Commission on 3 
June 2021(COM(2021)281 final) foresees data collection by Member States to measure this target. As regards 
availability, the current baseline for the percentage of key services that are e-ID enabled is 58% (services 
accessible domestically) and 9% (services accessible cross-border). 

66 

 
                                                 
online  accounts.  This  increases  the  risk  of  identity  theft  and  leaked  personal  data.  Others 
choose  to  authenticate  using  so-called  ‘social  login’,  i.e.  using  their  social  media  account 
(Facebook, Google, etc.) to log into other services, in which case it is difficult to control how 
their activities are being tracked and how their data is being used. 

On  3  June  2021,  the  Commission  adopted  a  Proposal  for  a  Regulation  of  the  European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council  amending  Regulation  (EU)  No  910/2014  as  regards 
establishing  a  framework  for  a  European  Digital  Identity  (hereinafter  ‘revised  eIDAS 
Proposal’)186. It will provide the framework conditions for boosting the development, roll-out 
and acceptance of digital identification schemes that work across Europe and are recognised 
by both public and private service providers. With this revised European legislation it will be 
possible  to  make  safe  and  convenient  digital  identification  means  the  standard  form  of 
authentication for accessing both public and private digital services. 

Inversely, the take-up of digital identity solutions will also be heavily dependent on progress 
in regards to the availability of digital services, including public services (see point 3.5.1.1), 
which allow for authentication with such solutions. 

-  What are the baselines and current trends? 

Currently, no baseline for this target is available. Article 48a of the  revised eIDAS Proposal 
provides  for  reporting  requirements  that  could  provide  relevant  input  for  take-up  data  (e.g., 
Article  48a  (2)(a)  foresees  that  statistics  collected  shall  include  the  number  of  natural  and 
legal persons having a valid European Digital Identity Wallet). 

In  the  European  Digital  Identity  framework  set  forth  in  the  revised  eIDAS  Proposal,  the 
Commission proposes to make the provision of a European Digital Identity Wallet mandatory 
for  all  Member  States.  That  would  mean  that  every  European  citizen,  resident  and  business 
will have the right to a European Digital identity Wallet, while of course it will be voluntary 
for them to use it. Hence, the supply of trusted and secure eID will increase. 

The European Digital Identity Wallet will enable access to digital public services, as well as 
to  digital  private  services,  which  by  law  or  by  contract  require  strong  user  authentication. 
Furthermore, very large online platforms (as defined in the DSA proposal) will be obliged to 
accept  authentications  using  the  European  Digital  Identity  Wallet.  Other  private  online 
services will be strongly encouraged to accept the use of the European Digital Identity Wallet. 
Hence, the number of use cases for trusted and secure eID will increase.  

-  What is needed to achieve the target? 

Several consultation participants noted that current identity systems are complicated and have 
many  external  dependencies.  They  expect  that  a  European  solution  could  help  to  safeguard 
EU  citizen’s  rights  by  facilitating  access  to  online  public  services  nationally  and  across 
borders  while  placing  personal  data  under  user  control.  In  this  context,  public  sector 
stakeholders  emphasize  the  importance  of  building  trust  between  public  administrations,  as 
well as  between public administrations, people, and European industries that  can  supply the 
necessary ICT infrastructure and services. 

186 Proposal for a Regulation amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 as regards establishing a framework for a 
European Digital Identity, COM(2021) 281 final 

67 

 
                                                 
The revised  eIDAS Proposal  proposes a European Digital  Identity framework to  offer users 
self-determined  personal  digital  wallets  that  allow  for  secure  and  easy  access  to  public  and 
private services under the users’ full control. 

Together  with  the  Proposal,  the  Commission  adopted  a  Commission  Recommendation  on  a 
common  Union  Toolbox  for  a  coordinated  approach  towards  a  European  Digital  Identity 
Framework187  (hereinafter  ‘Toolbox  Recommendation’).  It  sets  out  a  process  for  close  and 
structured  cooperation  between  the  Commission,  the  Member  States  and  other  relevant 
stakeholders. The toolbox should lead to a technical architecture and reference framework, a 
set of common standards and technical references as well as best practices and guidelines, as a 
basis for the implementation of the European Digital Identity framework. 

This revision of the eIDAS regulation, resulting in the Commission’s proposal for a European 
Digital Identity framework and the common toolbox for its implementation, will facilitate and 
speed up the development and usability of eID, thus helping Member States in attaining the 
target. 

The Toolbox Recommendation calls on Member States to work together to develop and agree 
on  a  toolbox  including  a  comprehensive  technical  architecture  and  reference  framework, 
common standards, technical references and guidelines as well as best practices to support the 
implementation  of  the  European  Digital  Identity  framework,  in  close  coordination  with  the 
Commission  and,  where  relevant,  other  concerned  public  and  private  sector  parties,  by 
30 September 2022. 

In addition, as proposed also by participants of the consultation process,  Member States can 
put in place a number of reforms and investments, such as: 

-  Cooperate  proactively  and  lead  parts  of  the  technical  work,  including  work  on  use 
cases, to ensure the success of the process and timely outcomes, in parallel with and in 
full respect of the legislative process for adoption of the revised eIDAS Proposal and 
in alignment with its outcome. 

-  Put in place any further administrative, financial and technical arrangements necessary 
to allow them to issue a European Digital Identity Wallet, and collect data on its take-
up and use, within the legal  deadline after the entry into force of the revised eIDAS 
Regulation. 

Finally,  a  number  of  Member  States  have  included  investments  and  reforms  to  support  the 
development and deployment of the European Digital Identity Wallet in their RRPs. This will 
also contribute to attaining the target. 

4.  GOVERNANCE: MONITORING AND COOPERATION MECHANISM 

4.1.  Guidance 

In order to support the effective and timely implementation of the Policy Programme “Path to 
the  Digital  Decade”,  and  to  support  Member  States,  and  in  cooperation  with  them,  the 

187 C(2021) 3968 final. 

68 

 
                                                 
Commission, shortly after the entry into force of the Policy Programme, will provide guidance 
on different issues related to the monitoring and cooperation mechanism.  

The  guidance  will  include  the  assumed  path  per  target  until  2030  taken  by  the  Union 
(“projected trajectories”188) elaborated in close cooperation with the Member States as well as 
support for the Member States in their elaboration of the corresponding national trajectories, 
where this is possible considering the relevant target. 

The  guidance  will  also  define  a  system  of  traffic  lights:  a  reporting  system  by  which  the 
colors of the traffic light (green, yellow and red) indicate whether the actual trends monitored 
at  Union  level  are  on  track  to  achieve  the  target  of  a  given  key  performance  indicator 
compared to the projected trend. The analysis will compare actual against projected trends at 
EU level, as well as the individual performance of Member States, taking into account their 
different  starting  points  and  specialization,  spillover  effects  on  the  internal  market,  and 
possibly also global benchmarks.  

The  Commission  will  also  provide  guidance  to  support  Member  States  in  preparing  their 
digital decade strategic roadmaps. Article 7 of the Policy Programme already provides some 
categories of information that Member States need to include in their national roadmaps (see 
also  4.2).  The  aim  of  the  guidance,  beside  the  identification  of  the  complete  set  of 
information, will be to structure their content, including possibly also through a template, to 
facilitate the drafting, the assessment by the Commission and the comparison among Member 
States.  

The  national  strategic  roadmaps  will  include  the  national  trajectories  for  those  targets  for 
which the measurement at the level of a single Member State is feasible. Indeed, the projected 
national  trajectories  should  be  limited  to  relevant  targets  for  which  baseline  data  and 
methodologies  for  data  measurement  are  available  or  will  be  available  in  the  near  future. 
Therefore, in its guidance on the preparation of national trajectories, the Commission will also 
include  guidance  on  the  criteria  and  methodologies  to  translate  at  national  level  the  Union 
level  trajectories  and will take into account  the role of specific national  circumstances, e.g., 
that  Member  States  have  different  capacities  to  put  in  place  policies,  measures  and  actions 
contributing to the achievement of Union targets. 

4.2.  National Digital Decade Strategic Roadmaps 

Within  six  months  after  the  entry  into  force  of  the  Decision  establishing  the  Policy 
Programme  “Path  to  the  Digital  Decade”,  and  on  the  basis  of  the  guidance  issued  by  the 
Commission,  Member  States  will  submit  to  the  Commission  national  Digital  Decade 
strategic roadmaps for reaching the digital targets by 2030. The Member States will outline 
in their roadmaps : 

 

the  main  implemented,  adopted  and  planned  policies,  measures  and  actions 
contributing  to  the  objectives  and  the  digital  targets  set  in  Articles  2  and  4  of  the 
Decision; 

  national  projected  trajectories  contributing  to  relevant  digital  targets  measurable  at 

national level;  

188 See definition in the proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the 
Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade”. 

69 

 
                                                 
 

 

the impact expected to be made on each digital target as a result of the implemented, 
adopted or planned policies, measures and actions; 

the  timing  for  implementation  of  the  adopted  and  planned  policies,  measures  and 
actions as well as the estimate of the timing when those policies, measures and actions 
are expected to produce an impact on the achievement of the digital targets. 

The policies, measures and actions to be described in the national strategic roadmaps are those 
which relate to the achievement of the objectives and the digital targets, and for which, at the 
date of submission of the national Digital Decade strategic roadmaps or of the adjustment of 
those roadmaps, one or more of the condition below applies:  

  directly applicable Union or national laws are in force;  

  one  or  more  commitments  to  adopt  policies,  measures  or  actions  have  been 

undertaken;  

 

 

financial resources have been allocated, and human resources have been mobilised; 

radio  spectrum resources have been or  are committed to  be allocated or assigned by 
the relevant national authorities;  

 

they constitute other important enablers related to objectives and digital targets. 

The strategic roadmaps  may  also  include  a proposal  for Multi-Country Projects.  The Policy 
Programme “Path to the Digital Decade” establishes clear links with the European Semester 
process.  In  this  regard,  digital  decade  strategic  roadmaps  should  take  into  consideration  the 
latest country-specific recommendations issued in the context of the European Semester.  

The strategic roadmaps will cover the entire Digital Decade period up to 2030. If needed, in 
order  to  take  into  account  the  findings  of  a  particular  annual  Report  on  the  “State  of  the 
Digital  Decade”,  including  the  policies,  measures  and  actions  that  the  Commission  may 
recommend  to  one  or  more  Member  States,  Member  States  should  adjust  their  strategic 
roadmaps, propose new or amend existing policies, measures and actions, to foster progress 
in the areas concerned by the digital targets.  

70 

 
Figure 28: National Digital Decade strategic roadmaps (Article 7) 

4.3.  Annual monitoring and cooperation mechanism between the Commission 

and the Member States 

The  proposed  Policy  Programme  establishes  a  monitoring  and  cooperation  mechanism 
between the Commission and the Member States. The cooperation will aim to ensure that the 
Digital Decade objectives and targets are achieved through a combination of Union initiatives 
and  relevant  national  policies,  taking  into  account  the  cross-national  dimensions  of  digital 
policies and Union-wide targets, in particular the development of the internal market. 

4.3.1.  Monitoring of progress 

As described in more detail in section 3.1, in order to measure progress of the Union towards 
the objectives and targets set out in the Policy Programme, the Commission will use a number 
of analytical tools in order to monitor indicators, in particular the enhanced Digital Economy 
and  Society  Index  (DESI)  including  an  in-depth  analysis  of  the  digital  trends  and 
developments,  as  well  as  corresponding  reports  on  the  implementation  of  digital  principles 
and reports on strategic dependencies.  

There  is  broad  consensus  among  stakeholders  that  a  robust  monitoring  system  is  crucial  to 
accelerate  the  digital  transformation  in  Europe.  Respondents  to  the  targeted  consultation 
consider  measuring  progress  of  the  EU  against  the  2030  targets  to  be  the  most  important 
function of the monitoring system (ranked extremely or very relevant by 83,1%), followed by 
comparing  digitalisation  trends  at  EU  and  Member  State  level  with  other  global  players 
(76,1%), following digitalisation trends at EU and Member State level (74.3%), and assessing 
areas  with  insufficient  development  at  Member  State  level  (73.2%).  More  than  half  of 
respondents  also  consider  it  important  to  showcase  best  practices  from  Member  States 
(57,1%)  and  ensure  a  broader  knowledge  of  the  EU’s  digital  policies  across  Europe  for 
citizens,  Member  States,  and  other  stakeholders  (50%),  hinting  at  the  importance  of 
publishing  the  monitoring  results  in  an  annual  report.  Several  stakeholders  emphasised  that 
the monitoring should be part of a collaborative process. 

71 

 
Finally,  Member  States  will  have  to  provide  to  the  Commission  in  a  timely  manner  the 
necessary  statistics  and  data  for  the  effective  monitoring  of  the  digital  transition  and  the 
targets.  This  shall  include  relevant  information  on  the  availability  and  accessibility  of 
spectrum.  Should  relevant  statistics  and  data  not  be  available  from  Eurostat,  from  Member 
States or existing studies, the Commission will perform its own data collection to monitor the 
progress of the Union against the objectives and targets.  

4.3.2.  The report on the “State of the Digital Decade”  

The European Commission will submit to the European Parliament and the Council an annual 
report on the “State of the Digital Decade” (RSDD).  

The  report,  which  will  include  the  DESI,  will  constitute  an  overview  and  analysis  of  the 
digital  transformation  of  the  Union  and  an  evaluation  of  the  progress  towards  the digital 
targets.  Specifically,  it  will  detail  the  degree  of  EU  progress  in  relation  to  the  projected 
trajectories  for  each  target  and  include  an  assessment  of  the  efforts  necessary  to  reach  each 
target. Moreover, it will assess as the more general state of compliance with the objectives set 
in the Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade”. The Commission’s evaluation will be 
based on its monitoring of the progress towards the objectives and targets, as outlined above.  

The  report  on  the  “State  of  the  Digital  Decade”  will  also  include  (where  relevant) 
recommended  policies,  measures  and  actions  to  be  taken  at  Union  and  Member  State 
level and joint commitments.  

In particular, the report will: 

 

identify the areas where further action is needed; 

  analyse  investment  gaps  in  capacities  and  raise  awareness  about  the  Union’s  digital 

strategic dependencies and actions needed to increase its digital sovereignty; 

 

 

 

include an assessment of the implementation of relevant regulatory proposals, as well 
as  of  the  actions  undertaken  at  Union  and  Member  States  level,  including  joint 
commitments  undertaken 
the  monitoring  and  cooperation 
mechanism; 

the  context  of 

in 

include recommended policies, measures and actions to be taken by Member States in 
areas where significant gaps have been identified or where progress is still insufficient 
to achieve the digital targets; 

inform  on  progress  made  by  the  Union  and  the  Member  States,  in  particular  with 
reference  to  the  extent  to  which  Member  States  took  the  recommended  policies, 
measures or actions made by the Commission and the recommendations under Article 
9 of the Decision into account. 

In particular, the recommended policies, measures or actions may address:  

 

the level of ambition of contributions and initiative proposed by Member States, with 
a view to collectively achieving the Union objectives and targets; 

  policies,  measures  and  actions  at  Member  State-level  and  Union-level  and  other 

policies and measures of potential cross-border relevance; 

  any additional policies, measures or action that might be required in the adjustments of 

Member States’ digital decade strategic roadmaps;  

72 

 
 

interactions between and consistency of existing and planned policies.  

The  report  will  also  present  the  state  of  compliance  with  the  digital  principles  and  the 
outcome  of  an  annual  Eurobarometer  exercise,  which  will  be  launched  following  the 
adoption  of  the  Declaration  of  Digital  Principles  for  an  EU  Digital  Citizenship.  The 
Eurobarometer  will  be  specifically  dedicated  to  monitoring  the  perception  of  Europeans 
regarding  the  respect  of  the  principles  enshrined  in  the  Declaration  and  to  what  extent  EU 
citizens feel that the digitisation of our society is serving them. 

Stakeholders support the proposed scope of the report on the “State of the Digital Decade”. A 
vast majority of respondents to the targeted consultation considers it to be extremely or very 
relevant that the report presents progress towards the 2030 targets  at EU level (83,5%), and 
that it identifies deviations from the 2030 targets and digital principles at national level (69, 
7%).  Many  also  consider  it  to  be  extremely  or  very  relevant  that  the  report  follows  the 
implementation  of  digital  principles  (64,2%)  and  feeds  it  into  the  implementation  of  the 
Recovery  and  Resilience  Facility  (59,1).  Over  half  of  surveyed  stakeholders  would  like  the 
report to assess the general state of compliance with digital policies (59,1%), track common 
cross-border projects and investments (51,1%), and propose recommended actions including 
joint commitments to be discussed with Member States and the European Parliament (52,3%). 

4.3.3.  Collaboration mechanism 

The monitoring and cooperation mechanism aims at creating a collaborative and constructive 
environment  for  Member  States  and  the  Commission  to  work  closely  together  through  an 
iterative process to find synergies, exchange good practices and share efforts to make progress 
towards the achievement of the Digital Decade objectives and targets.  

Cooperation  between  the  Commission  and  the  Member  States  will  be  open,  effective  and 
transparent through an appropriate structure set up by the Commission, as provided in Article 
10.  Such  structure  will  also  serve  as  a  forum  for  peer  review  between  Member  States. 
Moreover,  to  ensure  transparency  and  public  participation,  the  Commission  and  Member 
States  will  also  engage  with  all  interested  stakeholders  (including  at  national,  regional  and 
local level and with social partners, citizens and civil society). 

Member  States  and  the  Commission  will  closely  cooperate  to  identify  ways  to  address 
deficiencies in areas where progress is insufficient to achieve one or more digital targets or 
where  significant  gaps  and  shortages  have  been  identified  based  on  the  results  of  the  latest 
report on the “State of the Digital Decade” and the most recent data available. In this context, 
the  Decision  establishing  the  Policy  Programme  “Path  to  the  Digital  Decade”  requires 
Member  States  to  present  the  policies  and  measures  they  have  planned,  adopted  or 
implemented. 

As part of the cooperative dialogue, and based on Member States’ preliminary observations to 
be submitted indicatively two months after the publication of the report, the Commission and 
the  Member  States  will  also  examine  how  recommended  policies,  measures  and  actions 
included  in  the  previous  year’s  report  have  been  implemented  by  Member  States 
collectively  and  individually.  Such  assessment  will  comprise  the  effects  produced  by  the 
actions  and  measures  adopted  by  the  Member  States  and/or  the  estimated  time  when  such 
effects are likely to be produced. On the basis of these discussions, the Commission and the 
Member States will also assess the need to introduce additional measures or actions, adjusting 
or complementing the measures and actions already in place. If a Member State considers that 

73 

 
no action is required and that its national roadmap does not require updating, it shall provide 
its reasons in writing. 

At any point of the annual cooperation, the Commission and one or more Member States will 
be  able  to  undertake  joint  commitments,  consult  with  other  Member  States  on  policy, 
measures  or  actions  or  establish  Multi-Country  Projects.  The  joint  commitments  and  other 
measures will be undertaken with a view to progressing towards achieving the digital targets, 
in alignment with the trajectories referred to in the report on the “State of the Digital Decade”. 
In view of the publication of the report on the “State of the Digital Decade”, the Commission 
will inform Member States in due time about the recommended policies, measures and actions 
it intends to include in the report.  

The  Commission  and  individual  Member  States  will  be  able  to  request  a  meeting  between 
the Commission and Member States. Such a meeting will be held in particular in the case 
where  a Member State proposes to  undertake a new Multi-Country Project  or a joint  action 
requiring  the  participation  of  other  Member  States.  The  Member  States  concerned  or  the 
Commission will also be able to request the launch of a peer review process, whereby other 
Member States’ experts may comment on the suitability of the policies, measures and actions 
proposed by a given Member State to contribute effectively to achieving the Digital Decade 
objectives  and  targets.  The  outcome  of  the  peer  review  process  may  be  included  in  the 
following report on the “State of the Digital Decade”. 

The cooperative process between the Commission and the Member States will be as open and 
transparent  as  possible.  The  discussions  in  the  context  of  the  monitoring  and  cooperation 
mechanism will seek to ensure that the policies, measures and actions proposed at Union and 
Member  State  level  contribute  effectively  to  reach  Union  targets  while  efficiently  and 
proportionally sharing efforts among Member States. 

4.3.4.  Recommendations 

The Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade” provides that the Commission may adopt 
recommendations  urging  Member  States  to  adjust  their  strategic  roadmaps  by  taking  into 
account  Commission’s recommended policies, measures  and actions included in  a report on 
the “State of the Digital Decade” (Article 9). This instrument is needed, in particular, in order 
to ensure that the recommended actions and the initiatives discussed and agreed through the 
collaborative process are implemented timely and effectively.  

In particular, the Commission may  adopt such a recommendation if a Member State fails to 
adjust  its  national  roadmap  in  order  to  take  into  account  the  Commission  recommended 
policies, measures or actions included in the report on the “State of the Digital Decade”, or it 
does not provide sufficient reasons for failing to do so. Such recommendation will include a 
specific  analysis  of  how  the  Member  State’s  failure  could  impact  the  achievement  of  the 
objectives and digital targets of the Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade”. 

The Member State addressee of such a recommendation will be required to take it into utmost 
account and adjust accordingly its strategic roadmap within three months. In case the Member 
State  concerned  considers  that  it  should  not  adjust  the  Digital  Decade  strategic  roadmap  in 
accordance  with  the  recommendation  or  a  substantial  part  thereof,  it  will  have  to  provide  a 
justification in writing and make it public within three months. 

74 

 
The recommendations will be complementary to the latest country-specific recommendations 
issued in  the  context  of  the European Semester.  The Commission  will inform  the European 
Parliament and the Council of any recommendation adopted under Article 9. 

If the Commission concludes that national measures are insufficient and put at risk the timely 
achievement  of  the  objectives  and  digital  targets  set  in  the  Decision,  the  Commission  may 
consider, where relevant and if appropriate, propose measures and exercise its powers under 
the Treaties in order to ensure the collective achievement of those objectives and targets. 

Finally, in case a Member State continuously deviates from the national projected trajectory 
for  several  years,  or  alternatively  does  not  intend  to  adopt  corrective  action  based  on  a 
previous Commission recommendation, the Commission may initiate a targeted dialogue with 
the Member State in question and inform the European Parliament and Council thereof. 

Figure 29: Annual Monitoring and Cooperation cycle 

75 

 
 
Figure 30: Annual cooperation between Commission and Member States 

5.  MULTI-COUNTRY PROJECTS 

One of the instruments to achieve the targets of the Digital Compass is to deliver significant 
investments supporting its four cardinal points. Since this scale of the ambition can very often 
not be achieved by one country alone, the Commission has put forward the proposal of Multi-
Country Projects as a response to challenges of the Digital Decade.  

Multi-Country  Projects  (MCPs)  are  large  scale  projects  facilitating  the  achievement  of  the 
targets for digital transformation of the Union and industrial recovery. They typically involve 
at least three Member States and include the Union’s and Member States’ financing.  

A large majority of respondents to the targeted consultation strongly agrees or agrees that in 
some critical areas the EU needs to build up its digital capacities (90.1%), that there is a need 
to  find  solutions  to  accelerate  and  facilitate  common  digital  projects  (90%),  and  that  such 
projects cannot be operated by Member States alone and should benefit from common action 
at  EU  level  (81.2%).  Consequently,  they  find  that  the  most  important  objectives  of  Multi-
Country  Projects  (ranking  1  and  2  out  of  5)  are  to  accelerate  the  digital  transition  (91.3%), 
accelerate  the  green  transition  (87%),  and  address  strategic  dependencies  to  achieve  EU 
digital sovereignty (65.2%).  

There are currently ten MCPs envisaged and we expect more to be launched throughout the 
decade.  

5.1. 

Identifying Multi-Country Projects 

The  Union  is  working  towards  the  capacity  to  develop  and  deploy  cutting-edge  digital 
technologies at sufficient scale, to ensure that citizens and businesses are fully empowered to 
benefit  from  the  digital  transition.  Resilient,  secure,  and  trustworthy  infrastructures  and 
technologies are indispensable to ensure respect of European rules and values. Today, digital 

76 

 
  
technologies  are  mostly  developed  outside  Europe.  While  a  strong  single  market,  open 
competition  and  trade  policy  are  critical  assets  for  Europe’s  economic  success,  a  massive 
scale-up of investments is also necessary.  

By channelling coordinated investments between the EU, Member States and private 
stakeholders, Multi-Country Projects should be designed to deliver the following general 
benefits for the for citizens and businesses in all Union Member States: 

  enable big projects that one single Member State could not deploy on its own; 

 

 

improve  the  cooperation  of  the  Union  and  of  the  Member  States  on  the  digital 
transformation; 

reinforce the Union’s technology excellence and industrial competitiveness in critical 
technologies, digital products, services and infrastructures; 

  address  strategic  dependencies  and  vulnerabilities  of  the  Union  along  the  digital 

supply chains; 

  pool resources to achieve economies of scale and increase impact; 

 

reduce digital divides between Member States, and widen the diffusion and best use of 
digital solutions; 

  support an interconnected, interoperable and secure Digital Single Market; 

  build ecosystems of excellence important enough to attract and retain talent; 

  and  implement  flagship  initiatives  for  which  cooperation  among  Member  States  is 

important. 

To  deliver  these  benefits,  the  Commission  and  Member  States  should  identify  situations 
where  MCPs  represent  an  effective  solution  to  issues  identified  in  the  in  the  report  on  the 
“State of the Digital Decade”. Engagement with Member States has shown the opportunity for 
the Commission to coordinate such projects, and experience has been gathered in areas such 
as  High-Performance  Computing.  During  the  discussions  with  Member  States  in  the 
preparation  of  their  RRPs,  the  Commission  has  underlined  the  opportunity  of  joint 
investments  in  a  selected  number  of  MCPs.  These  were  identified  on  the  basis  of  the 
preparatory  analysis  for  the  work  programmes  of  Digital  Europe,  the  Connecting  Europe 
Facility, Horizon Europe and the Media Programme. The updated industrial strategy and the 
analysis of strategic dependencies also provided useful input. As a result, a number of projects 
were put forward in the Digital Compass Communication: 

  European Common Data Infrastructure and Services: The purpose of this project is to 
deliver  the  next  generation  of  common  and  multi-purpose  federated,  secure  and 
energy  efficient  cloud-edge 
interoperable 
middleware  platforms  and  to  support  the  deployment  of  common  European  data 
spaces. 

infrastructure,  smart  services  and 

  Endow the EU with the next generation of low power trusted processors: The purpose 
of  the  project  is  to  equip  the  EU  with  capabilities  in  electronics  design  and 
deployment  of  the  next  generation  of  trusted  processors  and  other  electronic 
components  needed  to  power  its  critical  digital  infrastructure,  AI  systems  and 
communication networks. 

77 

 
  Deploying Pan-European 5G corridors: The purpose of the project is a Pan-European 
deployment of 5G corridors along TEN-T networks in  the interest  of Single Market 
and cohesion. 

  Acquiring supercomputers and quantum computers. The purpose of the project is to 
jointly  invest  with  the  Member  States  in  acquiring  and  operating  high  performance 
computing  power  and  connecting 
the  EuroHPC  extreme-bandwidth 
it  with 
communication network. 

  Developing and deploying an ultra-secure quantum and space-based communication 
infrastructures:  The  purpose  of  the  project  is  to  deploy  and  operationalise  an  ultra-
secure quantum communication infrastructure (QCI) spanning the whole EU. It would 
significantly  increase  the  security  of  communication  and  storage  of  sensitive  data 
assets all over the EU, including of critical infrastructures. 

  Deploying a network of Security Operations Centres. The purpose of the project is to 
build up a ‘cybersecurity shield' for the EU, which would be able to detect signs of a 
cyberattack early enough to enable proactive action, enhancing joint risk preparedness 
and response speed at national and EU level. 

  European  Digital  Innovation  Hubs:  The  purpose  of  the  project  is  to  support  the 
digitisation  of  European  Industry  through  completing  an  EU-wide  network  of 
European Digital Innovation Hubs. 

  Connected Public Administration: The purpose of the project is to make digital public 
services  safely  and  easily  accessible,  while  preserving  privacy  and  reducing  the 
administrative burden on citizens and businesses. 

  High-tech  partnerships  for  digital  skills  and  specialised  education:  The  purpose  of 
the  project  is  to  make  the  EU  the  best  in  the  world  for  nurturing  and  attracting 
advanced digital talents and skills whilst fostering an ecosystem that will help drive 
innovation  and  digital  breakthroughs.  Higher  education  institutions,  businesses  and 
research  centres  will  form  consortia  to  devise  and  implement  common  education 
programmes  in  specific  advanced digital  domains, building on the expertise of each 
partner. 

  European Blockchain Services Infrastructure: The purpose of the project  is to bring 
significant  benefits  to  EU  citizens,  enterprises  and  authorities  by  supporting  cross-
border and local applications enabling, for instance, that citizens can digitally identify 
themselves  and  share  accredited  credentials  (e.g.,  diplomas  or  life-long  learning 
certificates for university/job applications) without a burdensome verification process. 

Investment gaps in the areas targeted by these projects have been estimated and published in 
May  2020  in  the  staff  working  document189  accompanying  the  Communication  on  the 
Recovery Plan190. The proposed projects intend to fill the gaps and considerably develop EU’s 
capacities and technological sovereignty in these areas. 

All projects included in the initial list of MCPs were deemed high-priority (ranked 1 or 2 out 
of  5)  by  more  than  half  of  participants  in  the  targeted  consultation.  Many  respondents 

189 SWD(2020) 98 Identifying Europe’s recovery needs, Table 2 on p 18 
190 COM(2020) 456 Europe’s moment: Repair and Prepare for the Next Generation 

78 

 
                                                 
assigned  the  same  high  rank  to  several  of  the  proposed  areas,  pointing  out  that  all  of  them 
would benefit from a strongly European approach.  

The experience gathered over the last years in setting up large scale digital projects involving 
the EU, Member States  and stakeholders, and in particular the discussions in  the context  of 
the RRPs, have shown that time, resources and efficiency gains would be made by having a 
more  streamlined  mechanism  with  Member  States  to  identify  and  commit  to  the  necessary 
projects in the future.  

The Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade” proposes to establish, together with this 
initial list of MCPs, such a coordination mechanism to identify and launch additional Multi-
Country  Projects  on  the  basis  of  the  analysis  performed  in  the  report  on  the  “State  of  the 
Digital  Decade”  and  in  discussion  with  Member  States.  For  this  purpose,  it  is  proposed  to 
update  the  list  of  MCPs  through  the  annual  report  on  the  “State  of  the  Digital  Decade”, 
providing  the  necessary  flexibility  to  account  for  developments  and  identified  gaps  in 
Europe’s digital transformation. 

5.2. 

 Implementing Multi-Country Projects 

Once a project has been identified, a critical issue has to do with implementation. Experience 
has revealed a need to further strengthen synergies to use EU and national funding as well as 
private investment for the purposes of deploying and operating infrastructures and services of 
common interest, for building digital capacities and to achieve critical mass of funding. 

The Commission has identified and applied a series of implementation instruments that may 
be available for the purpose of implementing Multi-Country Projects. 

Joint  Undertakings:  Article  187  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union 
(TFEU)  specifies  that  the  EU  may  set  up  joint  undertakings  (JUs)  or  any  other  structure 
necessary  for  the  efficient  execution  of  EU  research,  technological  development  and 
demonstration programmes. Article 187 TFEU has been used under FP7 and Horizon 2020 to 
set up, in particular, public-private partnership bodies in order to integrate industrial research 
in specific areas. The members of these JUs are typically the European Union (represented by 
the European Commission) and industry-led associations as well as other partners. JUs adopt 
their own research agenda and award funding mainly on the basis of open calls for proposals. 

European Research Infrastructure Consortia (ERICs): The ERIC is a specific legal form 
that  facilitates  the  joint  establishment  and  operation  (by  Member  States)  of  research 
infrastructures  with  European  interest  on  a  non-economic  basis.  The  ERIC  becomes  a  legal 
entity  from  the  date  the  Commission  decision  setting  up  the  ERIC  takes  effect.  An  ERIC 
offers a legal capacity recognised as an international body or organisation in all EU countries, 
flexibility to adapt specific requirements of each infrastructure and exemption from VAT (to 
the discretion of the host country).  

Projects  of  common  interest  (such  as  the  trans-European  energy  infrastructure):  The 
TEN-E  guidelines  regulation  defines  the  criteria  for  projects  of  common  interest.  The 
Commission  then  adopts  by  way  of  delegated  acts  the  Union  list  of  projects  of  common 
interest.  Such  projects  are  cross-border  and  involve  at  least  two  Member  States.  Projects  of 
common interest may benefit from accelerated planning and permit granting, a single national 
authority  for  obtaining  permits,  improved  regulatory  conditions,  lower  administrative  costs, 

79 

 
increased  public  participation  via  consultations,  and  increased  visibility  to  investors.  They 
may benefit from CEF funding. 

Non-profit  associations:  The  GÉANT  Association  is  an  existing  example  of  a  non-profit 
organisation  financed  with  H2020  grant  which  federates  services,  interconnects  and  acts  on 
behalf  of  its  national  research  and  education  network  (NREN)  members.  NRENs  are  at  the 
same time partners and users of GÉANT services. The GÉANT Vereinigung is registered in 
the Netherlands and operates with a branch in the UK.  

Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI): The IPCEI is a compatibility 
basis under State aid rules. Where private initiatives supporting breakthrough innovation fail 
to  materialise  because  of  the  significant  risks  such  projects  entail,  the  IPCEI  State  aid 
Communication  enables  Member  States  to  jointly  fill  the  gap  to  overcome  these  market 
failures,  while  ensuring  that  the  EU  economy  at  large  benefits  and  limiting  potential 
distortions to competition. The IPCEI criteria191 do not prevent a mix of national, private and 
centrally-managed  EU  funds.  Therefore  the  IPCEI  offers  a  mechanism  to  coordinate 
investments between Member States, businesses, research and technological organisations and 
proves to be a useful as an instrument to implement some of the Multi-Country Projects. 

Working  with  an  existing  agency,  such  as  EU-Lisa:  Executive  agencies  can  be  tasked  to 
invest and coordinate specific projects. For instance, EU-Lisa (established by Regulation (EU) 
2018/1726)  is  the  European  Union  Regulatory  Agency  (with  legal,  administrative  and 
financial autonomy) for the long-term solutions for Operational Management of Large-Scale 
IT Systems  in  the Area of Freedom,  Security and Justice. The Agency is entrusted with  the 
preparation, development and operational management of a number of IT systems defined in 
the regulation.  

European  Economic  Interest  Grouping  (EEIG):  EEIG  (established  by  Regulation  No 
2137/85) is a legal instrument set up to for cross-border cooperation within the EU. It can be 
formed  by  companies  or  firms,  or  individuals  who  carry  out  industrial,  commercial  or 
agricultural activities (at least 2 members from different EU countries). EEIG is a lighter form 
of  cooperation,  which  facilitates  or  develops  the  economic  activities  of  its  members  by 
pooling resources, activities or skills.  

Considering  the  above  implementation  mechanisms,  the  following  table  describes  how  they 
can be used to implement the initial list of MCPs described in the previous section. The table 
also presents the Member States that have foreseen to invest in these MCPs by using national 
Recovery and Resilience Funds (RRF). 

Multi-Country Project 

Member States investing 
RRF funds into the MCP 

Implementation instrument 
for the MCP 

European Common Data 
Infrastructure and Services  

For the MCP part on data 
processing infrastructure and 

IPCEI on Next Generation 
Cloud Infrastructure and 

191 Communication from the Commission — Criteria for the analysis of the compatibility with the internal 
market of State aid to promote the execution of important projects of common European interest, OJ C 188, 
20.6.2014, p. 4. 

80 

 
                                                 
The purpose of the project is to deliver 
the next generation common and 
multi-purpose federated cloud to edge 
infrastructure and smart services, and 
to support the deployment of common 
European data spaces. 

services, RRF commitments 
by seven Member States192.  

Services 

In addition, BE, LU, NL, HU 
are involved in the MCP part 
on data processing capacities 
based on national funding. 

For common European data 
spaces: Digital Europe 
Programme; and EDIC in the 
future. 

Endow the EU with the next 
generation of low power trusted 
processors  

RRF commitments by ten 
Member States193.  

The purpose of the project is to equip 
the EU with capabilities in electronics 
design and deployment of the next 
generation of trusted processors and 
other electronic components needed to 
power its critical digital infrastructure, 
AI systems and communication 
networks. 

Developing Pan-European deployment 
of 5G corridors 

RRF commitments by eight 
Member States194. 

IPCEI on Microelectronics 
focusing on processors and 
connectivity, complemented by 
other instruments, particularly 
the Key Digital Technologies 
Joint Undertaking 

Large-scale testing using 
Horizon 2020 funding and large-
scale deployment under CEF 
Digital 

RRF commitments by nine 
Member States195.  

EuroHPC Joint Undertaking 

The purpose of the project is a Pan-
European deployment of 5G corridors 
along TEN-T networks in the interest 
of Single Market and cohesion. 

Acquiring supercomputers and 
quantum computers, connected with 
the EuroHPC. 

The purpose of the project is to jointly 
invest in acquiring and operating high 
performance computing power and 
connecting it with the EuroHPC 
extreme-bandwidth communication 
network.  

Developing and deploying an ultra-
secure quantum and space-based 

RRF commitments by four 
Member States196.  

Digital Europe Programme, CEF 
Digital and ISA funding, overall 
governance arrangements still 

192 Best estimates based on the DE, ES, FR, IT, LV plans. Further amounts proposed from Member States for 
which the adoption of the plans are still pending. Possibly subject to further changes.  
193 Best estimates based on the AT, DE, CZ, ES, FR, IT, SI, BE plans. Further amounts proposed from Member 
States for which the adoption of the plans are still pending. Possibly subject to further changes.  
194 Best estimates based on the CZ, ES, IT, LV, EL, LT plans. Further amounts proposed from Member States 
for which the adoption of the plans are still pending. Possibly subject to further changes.  
195 Best estimates based on the CZ, SK, ES, DE, IT, EL, AT. Further amounts proposed from Member States for 
which the adoption of the plans are still pending. Possibly subject to further changes.  
196 SK, EL, ES, LU 

81 

 
 
                                                 
communication infrastructure 

The purpose of the project is to deploy 
and operationalise a ultra-secure 
quantum communication infrastructure 
(QCI) spanning the whole EU. It 
significantly increase the security of 
communication and storage of 
sensitive data assets all over the EU, 
including of critical infrastructures.  

under discussion, including the 
synergies with DEFIS Secure 
Connectivity Initiative. 

Deploying a network of Security 
Operations Centres. 

RRF commitments by four 
Member States197.  

Digital Europe Programme 

The purpose of the project is to build 
up a ‘cybersecurity shield' for the EU, 
able to detect signs of a cyberattack 
early enough and to enable proactive 
action, for enhanced joint risk 
preparedness and response at national 
and EU level.  

European Digital Innovation Hubs 

The purpose of the project is to 
support the digitisation of European 
Industry through completing an EU-
wide network of European Digital 
Innovation Hubs. 

Connected Public Administration 

The purpose of the project is to make 
digital public services safely and 
easily accessible, while preserving 
privacy at a minimum of 
administrative burden on citizens and 
businesses.  

RRF commitments by nine 
Member States198. Other MSs 
intend to invest as well, 
outside RRF.  

Digital Europe Programme 

Member States investing 
from outside RRF 

Digital Europe Programme  

High-tech partnerships for digital 
skills and specialised education . 

RRF commitment by one 
Member State199. 

Digital Europe Programme 

The purpose of the project is to make 
the EU the best in the world for 
nurturing and attracting advanced 
digital talents and skills whilst 
fostering an ecosystem that will help 
drive innovation and digital 

197 EL, ES, IT and a Member State for which the adoption of the plan is still pending.  
198 Best estimate based on the HR, IT, IE, SK, PT, LV, ES, CZ plans. Further amounts proposed by a Member 
State for which the adoption of the plan is still pending. Possibly subject to further changes.  
199 IT 

82 

 
                                                 
breakthroughs. Higher education 
institutions, businesses and research 
centres will form consortia to devise 
and implement common education 
programmes in specific advanced 
digital domains, building on the 
expertise of each partner.  

European Blockchain Services 
Infrastructure  

The purpose of the project is to bring 
significant benefits to EU citizens, 
enterprises and authorities by 
supporting cross-border and local 
applications enabling, for instance, 
that citizens can digitally identify 
themselves and share accredited 
credentials (diploma or a life-long 
learning certificate, for university/job 
applications) without a burdensome 
verification process.  

RRF commitments by two 
Member States200. The 
Blockchain partnership 
however brings together all 
EU MS.  

CEF Telecom and Digital 
Europe Programme as a start, 
EDIC in the future.  

Figure  28:  Initial  list  of  MCPs  with  corresponding  implementation  instrument  and 
participating Member States 

5.3.  Need for a new instrument for implementing some Multi-Country 

Projects 

In order to be efficient and fit for the purpose of accelerating the process to set up some of the 
above or future MCPs, a new instrument for deploying and operating multi-country projects is 
needed.  It  requires  a  number  of  combined  features  as  described  in  the  Communication. 
Concretely, it will need to be set up swiftly and flexibly, while making sure projects remain 
open  to  all  interested  Member  States,  and  the  Commission  should  be  involved  to  ensure 
openness  and  coordination  of  that  instrument  with  Union  law,  EU  policies  and  priorities, 
notably competition and State aid rules, and coordination with EU investment programmes.  

Respondents  to  the  targeted  consultation  agree  that  the  possibility  to  set  up  projects  swiftly 
and flexibly is the most important feature of an instrument facilitating the implementation of 
MCPs  (ranked  1  out  of  5  by  67.9%  of  respondents).  Many  emphasized  the  importance  of 
reducing administrative burdens and supporting flexibility to facilitate the pooling of EU and 
national  funding,  cross-border 
investments,  and  co-investment  models  with  private 
stakeholders. Some requested the European Commission to create a “toolbox” including the 
above-mentioned features to accelerate Multi-Country Projects.  

The  table  below  provides  an  overview  of  the  gap  analysis  performed  to  validate  whether 
existing  instruments  would  be  sufficient  to  meet  these  objectives.  It  highlights  that 
shortcomings can be identified for  all of the existing mechanisms. The existing mechanisms 
could  be  used  in  certain  circumstances.  These  would  include  for  example  the  IPCEI  to 

200 CZ and a Member State for which the adoption of the plan is still pending.  

83 

 
                                                 
the  IPCEI  on 
implement  Next  Generation  Cloud  Infrastructure  and  Services,  or 
Microelectronics  through  which  the  endowment  of  the  EU  with  the  next  generation  of  low 
power  trusted  processors  will  be  implemented.  These  two  projects  managed  to  gather  a 
significant amount of support from the Member States through the RRP adoption process. On 
the other hand, designing a new implementation mechanism for certain projects is necessary 
and justified too, especially for cases such as the European Blockchain Service infrastructure, 
for  which  the  features  missing  in  the  existing  instruments  are  vital  to  proceed  with  further 
deployment. 

Key requirements 
for instruments to 
implement the 
MCPs  

EU 
body – 
JU / 
CCCN 

EU 
body – 
executi
ve 
agency 

ERIC 

PCI 

Non-
profit 

IPCEI 

EEIG 

Scalability 
a)  Rapid set up 
b)  Legal 

status/personalit
y 

c)  Liability (GDPR 
and consumer 
protection) 

d)  Variable 
geometry 

e)  Private members 
f)  Commission in 
governance 
g)  Independent 

from research 
activities 
Combination of 
funding – single set 
of rules 

No 
Yes 

No 
Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

? 
No 

Yes 
Yes 

No 
No 

No 
Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 
Yes 

No / 
Yes 

No 

Yes 

No 
Yes 

Yes 

No 
No 

No 

Yes 

Yes 
No 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 
No 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 
? 

Yes 

No 

 Yes 
No 

Yes 

No 

No 

No 

No 

No 

Yes 

No 

Red:  

Feature not present 

Yellow:  The presence of the feature depending on the circumstances 

Green:   Feature present 

Figure 29: Key features of existing implementation instruments for MCPs 

The  Policy  Programme  proposes  therefore  that  a  mechanism  is  designed  based  on  a 
cooperation between the Commission and the Member States, that would involve identifying 
Member  States  interested  in  participating  in  MCPs  with  financial  or  non-financial 
commitments; as well as an analysis of the available implementation instruments followed by 
an  advice  on  the  choice  of  the  optimal  instrument  for  a  given  MCP,  prepared  by  the 
Commission  

Then,  if  no  suitable  existing  implementation  instrument  is  identified  for  a  given  MCP,  it  is 
proposed  that  a  flexible  and  easily  implementable  legal  framework  should  be  created  under 
the  Policy  Programme  for  setting  up  consortia  by  Member  States  interested  in  the 
participation.  This  legal  framework  is  inspired  by  the  provisions  on  European  Research 
Infrastructure  Consortia  (ERICs) 
the 
implementation  of  many  research  projects.  The  21  existing  ERICs  have  applied  for  and 

regulation,  which  has  proven  successful 

in 

84 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
received Horizon 2020 grants201. In contrast to  ERIC, the new instrument would be open to 
areas outside research and be equipped with the necessary additional features outlined in the 
Chapter  5  of  the  proposed  decision  establishing  the  Policy  Programme  “Path  to  the  Digital 
Decade”.  

This  new  instrument,  the  European  Digital  Infrastructure  Consortium  (EDIC),  would 
address  the  need  for  a  number  of  combined  implementation  features  of  Multi-Country 
Projects as described in the Communication.  

EDIC  will  therefore  complement  existing  implementation  instruments  for  Multi-Country 
Projects to be considered in discussions with Member States. Examples of MCPs that could 
rely  on  the  existing  instruments  would  be  the  Processors  and  Semi-conductor  chips  and  the 
part  on  data  processing  infrastructure  and  services  of  the  European  Common  Data 
Infrastructure and Services, where the implementation is  foreseen under an  IPCEI structure, 
and  for  which  the  preparations  are  already  ongoing.  EDIC  is  not  envisaged  to  replace  such 
existing  implementation  instruments,  but  to  offer  Member  States  another,  fast,  efficient  and 
easily implementable mechanism. 

It  is  expected  that  EDIC  will  be  widely  used  for  new  Multi-Country  Projects  identified  in 
accordance with this decision beyond the initial list provided in Annex II, especially because 
of the speed of establishment and other efficiencies offered by EDIC. Future EDICs will be 
able to apply to calls for proposals in the context of EU funding programmes. 

5.4.  Case-studies for the new EDIC 

In  addition  to  a  gap  analysis,  the  Commission  analysed  concrete  case  studies  to  assess  the 
need  for  a  new  instrument  as  EDIC.  Two  cases  of  MCPs  are  presented  here:  i)  European 
Blockchain Service Infrastructure and ii) European Common Data Infrastructure and Services. 

European Blockchain Service Infrastructure 

Blockchain technology allows people and organisations who may not know or trust each other 
to  collectively agree on and permanently record  information  without a third-party authority. 
By creating trust in data in ways that were not possible before, blockchain has the potential to 
revolutionise how information is shared and transactions are carried out online.  

The European Blockchain Service Infrastructure (EBSI) is a unique pan-European project that 
brings together all EU Member States and other (EEA) countries in the European Blockchain 
Partnership with the Commission’s support. With development phase (2018-2019) concluded, 
the EBSI has now moved to deployment and operation of a pan-European blockchain-based 
infrastructure.  

Since  2018,  the  EBSI  has  fully  functioning  governance202  to  collectively  take  decisions  on 
both the policy and operational levels. A network is now ready for exploiting the EBSI Core 

201 The 21 ERICs have received a total of 212 H2020 grants, both from the research infrastructures part and from 
other parts of the programme. The list of ERICs is available here: ERIC Landscape | European Commission 
(europa.eu)  
202  The  European  Blockchain  Partnership  (EBP)  decides  every  year  what  are  the  use  cases  to  address  as  the 
priority for EBSI. Member States coordinate the work on use cases; EBP endorses all key decisions for EBSI; 

85 

 
                                                 
 
Services  (blockchain,  APIs)  in  a  pre-production  phase.  It  relies  on  the  deployment  of  more 
than  35  nodes  covering  at  least  23  Member  States  (other  Member  States  are  currently 
onboarding),  and  to  pilot  in  real  settings  first  use  cases  of  the  European  Blockchain 
Partnership (EU Self Sovereign Identity Use Case, Diploma Use Case, Document Traceability 
Use Case, while a fourth use case concerning VAT IoSS Case is under development) for non-
commercial purposes.  

The  EBSI  has  been  funded  by  CEF  Telecom  (for  development  phase)  and  from  2021/22 
onwards  will  be  funded  by  the  Digital  Europe  Programme.  The  core  service  platform 
currently  in  place  for  EBSI  is  procured  with  DG  DIGIT.  The  potential  beneficiaries  from 
Member  States  can  apply  to  calls  for  grants  in  order  to  receive  funding  for  deployment  at 
national level. Member States can contribute funds to  create additional capacity for national 
or regional use cases. The service for users is free of charge, considered public good, and at 
the disposal to large variety of actors.  

In order to ensure the long term sustainability of the EBSI, the current “consortium structure” 
of EU Commission and 29 Member States of the European Blockchain Partnership must be 
managed through a legal vehicle that can conclude legal relationships and manage regulatory 
questions on behalf of the consortium. The legal vehicle should involve the EU Commission 
as well as the members of the European Blockchain Partnership in its governance structure. 
This  transfer  into  a  legal  vehicle  may  also  allow  to  safeguard  potential  investments  of  EU 
Member  States  under  the  RRF.  The  added  value  of  the  new  instrument  for  such  a  legal 
vehicle, in the form of EDIC, would stem from the creation of a specific legal entity for EBSI, 
whose governance coud be customised to the needs of the project, in particular: 

  Scalability – very limited now, as the Digital Europe funding is not sufficient to reach 

the necessary scale; 

  Liability  –  at  the  moment  the  Commission  is  liable  for  any  potential  issues  (GDPR, 

consumer protection) ; 

  Long  term  operation  –the  operation  is  dependent  on  funding  from  the  Commission, 

subject to biennial Digital Europe WP adoption;  

  Legal personality and the possibility to procure and operate infrastructure; 

  Agility  –  depending  on  related  conditions,  the  creation  of  a  new  legal  entity  can 
provide for more agility, considering that EC services mainly focus on policy and that 
EC  rules  and  procedures  can  often  be  too  constraining  for  the  future  development, 
deployment, support and maintenance of such an infrastructure.  

European Common Data Infrastructure and Services 

In  the  European  strategy  for  data,  the  Commission  announced  a  High  Impact  Project  on 
European Data Spaces and federated cloud  infrastructures and services. A key  asset of the 
project is that it provides an integrated strategy for European investments in the data economy 
by interlinking its two constituent elements: on the one hand, innovative data ecosystems and, 

EBP participates with experts in technical and design discussions on EBSI; MS contribute to the infrastructure 
through the  provision of national nodes. Regular EBP quarterly  meetings have been organised since  mid-2018 
and  meetings  with  EBP  co-chairs,  convenors  of  technical  group  and  use  cases  and  the  EC  are  held  twice  a 
month.  

86 

 
                                                                                                                                                         
on the other hand, the necessary data processing infrastructure and services. Both will be part 
of the MCP in European Common Data Infrastructure and Services.  

Respondents to the targeted consultation identify European Common Data Infrastructure and 
Services  as  the  most  important  area  for  Multi-Country  Projects  (ranked  1  or  2  out  of  5  by 
90.6%),  stressing  that  the  EU  needs  to  look  at  digital  technologies  not  just  to  improve 
operations or efficiency, but also to connect ecosystem actors in a broader data economy, with 
advanced data-driven services and business models. The MCP will realise these two elements 
by focusing on four key actions: Firstly, it will support the deployment of common European 
data spaces. Secondly, it will renew and expand distributed data processing infrastructure and 
service foundations across Europe, by developing and deploying real-time (very low latency) 
edge  capabilities  and  smart  data  processing  services.  Thirdly,  it  will  foster  the  design  of 
secure,  low  power  and  interoperable  middleware  platforms  for  multiple  sectoral  uses;  and 
fourthly, it will invest in becoming the global leader in transversal domains to create the next 
generation  of  data  processing  solutions  that  are  by  design  secure,  climate-neutral  and 
interoperable.  

The implementation of this MCP is expected to require a combination of two instruments: the 
IPCEI  to  implement  Next  Generation  Cloud  Infrastructure  and  Services  and  an  EDIC  to 
implement the common European data spaces: 

1.  Implementation of the Next Generation Cloud Infrastructure and Services via an IPCEI 

The infrastructure and services for data processing (e.g., cloud and edge computing) could be 
implemented through an IPCEI on Next Generation Cloud Infrastructure and Services203. This 
IPCEI  would  aim  to  deliver  the  next  generation  common  federated  cloud  to  edge 
infrastructure  and  smart  services  and  would  include,  among  others,  several  relevant  use 
cases204. It would directly contribute to transforming/reforming the data processing sector by 
making  it  more  diversified,  low  power,  ultra-secure,  interoperable  and  distributed  to 
efficiently respond to the real time and data security needs of EU businesses, citizens and the 
public sector.  

The Commission advanced common infrastructure for data storage and processing, to be set 
up in line with European values and rules, will respond to the needs of the public and private 
sectors,  including  SMEs.  It  will  support  a  resilient  and  sustainable  digital  transition  by 
developing and deploying a distributed, secure, energy efficient and interoperable cloud-edge 
continuum  accessible  across  the  entire  EU.  Such  a  continuum  will  be  equipped  with  ultra-
secure  and  low  power  data  hosting  and  processing  services  and  innovative  data  exchange 
services via the cloud. These innovative services of secure storage and data exchange provide 
a technical infrastructure for the deployment of the common European data spaces.  

2.  Implementation of the common European data spaces via an EDIC  

203  See  official  website  of  the  on-going  IPCEI  on  Next  Generation  Cloud  Infrastructure  and  Services: 
https://www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/EN/Artikel/Industry/ipcei-cis.html  
204 See IPCEI on Next Generation Cloud Infrastructure and Services (IPCEI-CIS) Working Paper - Value Chain 
Description, 
https://www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/EN/Downloads/I/ipcei-cis-value-chain-
July 
description.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2  

2021: 

1 

87 

 
                                                 
The data spaces will bring together data infrastructures and governance structures in order to 
facilitate data pooling and data sharing, a pre-condition  for wider availability of data across 
the  European  economy.  Given  the  enormous  potential  in  data  sharing  within  and  between 
sectors,  the  Commission  will  co-invest  in  common  European  data  spaces  in  strategic 
economic  areas  and  areas  of  public  interest.  The  Digital  Europe  programme  will  be 
instrumental to the deployment of such common European data spaces. Their implementation 
will take place in two phases: 

 

 

In the first  phase, common support actions will lay the basis for the development  of 
each  of  the  data  spaces  through  community  building  and  preparatory  work  on 
interoperability  and  governance.  A  Data  Spaces  Support  Centre  will  be  created  that 
will define the blueprint architecture and data infrastructure requirements for the data 
spaces  in  cooperation  with  the  relevant  stakeholders.  In  parallel,  the  data  processing 
infrastructure that can be used across the different data-spaces will be developed. 

In  the  second  phase,  the  Commission  will  support  the  deployment  of  the  actual 
European data spaces, which should connect to the work done in the other part of the 
MCP  on  European  Common  Data  Infrastructure  and  Services,  relating  to  data 
processing infrastructure and services. 

Currently  a  number  of  Member  States  are  already  investing  in  and  deploying  national  data 
spaces. Therefore, in order to make data spaces scale across the EU, funding from the Digital 
Europe  Programme  will  need  to  be  combined  with  other  public  funding  sources  for  data 
spaces at the European and national level (CEF2, regional funds, etc.) as well as with private 
investments.  To  structure  and  coordinate  these  investments,  and  building  on  the  actions 
funded by the Digital Europe Programme, an EDIC would have the following advantages: 

  Coordination and push for “EU-wide accessible” data spaces (based on the developed 

data processing infrastructure and services). 

  Combined  funding  (e.g.,  through  joint  procurements)  to  reach  a  sufficient  scale  of 
investments  to  allow  the  deployment  of  data  spaces  at  European  level,  guaranteeing 
impact  and  sustainability  of  the  action;  and  to  finance  a  technical  infrastructure 
offering  additional  services  (such  as  ad  hoc  data  analytics  and  metadata,  generation 
tools  for  public  sector  organisations  that  would  like  to  move  their  data  on  the  next 
generation cloud infrastructure). 

  Strengthened role of the Member States under a governance structure for funding the 

deployment of data spaces, as this is to be provided by the EDIC.  

To  guarantee  an  integrated  approach  between  all  objectives  of  the  MCP,  the  Data  Spaces 
Support Centre205 and the European Alliance for Industrial Data, Edge and Cloud206 will help 
to  ensure  that  EU  funding  in  standard  data  processing  capacities  matches  the  needs  of 
common European data spaces.  

205 This is one of the actions foreseen for funding under the Digital Europe programme work programme 2021-
2022. 
206 See European Commission website: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/cloud-alliance  

88 

 
                                                 
These two initial examples demonstrate the opportunity of EDIC for concrete Multi-Country 
Projects  and  highlight  that  its  features  would  offer  possibilities  currently  not  covered  by 
existing tools.  

6.  SPECTRUM AS AN ESSENTIAL ENABLER TO REACH DIGITAL TARGETS 

Radio  spectrum  is  an  essential  connectivity  resource,  without  which  the  connectivity  goals 
under the 2030 Digital Decade cannot be achieved. Radio spectrum is also a scarce resource 
that needs to be managed effectively and efficiently to meet the requirements of a variety of 
stakeholders.  As  stressed  by  the  Commission’s  2030  Digital  Compass  Communication,  the 
timely  availability  of  radio  spectrum  will  be  essential  for  the  deployment  of  wireless  fixed, 
mobile terrestrial and satellite communications through very high capacity networks and the 
achievement  of  the  new  2030  targets  on  connectivity.  This  requires  transparency, 
predictability and legal certainty to maximise investments, as well as sufficient flexibility to 
allow for innovation and efficient use of the spectrum. The experiences in Europe concerning 
the late deployment of 4G due to late spectrum authorisations need to be avoided in the future. 

Access  to  radio  spectrum  requires  both  spectrum  allocation  under  harmonised  technical 
conditions  on  the  basis  of  the  Radio  Spectrum  Decision  and  timely  spectrum  assignment 
under appropriate procedures and conditions. While the assignment of spectrum is managed at 
national level, it has to be implemented in line with the European Electronic Communications 
Code and should benefit from the best practices identified in the Connectivity Toolbox207.  

The  Radio  Spectrum  Policy  Programme  (RSPP)208  of  2012  has  set  the  framework  of 
regulatory principles and strategic orientations on spectrum management as well as an initial 
set  of  spectrum  related  actions  on  spectrum  harmonisation  and  assignment  for  4G.  Further, 
recent  work  of  and  public  consultation  by  the  Radio  Spectrum  Policy  Group  (RSPG), 
recommend a number of important initiatives on advanced connectivity, innovative wireless 
services,  environmental  needs  and  the  deployment  of  new  technology  in  the  spectrum 
management process (including for spectrum sharing) in various sectors, including electronic 
communications and broadcasting, space, transport or unmanned aviation systems209.  

Additionally, the RSPG has launched the process of peer review forums under Article 35 of 
the Electronic Communications Code whereby its (voluntary) use by four Member States in 

207 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/connectivity-toolbox-member-states-agree-best-practices-boost-
timely-deployment-5g-and-fibre  
208 Decision No 243/2012/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2012 establishing a 
multiannual radio spectrum policy programme, OJ L 81, 21. 3. 20122, p. 7 
209 Recent work of and public consultation by the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG), include: 

- 

- 

- 
- 
- 

the development of a 5G spectrum roadmap (3 Opinions, i.e. RSPG16-032, RSPG18-005 and RSPG19-
007)  which  paved  the  way  for  the  availability  of  5G-ready  frequency  bands  in  support  of  5G 
deployment as set out in the  5G Action plan and in  meeting the EU’s Gigabit connectivity  targets by 
2025.  
the  opinion  on  a  future  radio  spectrum  policy  programme  (RSPG21-033),  which  suggests  key 
intervention  areas  where  additional  support  measures  can  be  deployed  to  increase  the  efficiency  and 
effectiveness of the spectrum management process.  
the Opinion on spectrum sharing – pioneer initiatives and bands (RSPG21-022) 
the Opinion on additional spectrum needs (RSPG21-024) 
the  draft  Opinion  (RSPG21-027)  and  a  report  on  the  “role  of  radio  spectrum  policy  to  help  combat 
climate change” (RSPG21-026). 

89 

 
                                                 
the first six months of its implementation in the context of their national selection processes 
demonstrated the effectiveness of the process. In parallel, the peer review forums revealed the 
potential to lead national assignment processes to greater levels of efficiency notably through 
the  deployment  of  additional  support  measures  focusing  on  more  systematic  collection  and 
cross-fertilisation of knowledge and experiences among national authorities that can be used 
both  by  Member  State  authorities  when  designing  their  selection  processes  and/or  by 
prospective spectrum users. 

The new framework and developments under the 2030 Digital Decade notably call for even 
greater flexibility and faster adaptation of spectrum management to the emerging connectivity 
needs  and  requirements,  such  as  for  environmental  protection  and  sustainability  within  the 
Green  Deal.  This  implies  the  more  efficient  assignment  of  spectrum  at  national  level  (in 
particular, where most of the delays have been observed so far, e.g. in the assignment of the 
5G  pioneer  bands)  and  the  faster  adoption  of  new  technology  and  innovative  regulatory 
options for spectrum management such as on shared spectrum use. While it is hard to predict 
spectrum  needs  in  the  longer  term  due  to  rapid  technological  developments  and  constantly 
evolving needs, particularly under the fast evolving digital and green transformation process, 
early  and  flexibly  adaptable  information  about  future  spectrum  availability  would  increase 
legal certainty and investment predictability. 

Since spectrum is essential to achieve the digital targets, and in particular a secure, performant 
and sustainable digital infrastructure, Member States should report on their adopted and future 
policies  and  measures  regarding  the  availability  and  possibility  to  use  radio  spectrum  for 
existing users and prospective investors and operators. Without prejudice to the possibility for 
the Commission to propose new strategic spectrum policy orientations or mechanisms under 
Article 4 (4) of Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council210, 
appropriate guidance could be provided by the Commission in that regard in order to meet the 
general objectives and digital targets. 

Examples of such guidance may include (but not  be limited to)  practical  spectrum roadmap 
elements for priority actions in relation to initiatives on enhanced radio spectrum coordination 
and/or  mechanisms  (such  as  setting  up  a  database)  with  an  aim  to  assist  the  cooperation 
between  national  authorities,  inform  existing  and  prospective  spectrum  users  about  the 
national  spectrum  authorisation  processes,  and  monitor  the  availability  and  accessibility  of 
spectrum in the Member States. Any recommended actions from the Commission should take 
utmost account of any relevant RSPG opinions. 

The targeted consultation included questions, among others, pertaining to the above guidance-
examples.  Most  respondents  to  the  targeted  consultation  believe  that  an  evolving  spectrum 
roadmap would increase the efficiency and effectiveness of spectrum management (78,6%). A 
vast majority of respondents considers a voluntary mechanism to assist national authorities in 
the spectrum authorisation process to be beneficial for timely spectrum availability and usage 
(82,4%).  The  RSPG  had  in  this  context  provided  an  opinion211  in  which  it  welcomes  the 
measures and provides suggestions on their implementation. 

210 Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing 
the European Electronic Communications Code (OJ L 321, 17.12.2018, p. 36). 
211 https://rspg-spectrum.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/RSPG21-033final-RSPG_Opinion_on_RSPP.pdf 

90 

 
                                                 
ANNEXES  

ANNEX 1: CONSULTATION 

1. Overview of consultation activities and participants 

The preparation of the Commission’s proposal  was informed by the views and input from a 
wide range of stakeholders collected through a series of consultation activities between March 
and August 2021. The main objective of these activities was to help to  prepare a legislative 
policy proposal based on the Digital Compass Communication and pave the way for a smooth 
and effective achievement of the enshrined objectives. 

The  consultation  activities  targeted  stakeholders  in  the  Member  States,  EU  institutions,  the 
business  community,  civil  society,  academia,  and  other  economic  and  social  partner 
organisations operating on local, regional, national, and international levels and encompassed 
the following: 

1)  A consultation on the Roadmap for the Digital Compass Policy Programme, open on 
the Commission’s ‘Have your say’ platform from 24 June 2021 to 22 July 2021.  

2)  A  targeted  consultation  in  the  form  of  a  questionnaire  published  on  EU  survey  to 
collect feedback on the key elements of the Digital Compass, open from 22 June to 3 
August  2021.  Awareness  of  the  targeted  consultation  was  raised  through  several 
outreach activities, including email invitations to policy stakeholders, features on the 
homepage  of  the  digital  strategy  website  and  in  the  Commission’s  weekly  Shaping 
Europe’s  Digital  Future  Newsletter  as  well  as  posts  on  DG  CNECT’s  social  media 
channels  and  in  the  Digital  Compass  Community  on  Futurium.  Notably,  the  Digital 
Compass Community on Futurium raised awareness and disseminated information to 
up to 128 members, of which 34 are associated with academic/research institution, 29 
with a company, 26 with a public authority (including EU institutions), 16 with a non-
governmental  organisation  (NGO),  10  with  a  business  association,  1  with  a  trade 
association and 12 are without organisational affiliation. 

3)  Events, discussions and exchanges with stakeholders, including institutional partners, 

prior to the written consultation process. 

Disclaimer: the views summarized are not the views of the European Commission but of the 
stakeholders that participated in this open public consultation. It cannot in any circumstances 
be regarded as the official position of the Commission or its services.  

2. Results of consultation on roadmap 

The  Commission  received  15  contributions  from  different  types  of  stakeholders:  non-
governmental  organisations  (4),  business  associations  (2),  public  authorities  (2),  business 
organisations  (2),  an  EU  citizen  (1),  an  academic  institution  (1)  and  other  (3).  All  of  the 
replies originated from the EU: Belgium (6), Spain (3), Germany (2), Netherlands (1), Greece 
(1), France (1), Finland (1). 

91 

 
2.1 General Comments 

Stakeholders  are  overall  supportive  of  the  Commission’s  initiative  and  its  intention  to 
operationalise the EU’s digital ambition into a concrete monitoring and reporting mechanism.  

The  Open  Future  Foundation  (OFF)  feels,  however,  that  a  stronger  presence  of  the  civil 
society  and  the  non-profit  sector  is  needed  for  the  Programme  to  succeed.  The  OFF 
emphasises that, as a principle, the European Union should adopt the Quadruple Helix model, 
according to which government, industry, academia and civil participants are treated as equal 
stakeholders.  Moreover,  the  OFF  believes  that  a  strong,  shared  vision  that  guides  this 
coordinated  effort  is  as  important  as  governance  mechanisms  outlined  in  the  Roadmap;  a 
European Digital Public Space, promoting more sovereign societies and individuals through 
the democratisation of access, transparency and accountability would be one such vision. 

While the Free Knowledge Advocacy Group (FKAG) is supportive of establishing a common 
framework  for  implementation  of  the  digital  targets  across  the  EU,  FKAG  fears  that  the 
Programme  may  not  bring  its  intended  results  unless  more  attention  is  devoted  to  the 
implementation  of  related  legislative  acts  or  proposals  in  the  area  of  digital.  FKAG 
mentions  in  particular  the  Copyright  Directive212,  the  Terrorist  Content  Regulation213  and 
proposals on the Digital Services Act214 and the Digital Markets Act215.  

The  Global  Institute  for  Structure  Relevance,  Anonymity  and  Decentralisation  (GISAD) 
proposes that citizens’ rights should be at the centre of any legislative initiative in the area of 
digital, including the Digital Compass Policy Programme. GISAD mentions a range of rights 
which should be taken into  account  in  the process  of digital  transformation, such as control 
over one’s creative works online, choice over location of data storage, digital access to public 
services and equal participation in autonomous road transport. 

The  Flemish  Public  Administration  (FPA)  supports  the  rights  approach  proposed  by  the 
Digital  Compass.  However,  FPA  asks  for  attention  to  be  paid  to  the  proper  guidance  for 
companies and other users about digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and data-
driven application in the integration of these new regulations. In addition, the FPA notes that a 
lot of preparatory work is already being carried out for such a rights approach, not in the least 
with  the  Council  of  Europe  in  the  Ad  Hoc  Committee  on  Artificial  Intelligence  (CAHAI) 
which  is  focusing  on  regulation  on  Artificial  Intelligence.  The  FPA  therefore  asks  that 
maximum  use be made  of that work  and that duplication and overlap be avoided. The FPA 
also notes that the pursuit of digital sovereignty should be accompanied by coherence in EU 
policies – digital sovereignty, as the FPA understands it, pertains to the development of the 
EU’s  own  capacities  and  the  reduction  of  our  deficiencies,  not  to  protectionism.  For  this 
reason, when entering into international digital partnerships, special attention needs to be paid 
to openness. 

212 Directive (EU) 2019/790 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on copyright and 
related rights in the Digital Single Market and amending Directives 96/9/EC and 2001/29/EC, OJ L 130, 
17.5.2019, p. 92–125. 
213 Regulation (EU) 2021/784 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 on addressing the 
dissemination of terrorist content online, OJ L 172, 17.5.2021, p. 79–109. 
214 Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a Single Market For Digital 
Services (Digital Services Act) and amending Directive 2000/31/EC, COM/2020/825 final. 
215 Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on contestable and fair markets in 
the digital sector (Digital Markets Act), COM/2020/842 final 

92 

 
                                                 
The App Association (ACT) appreciates Commission commitment to focus on the delivery of 
Europe’s common digital targets and to make Europe fit for the digital age. 

The  French  Atomic  Energy  and  Alternative  Energies  Commission  (CEA)  fully  supports  the 
Commission's vision for the Digital Decade Compass, which stems from European values and 
the  conviction  that  the  human  being  must  remain  at  the  center.  Cooperation  between  the 
Commission and the Members States is of the essence to achieve concrete objectives, clearly 
defined for each of the four axes. 

The  Finnish  IT  Center  for  Science  (CSC)  reiterate  the  importance  of  the  green  and  human-
centric approach to the digital transformation: the digital and green transition must interplay 
as a twin challenge and opportunity in the proposed targets and tools. It recommends that the 
EU  develops  a  comprehensive  Green  ICT  Strategy  aiming  at  minimising  the  carbon 
footprint and maximising the carbon handprint. 

The  European  Disability  Forum  (EDF)  welcomes  the  plan  to  formulate  set  of  digital 
principles  in  the  form  of  a  joint  inter-institutional  solemn  declaration  of  the  European 
Commission,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council,  based  on  a  proposal  from  the 
European  Commission.  They  call  on  the  European  Institutions  to  ensure  inclusive  digital 
transition,  by  committing  to  improving  accessibility  and  digital  inclusion  persons  with 
disabilities  in  all  areas  of  public  and  private  life,  so  that  they  equally  benefit  from  EU 
action rather than be left behind due to the digital transformation. EDF suggest to establish an 
obligation  for  the  European  Commission  and  Member  States  to  harmonize  and  mainstream 
accessibility and interoperability  of digital technologies in the EU.  It should  also  oblige the 
EU and Member State to ensure digital participation of persons with disabilities beyond 
public  services  which  is  the  only  area  currently  mentioned  in  the  European  Commission’s 
Communication “2030 Digital Compass: the European way for the Digital Decade”. Persons 
with  disabilities have the right  to  participate  freely  and equally in  all areas of digital  public 
and  private  life,  not  only  when  it  comes  to  accessing  public  services.  It  also  advocate  for 
including accessibility as funding criterion in all public funding, such as those under IPCEIs, 
Technical Support Instrument and the Digital Europe Programme. This will ensure that when 
EU  funds  are  used,  new  technologies  equally  benefit  persons  with  disabilities,  rather  than 
create further digital barriers for them. 

The  European  Network  of  Social  Integration  Enterprise  (ENSIE)  welcomes  the  initiative  of 
the European Commission aimed at establishing a robust framework to deliver on the vision 
set  by  the  Communication  on  Europe’s  Digital  Decade,  but  calls  on  the  European 
institutions to ensure inclusive digital transition, by committing to improve accessibility 
and  digital  inclusion  disadvantaged  groups  in  all  areas  of  public  and  private  life,  with  a 
specific focus on work integration. 

Be  Global  launched  a  project,  called:  “European  platform  for  digitalisation,  future  of  work, 
attraction of talent and diversity”, which will focus on delivering solutions that will facilitate 
the  achievement  of  the  objectives  of  the  Digital  Compass  and  preserve  European  values: 
Human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and human rights. It considers 
that the objectives of the Digital Compass should to pay particular attention to reducing the 
digital  divide,  strengthening  ethics,  ensuring  the  digital  inclusion  of  persons  with 
disabilities, in all areas of public and private life. 

93 

 
2.2 On Targets 

The  OFF  supports  the  stated  goal  of  enhancing  the  DESI  Index  as  pace  of  technological 
development means that statistical indicators should be constantly updated. However, the OFF 
believes  that  the  monitoring  system  should  include  indicators  that  go  beyond  measuring 
growth  (such  as  the  targets  defined  under  the  four  “cardinal  points”)  and  should  include 
measurement of more complex goals, related to achieving the twin transition and related 
goals of sustainability and societal  well-being, and mission-oriented indicators which would 
be devised to complement the more traditional quantitative measures. In particular, the OFF is 
of the view that the enhanced DESI should include indicators for measuring adherence to the 
Digital Principles.  

The  European  Data  Centre  Association  (EUDCA)  emphasises  the  role  of  the  data  centre 
industry  in  providing  connectivity  and  space  for  cloud  and  edge,  and  in  reaching  the 
corresponding 2030 targets. 

ACT considers the Digital Economy and Society a useful tool, moreover suggests to conduct 
SME-focused studies  to examine the impact  the DCPP could  have  on them and to  ensure it 
benefits all digital players in Europe. 

CSC underlines that if the EU wants to reach its ambitious climate targets for 2030, climate-
neutrality must be a target for all digital infrastructures with vast energy consumption 
(e.g. data centres), not just the upcoming edge nodes included in the suggested targets. This 
would also be in line with the Communication on Shaping Europe’s Digital Future , where the 
climate-neutrality of data centres and telecommunication networks is explicitly mentioned. It 
adds  that  the  whole  lifecycle  of  the  digital  infrastructures  must  be  in  scope  of  a  greener 
approach  with  tangible  criteria  and  metrics  such  as  carbon  footprint,  usage  of  renewable 
energy, free cooling, and re-use of waste heat. 

CSC also considers that an increased interoperability is also crucial for the development of 
data economy and must be addressed in the 2030 targets from that perspective as well. In 
general, the Digital Compass policies must be more closely linked with the EU’s data policies 
(such as the upcoming Data Governance Act), which in turn must be firmly rooted in MyData 
Interoperability  Framework,  where 
the  European 
principles,  FAIR  principles  and 
interoperability  at  all  levels  (legal,  organisational,  semantic  and  technical)  is  systematically 
addressed. 

EDF ask to  include  accessibility and disability-focused indicators  in  the enhanced Digital 
Economy  and  Society  Index  (DESI)  and  in  the  regular  annual  reporting  by  the  European 
Commission, i.e., in the European State of the Digital Decade Report – ESDDR. 

ENSIE  considers  that  the  Digital  Economy  and  Society  Index  (DESI)  should  foresee  some 
specific  indicators  for  disadvantaged  groups  in  order  to  ensure  a  smooth  and  inclusive 
transition towards a digital economy and society by avoiding to leave anyone behind. These 
indicators should take into account the vulnerabilities of such people as well as the obstacles 
they face when approaching the labour market. 

-  Digitally skilled population and highly skilled digital professionals 

Kaspersky  considers  that  cybersecurity  should  be  included  under  the  umbrella  of  ‘basic 
digital skills’ (e.g. via dedicated IT and cybersecurity courses in school curricula at an early 

94 

 
age)  and  that  a  separate  goal  for  a  number  of  employed  cybersecurity  specialists  should  be 
added.  Kaspersky  also  recommends  referring  to  the  number  of  students  admitted  to 
specifically cybersecurity-themed graduate programmes in Europe every year by 2030. 

The FPA finds the term 'ICT specialists' in the target problematic as it does not appear to take 
into account the regional specificities – e.g., in the context of Flanders, the proposed target 
for ICT specialist means that the region would need to increase the number of ICT specialists 
by 146%. The FPA also points out that the definition of ‘basic digital skills’ is unclear and 
asks whether it relates only to practical skills or also to competences such as media literacy 
and digital responsibility. 

EUDCA  considers  particularly  important  an  inclusion  of  skills-upgrading  for  existing 
employees,  retraining  of  people  in  sectors  where  labour  demand  declines,  and  activation  of 
unemployed  to  fill  all  vacancies.  EUDCA  argues  that  a  rise  in  labour  productivity,  by 
speeding  up  automation  and  digitalisation,  is  necessary  to  compensate  for  the  demand  for 
jobs. 

CEA  considers  that  to  train  qualified  professionals  work-study  training  has  many 
advantages, particularly in reducing the gap between the supply of higher education and the 
demand of companies. Students receive practical training in the field with professionals and 
can  combine  theory  and  practice.  Research  and  technology  organisations  (RTOs)  have a 
crucial role to play in training digital professionals with very high and specialized skills. 
It is also important to encourage RTOs' engineers/researchers to be involved in professional 
training  organisations,  whether  they  are  part  of  the  public  or  private  sector,  especially  for 
continuing education.  

CSC  underlines  that  end-users  must  play  a  key  role  in  the  design  of  the  services,  to  ensure 
development of services that are responsive to users’ needs. Co-design and engagement of a 
broad range of user communities is important. In addition, an interoperability target must 
be added to ensure that consumers can easily change digital service providers if they so wish. 

Be Global has several proposals to foster the development of digital skills for all to promote 
digital skills programmes according to different needs (older people, entrepreneurs etc). It 
suggests  to  promote  systems  that  favour  “multimodality  in  education”,  ensuring  academic 
auditing, taking into account the diversity of experiences and good practices arising from non-
face-to-face education. In particular they call to enhance the incorporation into the European 
education  system  of  strategic  guidelines  to  raise  awareness  among  girls,  adolescents  and 
women  on  the  importance  of  STEM  studies  to  foster  their  empowerment.  Be  global  also 
encourages  the  design  of  a  collaborative  intelligence  programme  so  that  engineers  and 
related  professionals  around  the  world  can  contribute  their  knowledge  and  position  the 
European Union as a hub for innovation and talent. Be Global also suggests to promote tax 
incentives  for  European  organisations  to  take  an  interest  in  developing  remote  working 
policies, teleworking and attracting the best talent. 

-  Secure, performant and sustainable digital infrastructures 

Kaspersky  argues  that  cybersecurity-related  considerations  should  be  included  from  the 
design phase, thereby eliminating the risk of entire classes of less sophisticated cyberattacks 
and minimising the overall risk of cyber incidents and related accidents. 

95 

 
Everbridge  asks  for  a  mandatory  clause  which  introduces  a  necessary  link  between  5G 
rollout  and  public  warning,  in  compliance  with  the  European  Electronic  Communications 
Code216, in particular Article 110 on critical communications systems, such as public warning, 
as an integral part of digital transformation. 

The FPA also emphasises the importance of digital solutions and infrastructures in social 
sectors,  especially  medical  services  and  education  and  highlights  that  strong  public-private 
partnerships, complemented by academic and civil society stakeholders, can contribute to this. 

Regarding semiconductors, the FPA notes that currently, there are three chipmakers that hold 
the majority of the market at global level (Intel, TSMC and Samsung). The FPA argues that 
the landscape should be diversified by investing more in European chipmakers but considers 
that  a  mere  call  for  funding  is  insufficient  -  specific  guidelines  on  funding  models  and  a 
distinction between the development of different types of chip are needed to achieve the 
desired objective. 

Concerning edge nodes, the FPA argues that the definition of edge nodes should also include 
local  digital  equipment.  From  an  energy  saving  and  privacy  standpoint,  the  FPA  believes 
that it is problematic to focus solely on the rollout of smaller distributed data centres as this 
goes against the trend of obtaining more distributed technical solutions, as also defined in 
the AI White Paper217 under the term edge computing. 

The FPA would like to  see a  separate  KPI regarding circularity  in  order to  stimulate the 
reduction  of  the  ecological  footprint  of  digital  products  by  including  eco-standards.  In  this 
context, the FPA proposes to include an extra target on "Green IT: reducing the footprints of 
IT & electronics".  

CEA considers the European digital product passport system will be very useful to stimulate 
resource efficiency and empower consumers to make sustainable choices. According to CEA 
three categories of infrastructures or platforms are essential for digital primacy: 1) efficient 
and  autonomous  software  development  platforms  and  associated  strategic  tools,  2)  data 
analysis  platforms,  and  3)  digital  twins  that  are  multi-scale  and  multi-model  simulation 
platforms  -they  live  alongside  and  interact  with  real  systems.  It  also  underlines  the 
importance, in terms of applications, of platforms for the exploration of new materials which 
are  infrastructures  of  great  utility  for  the  prosperity  of  tomorrow's  industry.  Experimental 
and  test  facilities  (TEFs)  are  also  essential.  It  is  of  course  useful  to  have  this  type  of 
infrastructures  close  to  innovation  organisations.  CEA  in  general  considers  crucial  the 
intelligent  distributed  systems,  hyper  connectivity,  networks  and 
existence  of  an 
communications  technologies,  AI  and  decentralized,  resilient,  secure  and  frugal  decision 
systems  including  the  "green  blockchain".  CEA  underlines  characteristics  of  future 
computing to be considered: computer architectures, high performance computing, including 
quantum computing and other new paradigms, continuum from sensor computing to the cloud 
via  the  edge,  micro  and  nano  electronics,  chips  and  embedded  systems,  optimization  of 
energy  and  resource  efficiency,  software  stack,  or  large-scale  systems  such  as  exascale 
supercomputers.  They  also  underline  the  importance  of  Cybersecurity:  including  trusted 
hardware and software components and the development of system security technologies.  

216 Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing 
the European Electronic Communications Code (Recast), OJ L 321, 17.12.2018, p. 36–214. 
217 White Paper “On Artificial Intelligence - A European approach to excellence and trust”, COM(2020) 65 final. 

96 

 
                                                 
According  to  CSC  the  rather  narrow  target  of  10000  new  edge  nodes  must  be 
complemented  with  or  even  replaced  by  a  more  comprehensive  target  for  developing  an 
interoperable ecosystem of edge computing capacities and more consolidated cloud and HPC 
infrastructures,  allowing  for  data  to  be  analysed  and  further  utilised  in  the  most  appropriate 
environment, taking into account the needs of different beneficiaries. CSC also considers that 
the target regarding quantum computing must be made more ambitious, aiming not only 
at  getting  started  with  quantum  but  reaching  technological  leadership  in  emerging 
technologies.  Different  types  of  infrastructures  (HPC,  quantum,  data,  AI,  connectivity 
networks  etc.)  must  be  developed  in  convergence  and  by  using  world-class  technologies  in 
order to allow European RDI to reach its full potential. 

telecommunications 
Be  Global  considers  strategic  boosting 
infrastructure  in  rural  areas  and  mapping  from  all  EU  countries  and  identify  the  urban, 
rural and remote areas that need more investment. 

the  upgrading  of 

-  Digital transformation of businesses 

Kaspersky recommends setting an ambitious and future-proof cybersecurity-related target 
by 2030, e.g. goals for the percentage of the cybersecurity budget of the overall IT budget and 
adding cybersecurity to the goals of businesses overall (and for SMEs in  particular) and for 
running cybersecurity trainings in large businesses and SMEs. 

EUDCA’s  point  of  view  is  that  the  target  of  “at  least  75%  of  European  enterprises  having 
taken up cloud computing services, big data, Artificial Intelligence” should also include data 
center services (colocation), as they provide the platform for private cloud services. 

The FPA proposes adding a specific KPI regarding the large venture capital investments for 
digital technologies in Europe; since the breakthrough and growth opportunities of a start-up 
and  scale-up  are  based  on  these  investments,  the  FPA  considers  it  very  important  to  pay 
special attention to this issue. 

In  general  CEA  considers  that  EU  must  intensify  its  efforts  to  support  digital  research  and 
innovation  across  the  entire  value  chain,  from  micro  and  nanoelectronics  to  algorithms  and 
data,  for  end-user  solutions.  The  objective  is  to  keep  EU  industry  and  SMEs  that  provide 
digital  technologies,  products  and  solutions,  as  well  as  services,  in  the  race.  CEA  suggest 
when  considering  AI  to  focus  in  areas  such  as  1)  algorithmic  development  like  image 
analysis, semantic analysis, signal processing), 2) frugal AI or green AI, 3) embedded AI with 
state-of-the-art  AI  hardware,  including  dedicated  memories,  4)  AI  techniques  in  scientific 
simulation, and 5) trusted and ethical AI with a general focus on validation or certification. As 
regards  data  to  capitalize  data  located  in  the  sensors,  the  edge,  and  the  cloud  CEA 
considers very important: 1) data science for statistics and machine learning, 2) data analysis 
for  dashboards  and  visualization  methods,  3)  data  governance  for  the  rules  of  use,  in 
particular  trust,  ethics  and  confidentiality,  and  4)  data  engineering  for  data  migration  to  the 
cloud and quality assurance.  

Be Global welcomes initiatives to enhance the creation of a dedicated support fund the digital 
transformation of organisations, targeting in particular SMEs, micro-SMEs and self-employed 
professionals.  It  also  underlines  the  importance  of  fostering  an  innovative  entrepreneurial 
ecosystem,  that  facilitates  the  creation  and  attraction  of  unicorn  enterprises  to  the  European 
Union. 

97 

 
-  Digitisation of public services 

Kaspersky  supports an ambitious agenda for the  protection of the  evermore digitised public 
services of the Member States and of the EU. The company suggests that targets could be set 
for  increased  investment  in  cybersecurity  solutions  and  services  (e.g.  in  public 
procurement policies through setting budget thresholds dedicated to cybersecurity within new 
IT  projects),  for  innovative  cybersecurity  training  and  gamification  approaches  for  civil 
servants, as well as for minimum requirements towards information security management. 

A  Greek  citizen  suggests  that  digital  ID  solutions  should  be  expanded  to  include  a  wide 
range  of  information  such  as  owned  tangible  and  intangible  properties,  biometric  data  or 
work experience. 

The FPA would like to add a KPI on the extent to which sustainable and circular criteria 
are used in public procurement and the extent to which IT material is managed in a circular 
way. 

Be  Global  suggests  to  strengthen  ‘Open  Government’  initiatives  to  increase  transparency  in 
public  administration,  incorporating  technological  innovation  and  open  data,  for  public  use 
and  greater  interaction  between  government  and  citizens  also  promoting  the  creation  of  a 
network  of  European  public  administrations  to  share  best  practices  and  implement  relevant 
ones. It underlines the importance of promote gender mainstreaming and social equity in all 
digital  public  policies  and  developing  inclusive  digital  public  services  for  people  with 
disabilities. 

2.3 On Governance 

The  OFF  believes  that  the  Expert  Group  should  be  tasked  also  with  monitoring  the 
adherence to the Digital Principles that are part of the Digital Decade framework. 

Everbridge supports the Commission’s proposal for the creation of a stakeholders' forum and 
of  an  expert  group,  provided  these  include  the  participation  of  critical  communication 
providers both from the public and the private sector. 

ACT welcomes  the Commission  taking this next  step of setting out  a dedicated  governance 
framework to organize the cooperation among European institutions and the Member States. 
Existing structures, monitoring, reporting, should be aligned and established at the EU 
level,  therefore  a  structured  cooperation  and  progress  monitoring  and  reporting  on  the 
European level would add significant value to a common vision for a Europe fit for the digital 
age. 

CEA  welcomes  that  the  Digital  Compass  policy  programme  puts  in  place  a  monitoring  and 
reporting  system  and  a  mechanism  for  the  Commission  to  engage  with  Member  States  in 
close  collaboration  and  considers  very  important  to  establish  a  governance  structure  to 
achieve  these  objectives.  However,  it  is  equally  important  to  define  these  objectives  in  a 
very  clear  way  on  the  four  axes,  to  make  technological  choices  and  to  arbitrate  between 
priorities as soon as possible. 

2.4 On Multi-Country Projects 

ACT considers positively the proposal for a Member State-specific incentive to work together 
and  organise  multi-country  projects.  It  agrees  with  the  Commission  that  such  cooperation 

98 

 
would  help  to  accelerate  the  build-up  of  digital  capacities  and  large-scale  technologies 
projects  across the EU.  The DCPP should set  up this mechanism with  the Commission in  a 
coordinator role to ensure alignment with EU programmes, policies, priorities, and regulations 
as well as pooling of national and private financial resources. 

CEA  welcomes  the  mechanism  to  incentivize  Member  States  to  work  together  to  carry 
projects to build Europe's digital capabilities in critical areas is paramount, especially during 
the period of the time period of the RRF for which a minimum of 20% will support the digital 
transition. 

CSC  warmly  welcomes  the  plans  to  incentivise  Multi-Country  Projects  for  developing 
Europe’s digital capacities in critical areas. Such projects must pool not only funding, but also 
human  resources,  and  build  on  lessons  learnt  from  previous  and  ongoing  cross-border 
collaboration activities. One such activity to benchmark is the EuropHPC JU1. 

2.5 On Stakeholder Consultation 

ACT  welcomes  the  Commission’s  extensive  engagement  of  the  public  through  several 
consultations, as well as the proposal of a high-level event, workshops, and citizens dialogues 
in  the  Member  States.  Such  stakeholder  engagement  will  ensure  an  inclusive  policy 
programme  and  should  be  included  in  the  proposed  DCPP.  Moreover  encourages  the 
Commission to establish an inclusive stakeholder forum that brings together technological as 
well  as  regulatory  expertise  and  represents  the  interests  of  all  actors  in  the  digital  economy 
across the EU Member States. 

CSC  also  welcomes  the  idea  to  establish  a  stakeholder  forum  and/or  an  expert  group  to 
support the implementation of the Digital Compass policies. When inviting members to these 
bodies,  due  attention  must  be  paid  to  openness,  transparency  and  ensuring  a  diverse  and 
balanced  representation  of  public  and  private  interests  as  well  as  civil  society  and  various 
fields  of  academia.  The  mandate  and  responsibility  of  such  bodies  must  be  clearly 
communicated. Stakeholders must be consulted not only on the implementation but also 
the design of the Digital Compass policies. Therefore, the final approval of the vision and 
concrete targets  for 2030 must not take place until  the feedback on the various roadmaps is 
properly analysed. 

EDF suggest to engage organisations of persons with disabilities, accessibility experts in the 
planned  stakeholder  forum,  and  possible  expert  group  for  implementation  of  the  Digital 
Compass. It underlines that is often assumed by policymakers that new technologies can help 
fix social issues by default. However, technical engineers, ICT experts are not equipped with 
expertise  on  human  rights,  non-discrimination  and  social  equality  to  bring  positive  social 
change on their own. 

ENSIE flags the need to involve Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs) representatives 
into the stakeholder forum to be established in line with the Communication and composed of 
private  and  public  actors,  to  ensure  that  the  necessary  measures  are  undertaken  for  an 
inclusive  and  equal  access  to  digitalisation  to  all  actors  of  the  labour  market,  also  the  ones 
operating within the social economy and the work integration of disadvantaged people. 

99 

 
3. Results of targeted consultation  

In  total,  101  contributions  were  received,  of  which  61  were  on  behalf  of  a  company  or 
business  association,  8  from  citizens  (all  EU  citizens),  9  on  behalf  of  academic  /  research 
institutions  and  12  from  public  authorities.  5  respondents  were  non-governmental 
organisations (Figure 1).  

Figure 1 - Respondent as representative of: 

Amongst  the  101  contributions,  53.3%  were  micro,  small  and  medium-sized  organisations 
and 46.7% large organisations (Figure 3). 92 respondents indicated whether their organisation 
had a local (1.1%), regional (5.4%), national (32.6%) or international scope (60.9%) (Figure 
2). 

Figure 3 - Organisation size 

Figure 2 - Organisation scope 

Overall,  Figure  4  shows  that  92.1%  of  the  replies  came  from  the  EU-27  and  7.9%  of  the 
replies came from organisations with the origin in other countries, such as US, Ukraine and 
China.  

100 

 
 
 
Figure 4 - Country of origin of organisation 

Respondents could contribute to all or some of the 71 questions across four sections and had 
the possibility to submit position papers. Few respondents replied to all questions; hence the 
sample size varies between and within sections. For this reason, for each topic, the percentage 
indicated is always the share of the actual respondents to the specific section or question. 

The questionnaire combined a mixture of ‘closed’ questions (where respondents chose from a 
pre-determined selection of answers) and ‘open’ questions (where they were free to write any 
response they chose). Closed questions with ranking options were set up as non-exclusive, so 
that  a  respondent  could  assign  the  same  rank  to  several  of  the  items.  Open  questions  had  a 
500-character limit except the last, for which responses of 2 000 characters were allowed.  

This report presents preliminary trends emerging from an initial analysis of closed questions 
to  the  targeted  consultation,  focusing  on  quantitative  aspects.  It  is  not  representative  of  the 
breadth of feedback and input received through the extensive consultation process described 
above. 

3.1 On Accelerating the Digital Transformation 

This  section  features  general  questions  about  the  need  and  vision  for  accelerating  the  EU’s 
digital transformation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Most  stakeholders  strongly  agree  or  agree  that  the  COVID-19  pandemic  emphasised  the 
importance of ensuring that everyone in Europe fully benefits from the digital transformation 
(95.5%) and that it demonstrated a need to accelerate the pace of the digital transformation in 
Europe  (95.5%).  The  pandemic  exposed  a  digital  divide  between  those  businesses  already 
able to leverage the full potential of the digital environment and those not yet fully digitalised 
(92%).  Above  that,  90.8%  among  the  respondents  strongly  agree  or  agree  that  COVID-19 
exposed a digital divide between people who can fully benefit from a digital space with a full 
range of services, and those who cannot.  They strongly agree that the COVID-19 pandemic 
highlighted a need for a substantial increase of investments through all relevant EU funds and 
national spending to develop critical technologies (90.7%) and the need to increase the EU’s 
role  for  coordinating  the  digitalisation  efforts  of  Member  States  (78.8%).  75%  of  the 
respondents  strongly  agree  or  agree  that  the  pandemic  showed  that  achieving  digital 
sovereignty by building our own technological capacities is crucial for strengthening the EU’s 

101 

 
 
resilience. 63.2% of respondents agreed that the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated a need to 
accelerate  the  pace  of  digital  transformation  in  Europe,  however,  as  shown  below  on 
individual  level  most  respondents  strongly  agree  or  agree  that  COVID-19  has  altered  their 
organisation's need for and reliance on the following aspects:  

  Reliance on secure, performant and sustainable digital infrastructures (89.7%) 

  Reliance on digital public services (86.1%) 

 

 

Increased need for digital products, tools, and services (85.5%) 

Increased need for and reliance on a digitally skilled population (i.e., citizens with at 
least basic digital skills) (81.3%) 

 

Increased need for and reliance on highly skilled digital professionals (72%).  

The respondents rank the following elements as most important (ranking 1 and 2 out of 5) for 
accelerating EU’s digital transformation:  

  Secure, performant and sustainable digital infrastructures (84.9%) 

  A digitally skilled population and highly skilled digital professionals (82.6%) 

  Digitalisation of public services (81.9%) 

  Digital transformation of businesses (80.2%) 

  A  framework  for  accelerating  the  implementation  of  multi-country  projects,  i.e., 
projects that aim to mobilize and combine investments from the EU budget, Member 
States and the private sector to achieve digital goals (65%) 

  An EU governance framework to enable close cooperation and coordination between 
the  Commission  and  Member  States,  with  the  objective  of  adopting  recommended 
actions including joint commitments (61.9%) 

The  following  aspects  are  ranked  as  important  (ranking  1  and  2  out  of  5)  and  in  need  for 
progress  for  realising  the  EU's  commitment  to  reduce  greenhouse  gas  emissions  by  at  least 
55% by 2030:  

  Digital transformation of businesses (84.6%) 

  Secure, performant and sustainable digital infrastructures (82.3%) 

  Digitalisation of public services (75.9%) 

  A digitally skilled population and highly skilled digital professionals (64.5%) 

3.2 On Reaching the 2030 Targets 

The Digital Compass sets out targets along four cardinal  points. Section II is divided into 4 
subsections,  each  of  which  represents  a  cardinal  point.  The  first  two  subsections  focus  on 
digital  capacities  in  skills  and  infrastructures,  and  the  other  two  focus  on  digital 
transformation of business and public services. 

-  A digitally skilled population and highly skilled digital professionals 

102 

 
Just under half of 69 participants believe it will be challenging (ranking 4 and 5 out of 5) to 
guarantee that by the end of 2030, 80% of all adults have at least basic digital skills (49.2%). 
A majority agrees that it will be challenging to employ at least 20 million ICT specialists in 
the EU (65.7%), while 67.2% recognise that it will be challenging to achieve a convergence 
between the number of female and male ICT specialists by 2030. 

Participants  find  that  more  public  investment  is  the  most  important  intervention  needed  to 
achieve the digital skills targets. From a list of six proposed interventions, over three quarters 
of 65 respondents (78.4%) rank more public investment as a top priority to ensure that 80% of 
adults are equipped with basic digital skills by 2030. This is followed by more public-private 
cooperation, which is identified as a top priority by 59.1% of respondents.  

The  table  below  shows  the  percentage  of  respondents  who  ranked  each  of  the  proposed 
interventions  as  1st  or  2nd  most  needed  (out  of  6)  to  achieve  the  digital  skills  targets. 
Participants could assign the same rank to several interventions per target. 

Proposed 
interventions 

Proposed targets 

80% of all adults have 
at least basic digital 
skills 

At least 20 million 
employed ICT 
specialists in the EU 

Convergence between the 
number of female and male 
ICT specialists 

N. of respondents 

More public 
investment  

Stimulation of more 
private investment  

More public-private 
cooperation 

More robust 
governance to steer 
EU and Member 
State actions on 
digital 

Better 
implementation and 
enforcement of 
existing regulation 

Additional regulation 
to advance the Single 
Market 

65 

78.4% 

50.8% 

59.1% 

64 

74.2% 

67.7% 

62.5% 

61 

67.2% 

49.2% 

47.5% 

36.3% 

41.3% 

35.4% 

22.2% 

24.6% 

32.8% 

12.3% 

19.4% 

15% 

-  Secure and performant sustainable digital infrastructures 

Out of 76 respondents a majority believed it would be challenging (rank 4 and 5 out of 5) to 
have all EU households covered by a gigabit network by 2030 (67.1%) as well as to have all 
populated EU areas covered by 5G (65%). Likewise, a majority of the respondents agreed that 
it  would  be  challenging  for  Europe  to  have  at  least  20%  of  world  production  by  value  in 
cutting-edge  and  sustainable  semiconductors,  including  processors  (69.9%)  as  well  as  to 

103 

 
 
achieve that 10,000 climate neutral highly secure edge nodes are deployed in the EU (71.6%). 
Finally, most stakeholders found it challenging to achieve that Europe is at the cutting edge of 
quantum capabilities, with its first computer with quantum acceleration by 2025 (65%). 

Participants  find  that  the  stimulation  of  more  private  investment  is  the  most  important 
intervention needed to achieve the digital infrastructure targets. For edge nodes and quantum 
computing,  this  is  closely  followed  by  more  public-private  cooperation  (identified  as  a  top 
priory  by  69%  and  73.2%,  respectively)  and  more  public  investment  (identified  as  a  top 
priority by 67.2% and 70.9%, respectively). 

The  table  below  shows  the  percentage  of  respondents  who  ranked  each  of  the  proposed 
interventions as 1st or 2nd most needed (out of 6) to achieve the digital infrastructure targets. 
Participants could assign the same rank to several interventions per target. 

Proposed 
interventions 

Proposed targets 

All EU 
households are 
covered by a 
gigabit network 

All populated 
EU areas 
covered by 5G 

The production 
of cutting-edge 
and sustainable 
semiconductors 
in Europe 
including 
processors is at 
least20% of 
world production 
in value 

10,000 climate 
neutral highly 
secure edge 
nodes are 
deployed in 
the EU 

Europe is at the 
cutting edge of 
quantum 
capabilities, 
with its first 
computer with 
quantum 
acceleration by 
2025 

N. of respondents 

73 

72 

53 

58 

55 

Stimulation of 
more private 
investment 

More public-
private 
cooperation 

More public 
investment 

More robust 
governance to 
steer EU and 
Member State 
actions on digital 

Better 
implementation 
and enforcement 
of existing 
regulation 

Additional 
regulation to 
advance the 
Single Market 

74% 

80.2% 

84.9% 

71.1% 

74.5% 

69.8% 

61.1% 

65.4% 

69% 

73.2% 

65.8% 

57% 

59.6% 

67.2% 

70.9% 

35.3% 

37.7% 

25% 

37.9% 

18.6% 

31.5% 

28.6% 

13.4% 

19% 

15.4% 

17.8% 

12.9% 

11.5% 

19% 

36.6% 

104 

 
 
Out  of  77  respondents,  a  majority  recognised  the  importance  (ranking  1  out  of  5)  of 
coordinated action/EU guidance to harmonise spectrum management and availability (51.9%) 
and foster connectivity infrastructures (53.2%)  for enabling the EU’s digital  transformation. 
Meanwhile,  46.7%  recognised  the  importance  of  investing  in  the  EU’s  joint  infrastructures 
and capacities. 

The following  ranking displays 65 respondents’  perception on the  areas in  which additional 
(new) 5G network deployment objectives at EU level would be most relevant (ranking 1 and 2 
out of 5): 

  Level of network security (79.3%) 

  Level of service quality (57.9%) 

  Contribution to green policy objectives (50.8%) 

  Geographical availability of edge cloud capability (50%) 

  Geographical coverage of 5G services beyond populated areas (48,8%) 

-  Digital transformation of businesses 

The following displays the ranking of 58 respondents on how challenging (ranks 4 and 5 out 
of 5) it will be to achieve the proposed EU targets by 2030: 

  65.5%  of  respondents  believe  that  it  will  be  challenging  to  have  75%  of  European 
enterprises take up cloud computing services (2020: 26%), big data (2020: 14%), and 
Artificial Intelligence (2020: 25%). 

  41.1% of respondents believe that it will be challenging to achieve the target that more 
than  90%  of  European  SMEs  reach  at  least  a  basic  level  of  digital  intensity  (2019: 
60.6%).  

  44.5%  of  respondents  think  that  it  will  be  difficult  to  double  the  number  of  EU 

unicorns. 

Participants  find  that  the  stimulation  of  more  private  investment  is  the  most  important 
intervention needed to  accelerate the digital  transformation  of businesses. From a list  of six 
proposed interventions, over four fifths of respondents rank this as a top priority for achieving 
the 2030 targets.  

The  table  below  shows  the  percentage  of  respondents  who  ranked  each  of  the  proposed 
interventions as 1st or 2nd most needed (out of 6) to achieve the targets related to the digital 
transformation of businesses. Participants could assign the same rank to several interventions 
per target. 

Proposed interventions 

Proposed targets 

75% of European 
enterprises have taken up 
cloud computing services, 
big data and Artificial 
Intelligence 

More than 90% of 
European SMEs reach at 
least a basic level of 
digital intensity 

Double the number of 
EU unicorns 

105 

 
 
 
N. of respondents 

Stimulation of more 
private investment  

More public-private 
cooperation  

More public investment  

More robust governance to 
steer EU and Member 
State actions on digital  

Better implementation and 
enforcement of existing 
regulation  

Additional regulation to 
advance the Single Market  

57 

83.9% 

72% 

52.6% 

42.9% 

52 

80.8% 

75% 

42.3% 

41.2% 

52 

88.5% 

72.6% 

44.3% 

28% 

37.5% 

25.5% 

21.5% 

21.8% 

15.4% 

20% 

-  Digitalisation of public services 

The  following  displays  the  ranking  (ranks  4  and  5  out  of  5)  of  62  respondents  on  how 
challenging it will be to achieve the proposed EU targets by 2030:  

  58.1% think that the target of 80% citizens using a digital ID solution, will be difficult 

to achieve.  

  51.6%  believe  that  it  will  be  challenging  to  achieve  that  all  key  public  services  for 

citizens (2020: 75%) and businesses (2020: 84%) are available online. 

  51.6% think that it will be difficult to achieve that all citizens have access to electronic 

medical records.  

Adequate digital ID solutions are relevant for 73.3% of the respondents and enhanced cross-
border access to electronic medical records for 46.3%.  

Participants find that more public investment is most needed to accelerate the digitalisation of 
public services. From a list of six proposed interventions, 94,4% of 54 respondents rank this 
as a top priority to ensure that all key public services are available online by 2030.  

The  table  below  shows  the  percentage  of  respondents  who  ranked  each  of  the  proposed 
interventions  as  1st  or  2nd  most  needed  (out  of  6)  to  achieve  the  targets  related  to  the 
digitalisation  of  public  services.  Participants  could  assign  the  same  rank  to  several 
interventions per target. 

Proposed interventions 

Proposed targets 

All key public services 
are available online 

All citizens have access 
to electronic medical 
records 

80% of citizens use a 
digital ID solution 

N. of respondents 

54 

49 

52 

106 

 
 
More public investment  

More public-private 
cooperation  

More robust governance to 
steer EU and Member 
State actions on digital  

Additional regulation to 
advance the Single Market  

Better implementation and 
enforcement of existing 
regulation  

Stimulation of more 
private investment  

94.4% 

55.5% 

52.7% 

40.7% 

37.1% 

77.6% 

58.3% 

90.4% 

54.9% 

56.2% 

55.1% 

38.8% 

45.8% 

46% 

40% 

38% 

32.7% 

36.2% 

3.3 On Building a New Governance Framework 

Among  the  respondents  to  the  section  on  the  New  Governance  framework  (73),  most  see 
strong  benefits  in  the  proposed  system.  They  find  it  extremely  or  very  relevant  that  the 
framework supports the development and implementation of Multi-Country Projects (75.4%), 
that it sends a clear signal to market actors to incentivise private investments (73.6%), that it 
ensures  the  effective  delivery  of  Digital  Compass  goals  on  EU  level  (70.9%),  and  that  it 
stimulates cooperation between Member States (68.5%). 

On the specific aspect  of radio  spectrum, which  plays  a key  role as an enabling resource to 
reach  many  of  the  2030  digital  targets,  78.6%  of  respondents  (out  of  56)  think  that  an 
evolving  spectrum  roadmap  as  a  guiding  but  non-mandatory  monitoring  mechanism 
integrating  input  from  a  broad  range  of  relevant  stakeholders  would  increase  the  efficiency 
and  effectiveness  of  spectrum  management.  Further,  82.4%  (out  of  51)  considered  that  a 
voluntary  mechanism  to  assist  national  authorities  in  the  spectrum  authorisation  process 
would be beneficial for timely spectrum availability and usage. 

- 

 Monitoring 

Regarding the proposed comprehensive monitoring system, 71 respondents considered that it 
would be extremely or very relevant that is focuses on: 

  Measuring progress of the EU against the 2030 targets (83,1%) 

  Following  digitalisation  trends  at  EU  and  Member  State  level,  and  comparing  them 

with other global players (China, US) (76,1%) 

  Following digitalisation trends at EU and Member State level (74.3%) 

  Assessing  areas  with  insufficient  development  at  Member  State  level  (e.g.,  due  to 

insufficient investment and/or regulatory action) (73.2%) 

  Showcasing best practices from Member States (57,1%) 

  Ensuring a broader knowledge of the EU’s digital policies across Europe for citizens, 
Member States, and other stakeholders (50%, with an additional 41.4% finding it only 
relevant, as opposed to extremely or very relevant)  

107 

 
-  Reporting 

Considering the proposed annual Report on the state of the Digital Decade, which will present 
progress  and  identify  deviations  from  the  digital  decade  targets  through  a  score  of  ‘traffic 
lights’,  among  67  respondents,  it  was  considered  extremely  or  very  relevant  that  the 
focus/scope be on: 

  Monitoring progress towards the 2030 targets at EU level (83.5%) 

 

Identifying  deviations  from  the  2030  targets  and  digital  principles  at  national  level 
(69.7%) 

  Monitoring implementation of digital principles (64.2%) 

  Feeding the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (63.5%) 

  Assessing general state of compliance with digital policies (59.1%)  

  Tracking common cross-border projects /investments (51.5%) 

  Proposing  recommended  actions  including  joint  commitments  to  be  discussed  with 

Member States and the European Parliament (52.3%) 

  Feeding the European Semester process (35%) 

3.4 On Developing a Mechanism to Operate and Deploy Multi-Country Projects 

The  consultation  also  asked  about  the  function,  features  and  possible  directions  for  Multi-
County Projects, which will be key to scaling up the EU’s digital capacities and strengthening 
critical  infrastructures  linked  to  EU’s  digital  sovereignty.  In  this  context,  90.1%  of  69 
respondents strongly agree or agree that in some critical digital areas, the EU needs to build 
up its digital capacities. 90% also strongly agree or agree that there is a need to find solutions 
to accelerate and facilitate common digital projects, and 81.2% that the scale of such projects 
cannot  be  operated  by  Member  States  alone  and  should  benefit  from  common  action  at  EU 
level. 

The most important objectives of Multi-Country Projects (ranking 1 “most important” out of 5 
“least  important”),  according  to  70  respondents,  were  to  accelerate  the  digital  transition 
(68.6%),  accelerate  the  green  transition  (56.5%),  and  address  strategic  dependencies  to 
achieve EU digital sovereignty (45.6%). 

All  digital  areas  for  Multi-Country  Projects  discussed  with  Member  States  under  the 
Recovery and Resilience Facility were deemed high-priority (ranked 1 or 2 out of 5) by more 
than half of respondents (64). Many respondents assigned the same high rank to several areas, 
pointing out that “all of these areas can benefit from economies of scale and scope” and that 
“there is not one area that would not benefit from a strongly European approach”: 

  European Common Data Infrastructure and Services (90.6%) 

  Pan-European deployment of 5G corridors (77.4%) 

  Capabilities in electronics design and deployment of the next generation of low power 

trusted processors and other electronic components (76.2%) 

108 

 
  Developing and deploying an ultra-secure quantum communication infrastructure 

spanning the whole EU (75%) 

  Connected Public Administrations (74.2%) 

  Deploying a network of Security Operations Centres (74.1%) 

  European Digital Innovation Hubs (72.6%) 

  High tech partnerships for digital skills through Pact for Skills (67.2%) 

  Acquisition of supercomputers and quantum computers (63.8%) 

  European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (55.2%)  

Regarding  the  features  of  an  instrument  facilitating  the  implementation  of  Multi-Country 
Projects which would be vital, 56 respondents found most important that (ranking 1 out of 5): 

  Possibility to set up projects swiftly and flexibly (67.9%) 

  Facilitate the pooling of EU and national funding (65.5%) 

  Low administrative burden (64.3%) 

  Create incentives to crowd in private investments (42.1%) 

  Coordination with EU programmes and policies (38%) 

  Legal capacity to procure and operate multi-country infrastructures and pan-European 

services of public interest (28.3%) 

  Possibility to cover areas outside digital (e.g., green transition) (28%) 

  Standard governance arrangements, including variable geometry with defined role of 

different actors (Member States, industry, Commission) (23.1%) 

  Bottom-up approach to project pipeline, option for Member States to propose projects 

(19.6%) 

  Legal personality to act as data controllers (6.7%) 

  Legal personality to be liable for damages (4.3%) 

  Top-down approach to project pipeline, Member States to agree to the list proposed by 

the Commission (4.1%) 

4. Results of pre-consultation activities  

The  Commission  gathered  additional  input  through  a  series  of  events,  discussions  and 
exchanges prior to the launch of the online written consultation. This included: 

  The  Leading  the  Digital  Decade  Conference  (LDD),  a  two-day  online  event  co-
organised by the European Commission and the Portuguese Presidency of the Council 
of the European Union on 1-2 June 2021, to engage in a broad debate with public and 
private  sector  stakeholders  from  Member  States,  as  well  as  representatives  of 

109 

 
European  institutions,  notably  the  European  Parliament  and  European  Investment 
Bank, in six plenary sessions covering the different elements of the Digital Compass. 

  Targeted  meetings  at  the  inter-institutional  level,  including  a  policy  debate  in  the 
Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council (TTE) on 4 June 2021 to identify 
key  actions  necessary  to  achieve  the  2030  targets;  the  15th  meeting  of  the  Digital 
Single Market Strategic Group (DSM SG) on 24 June 2021 to gather Member States’ 
views on the Commission proposal; study group meetings of the European Economic 
and  Social  Committee  and  European  Committee  of  Regions;  as  well  as  individual 
meetings with Member State representatives and attachés.  

  Position  papers  from  Member  States  and  the  Austrian  Federal  Chamber  of  Labour 
(AK Europa) as well as opinions from the European Economic and Social Committee 
(EESC), the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) and regional parliaments. 

The main results of these pre-consultations are summarized below. 

4.1 Support for Digital Compass  

One of the main aims of the consultation activities was to receive views on the vision, targets, 
governance  structure  and  mechanism  for  Multi-Country  Projects  outlined  in  the  Digital 
Compass  Communication.  Overall,  stakeholders  from  all  relevant  groups  recognized  the 
urgent need to accelerate the digital transformation in Europe through coordinated efforts and 
investments from the EU, Member States and the private sector. Many explicitly endorsed the 
Digital  Compass  policy  programme  as  an  appropriate  tool  to  effectively  and  efficiently 
govern this transformation, and pledged their support to achieve the envisioned objectives, as 
exemplified  in  this  statement  from  the  Netherlands  (at  DSM  SG):  “Putting  the  digital 
transition in the center of the European Union is really necessary at the moment and achieved 
by  the  Digital  Compass.”  Expert  panelists  at  the  Leading  the  Digital  Decade  conference 
backed  the  Commission’s  assessment  of  the  current  situation:  “Europe  needs  to  scale  in 
infrastructure, services and skills in order to become a more competitive economy and a more 
sustainable society” (María Jesús Almazor, CEO of Cyber & Cloud at Telefónica). Business 
stakeholders  agreed  that  the  COVID-19  crisis  has  demonstrated  the  importance  of 
digitalisation  for  the  resilience  of  the  EU  economy.  The  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee (EESC) agrees in its opinion that “the European Commission’s Plan for the 2030 
Digital Compass arrives at a critical moment for the Union and the entire world.” 

a) Targets 

During the  policy debate in  the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council (TTE), 
there was  agreement that the Digital Compass targets are “very rightly and well-chosen” to 
address the structural shortages and gaps hampering the ability of EU citizens and businesses 
to  take  full  advantage  of  the  digital  transition  today.  Several  Member  States  explicitly 
emphasized their support for the “ambitious and concrete” targets (FI, IT, DE, LV, LT, CZ, 
NL, EE at TTE). Each was deemed important in its own right but achievable only as part of 
the holistic, coordinated  approach envisioned by  the Policy Programme “Path  to  the Digital 
Decade”.  Others  combined  support  for  the  proposed  targets  with  additional  suggestions  to 
expand or adjust the initial list of KPIs. 

-  Digital skills 

110 

 
The importance of a digitally skilled population and  highly skilled digital  professionals  was 
universally  acknowledged by stakeholders from all groups  as a prerequisite for a successful 
digital transformation. Public sector stakeholders saw a role for themselves in democratizing 
digital skills, closing persistent gaps between rural and urban areas, education levels, and age 
groups, and achieving digital equity for all (Petra de Sutter, Vice-Prime Minister of Belgium; 
Malta Josianne Cutajar, Member of the European Parliament, at LDD). Several stakeholders 
from the business and education sectors stressed the importance of advanced digital skills for 
the  creation  of  new  innovative  companies  and  unicorns  in  the  EU  (Alexandra  Mechkova, 
CEO of Telerik Academy, at LDD).  

-  Digital infrastructures 

Infrastructural  services  and  technologies  were  identified  as  another  key  enabler  for  a 
successful  European  digital  transformation.  Experts  validated  the  importance  of  the 
connectivity target (5G) for connecting services across sectoral and national boundaries, and 
of the quantum computing target for facilitating unprecedented developments and findings in 
complex fields of research (climate change; health; brain science; biology; sustainable energy; 
materials;  etc.)  and  industrial  development  (simulation  sciences;  data  analytics;  AI;  digital 
twins)  (Thomas  Lippert,  Head  of  Supercomputing  Centre  at  Forschungszentrum  Jülich,  at 
LDD). Industry stakeholders strongly supported the ambition to achieve digital sovereignty by 
expanding  European  production  capacities  through  independent  research  and  industry 
activities,  especially  regarding  semiconductors  (Lars  Reger,  CTO  of  NXP,  at  LDD).  The 
importance of edge nodes was also stressed as a new paradigm, enabling the development of 
new  algorithms  (e.g.  real-time  use  cases,  AI,  smart  factories)  and  the  deployment  of  data 
spaces (Sebastian Ritz, CEO of German Edge Cloud, and María Jesús Almazor, CEO Cyber 
& Cloud of Telefonica Tech, at LDD).  

-  Digital transformation of businesses 

Regarding  the  digital  transformation  of  businesses,  stakeholders  responded  positively  to  the 
focus  on  SMEs  and  start-ups  in  the  proposed  targets,  seeing  them  as  crucial  providers  of 
resilience, flexibility and jobs in a healthy European economy. Many stressed that the digital 
take-up  and  intensity  targets  are  closely  tied  to  progress  in  the  area  of  digital  skills  and 
infrastructures.  

-  Digital public services 

Stakeholders from civil society and business supported the digitisation of public services as a 
way  to  better  respond  to  the  needs  of  citizens  and  companies.  Public  administrations 
identified Digital ID solutions, especially when linked across borders, as a main entry point to 
the widespread use of digital public services.  

b) Governance 

Opinions  on  how  to  achieve  the  proposed  targets  varied,  but  all  stakeholders  agreed  that  a 
successful digital transformation requires close cooperation between EU institutions, national 
authorities, and the private sector. One Member State emphasized the need to better align EU 
and  national  actions  (HR  at  TTE).  The  governance  framework  envisaged  in  the  Digital 
Compass Communication received broad support as a tool to facilitate such cooperation and 
alignment. Several stakeholders considered it to be both “lean” and “robust” by building on 
existing  mechanisms  and  tools.  The  Commission  received  strong  support  for  enhancing  the 

111 

 
Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) as a monitoring tool for the Digital Decade, with 
consistent  (LT,  CY,  EE,  NL,  SI,  PT  at  DSM  SG)  but  adaptable  indicators  to  facilitate 
comparisons across time, Member States, and on the international level (LU, FI, DK, DE at 
DSM  SG).  Belgium  proposed 
the  digital  barometers  carried  out  at 
national/regional  levels  as  a  complementary  source  of  information.  The  EESCC,  in  its 
opinion, emphasized the need to monitor European’s perceptions of their physical and mental 
health and safety in the digital environment, as envisioned in the proposed monitoring of the 
implementation of Digital Principles.  

to  consider 

Many Member States stressed that the monitoring, reporting and follow-up mechanism must 
allow for national  approaches  rather than imposing  a one-size-fits-all approach to  achieving 
the  targets  (DK,  NL,  MT  at  DSM  SG).  This  is  reflected  in  the  Digital  Compass  policy 
programme,  which  provides  for  a  cooperative  dialogue  to  identify  and  undertake  targeted 
actions that account for national specificities and needs.  

c) Multi-Country Projects 

The relevance of pooling resources and coordinating leadership to  build capacity  and invest 
sustainably in digital technology was confirmed by stakeholders from all relevant sectors: “In 
order  to  achieve  the  2030  goals,  it  will  be  necessary  to  produce  a  coordinated  investment 
effort to strengthen European technological and digital capacities and to respond to the needs 
highlighted by the crisis, such as the need to strengthen Europe’s semi-conductor production 
capacities”  (FR  at  DSM  SG).  Multi-Country  Projects  were  recognized  as  an  excellent 
mechanism  to  progress  towards  these  goals  in  a  coordinated  way  at  the  European  level. 
Following  stakeholder  feedback,  it  will  be  crucial  to  ensure  that  Multi-Country  Projects  are 
inclusive and accessible to smaller Member States and SMEs in practice. 

In the TTE policy discussions, Member States explicitly supported cooperation through multi-
country  projects  (BG,  BE,  LV,  HR,  RO,  CY,  SK,  EL,  HU,  IT),  stressed  the  role  of  the 
Commission in helping Member States invest in multi-country projects (RO), and argued that 
a quick roll-out of multi-country projects would require understanding the different industrial 
models of Member States and using this as an advantage (IE). 

The  desire  for  a  new  mechanism  to  complement  or  combine  existing  instruments  was 
expressed  most  explicitly  by  industry  stakeholders:  “Light-touch  approach  or  process 
improvements  are  not  enough.  There  is  a  need  to  fully  implement  Industry  4.0  to  unlock 
further  data-driven  business  models  and  services.  This  is  a  very  complex  undertaking  and 
requires  massive  investment”  (Infrastructure  Pane  at  LDD).  For  example,  panelists  at  the 
Leading the Digital Decade conference agreed that the mass production of semiconductors in 
Europe requires the involvement of many market players as well as a strong leadership from 
the EU. They advocated for an open-source hardware microcontroller/ microprocessor (RISC-
V)  ecosystem  bringing  together  product  offerings,  industrial  capacities  and  funding  from 
private  and  public  players.  In  its  Position  Paper,  Belgium  called  for  specific  guidelines  on 
funding  models  to  increase  the  EU’s  share  in  the  global  production  capacity  of 
semiconductors.  Besides  semiconductor  production,  stakeholders  repeatedly  proposed 
(industrial)  data  spaces  as  a  priority  area  for  Multi-Country  projects,  stressing  that  the  EU 
needs to look at digital technologies not just to improve operations or efficiency, but also to 
connect ecosystem actors in a broader data economy, with advanced data-driven services and 
business models (Infrastructure Panel, LDD). 

d) Policy Enablers 

112 

 
The  RSPG,  in  its  separate  opinion,  agrees  that  radio  spectrum  is  a  key  enabler  of  the  2030 
Digital  Decade  targets  and  strongly  supports  the  proposed  development  of  roadmaps  to 
enhance radio spectrum coordination at EU level as well as a support mechanism for spectrum 
awards.  

4.2 Actions to reach targets 

Throughout  the  consultation  activities,  stakeholders  made  numerous  proposals  for  priority 
actions to undertake once the Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade” is established. 
They expressed political appetite for EU and national policies advanced within the framework 
of  the  annual  governance  cycle.  They  also  expressed  expectations  to  link  the  Policy 
Programme to recent EU proposals and existing initiatives, and to explain how these will help 
deliver  on  the  targets.  Moreover,  the  consultations  provided  useful  input  on  leveraging 
contributions from the private sector. While proposed actions differed in detail, stakeholders 
agreed  on  the  importance  of  creating  synergies  between  national,  public  and  private  efforts 
under  EU  coordination/leadership,  reiterating  the  core  assumption  of  the  Digital  Compass 
Communication that a successful digital transformation must be based on joint commitments. 
For  example,  the  EESCC,  in  its  opinion,  identified  “a  need  to  boost  existing  public  and 
private  cooperation  and  create  more  synergies  to  secure  a  new  Digital  Deal  based  on  a 
governance  model  that  combines  social,  environmental  and  economic  aspects,  to  achieve  a 
long-term sustainable, fair, and inclusive digital transition.”  

One  theme  cutting  across  cardinal  points  concerns  actions  to  facilitate  data  sharing  and 
interoperability  across  national  and  sectoral  borders  to  progress  on  digital  infrastructure, 
business  and  public  services  targets.  This  includes  the  implementation  of  data  spaces  (e.g., 
through  MCPs),  data  standardization  (under  industrial/public  sector  leadership),  and  legal 
guidance on the sharing of data across the EU.  

a) Digital skills  

Proposals  to  progress  towards  the  digital  skills  targets  included  initiatives  to  embed  the 
responsible  use  of  technology  in  school  and  university  curricula:  “Universities  and  schools 
have the responsibility to raise the next generation of Europe’s digital experts, but they must 
also learn to deploy these digital skills in a responsible way” (Robert-Jan Smits, President of 
the Executive Board at Eindhoven University, at LDD).  

Besides  updating  educational  content  to  the  digital  era,  the  EESC  identified  the  creation  of 
public-private partnerships to implement new and accessible methodologies of education that 
provide the same opportunity for all as crucial for upskilling and reskilling. AK Europe, in its 
position paper, recommended to combine investments in the digital infrastructure of schools 
with free basic education courses for people with formally low qualifications to ensure that no 
one  gets  left  behind.  Moreover,  the  EESC  proposed  to  promote  powerful  campaigns  in 
Member  States,  starting  in  primary  schools,  to  encourage  young  girls  in  scientific  and 
technological  disciplines. A broad social dialogue will be necessary to  close the gender  gap 
among ICT professionals.  

b) Digital infrastructures 

Removing  existing  barriers  of  the  digital  single  market  was  identified  as  a  key  priority  to 
achieve digital infrastructure targets by stakeholders from both the public and private sector. 
Many Member States advocated for a strong link with the Industrial Strategy and the Green 

113 

 
Deal.  To  meet  the  5G  target,  business  stakeholders  proposed  to  accelerate  Radio  Access 
Network  Sharing,  i.e.  facilitating  the  capability  to  share  costly  equipment  with  other 
operators.  Furthermore,  the  EU  should  foster  open  and  interoperable  solutions  at 
infrastructure  level.  To  leverage  the  synergies  between  5G  networks  and  edge-cloud 
infrastructures,“the EU can be a real trigger for seamless interoperability from one country 
to another”, for instance by establishing common requirements for certification (Mari-Noëlle 
Jégo-Laveissière, Deputy CEO of Orange, at LDD).  

The  EESC,  in  its  opinion,  called  for  a  more  favourable  regulatory  framework  that  supports 
private investment in network infrastructure. Regarding the deployment of 5G, In its position 
paper,  Belgium  emphasized  the  need  to  adequately  inform  citizens  about  rollout  plans  and 
health impacts.  

c) Digital businesses 

Completing  the  single  market,  including  for  services,  was  also  frequently  mentioned  in 
relation  to  the digital  transformation  of businesses (DK, EE, CY, SE, PT,  LU at  DSM  SG). 
Business  stakeholders  called  for  “reinforcement,  simplicity  and  stability  of  framework 
conditions” to  facilitate access  to  the digital  single market  for SMEs in  particular (Business 
Panel at LDD). Member States saw the Commission’s 2021 AI regulation as setting a positive 
example.  Businesses  stakeholders  wished  for  similar  legal  guidance  on  the  sharing  of  data 
across the EU, but cautioned that regulations have to draw the right balance in protecting the 
EU economy and European values, and securing the right incentives to invest and develop EU 
digital businesses and platforms without stifling competitiveness. There should be no forced 
data  sharing  principles  or  overly  constraining  rules,  including  on  data  flows,  that  could  put 
European  companies  at  a  disadvantage  to  their  American  or  Chinese  counterparts.  A  data 
regulatory framework with  freely flowing data across the single market  was welcomed, and 
the Data Governance Act was repeatedly elevated as a way to  level the playing field in this 
regard. 

Other  proposed  actions  focused  on  fostering  additional  public  and  private  investments  to 
increase the digital awareness and transformation of businesses, e.g., through vouchers, loans 
and  tax  incentives.  In  this  context,  the  EIB,  at  the  Leading  the  Digital  Decade  Conference, 
stated  that  they  could  support  the  greater  community  of  investors  and  innovators  with  its 
patient shareholders and higher risk bearing capacity. The EIB also plays a critical role for the 
digitalization  of  businesses  by  providing  financial  support  in  the  form  of  capital  and 
intermediate loans to commercial banks for distribution to SMEs. The EESC, in its opinion, 
highlighted  the  urgency  of  achieving  a  Capital  Markets  Union,  which  allows  innovative 
companies to transfer savings between Member States in search of the best return.  

Stakeholders  described  European  Digital  Innovation  Hubs  (EDIHs)  as  one  particularly 
valuable, existing instrument to accelerate the digital transformation of businesses, and called 
to expand such efforts within the framework of the Digital Compass. EDIHs should focus on 
aggregating  demand  and  organizing  access  to  finance  for  SMEs;  providing  SMEs  with  the 
internal capacity, expertise and skills to digitalise and adopt leading digital innovations; and 
translating digital policies for SMEs to reduce the regulatory burden and ensure compliance. 
This  would  require  following  a  cross-sectorial  approach  that  brings  together  actors  from 
various ecosystems,  such as universities and big companies  (BE, BG,  IE,  LV, HU;  Leading 
the  Digital  Decade,  Business  Panel).  For  example,  big  companies  could  support  SMEs  in 
developing  the  tools  and  technology  they  need  to  digitalize  their  business  through  a  digital 
volunteer mentoring programme.  

114 

 
AK  Europe  and  the  EESC,  in  their  respective  position  paper  and  opinion,  stressed  that 
strategies  to  advance  the  digital  transformation  of  businesses  must  be  accompanied  by 
strategies  to  deal  with  possible  job  displacements  through  upskilling,  reskilling  and  social 
security funds to ensure a human-centred approach to digital transformation. 

Priority actions to facilitate uptake of digital enablers by 
businesses
Slido Poll, Leading the Digital Decade Conference, Digital Busienss Panel (not representative)

Expand innovation infrastructures, such as Digital
Innovation Hubs

Foster additional public and private investments for
digital awareness and digital transformation

Adopt intermediate targets on the road to 2030, by
country and, if necessary, by sector

Condition EU and/or national aid to a minimum digital
transformation

Reinforce with additional targets, in terms of
technology and/or target audience

Collaborate with Member States on the basis of
reinforced monitoring capability

30%

28%

20%

18%

58%

52%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

d) Digital public services  

Proposed  EU  actions  to  facilitate  the  digitalisation  of  public  services  focus  on  increasing 
technical,  organisational  and  political  interoperability  to  share  data  between  administrative 
layers  (local,  national,  regional,  and  EU  layers).  Overcoming  existing  administrative/ 
procedural silos will require strong political will and EU leadership. It was proposed to focus 
on creating a European  solution  that links national  digital identities and  provides maximum 
benefits  to  European  citizens.  Member  States  repeatedly  expressed  their  support  for  the 
Commission’s recent proposal for a framework for a European Digital Identity in this context 
(TTE). Public sector stakeholders identified a need for actions to  build trust  between public 
administrations, between people and administrations, and between public administrations and 
European industries that can supply the necessary ICT infrastructure and services. 

Besides  interoperability,  stakeholders  called  for  actions  to  increase  the  digital  literacy  of 
public authorities in general and on cybersecurity in particular. Public administrations called 
for EU Data Spaces to share cybersecurity target information (LDD). There are expectations 
that  the  review  of  the  NIS  Directive  will  enforce  mandatory  information  sharing  steps  that 
will  provide  information  and  cyber  security  data  to  handle  incidents  in  a  timely  and 
collaborative manner. Practitioners that applied the current NIS Directive complained that the 
expectations for applying the NIS Directive all over Europe were not  clear and the relevant 
national security authorities were not supportive enough.  

The  EESC,  in  its  opinion,  called  on  the  Commission  to  support  citizens  who  cannot  yet 
benefit  from  such  services  due  to  a  lack  od  knowledge,  skills,  software  or  hardware.  To 
ensure  inclusive  access,  civil  society  organisations  should  be  involved  in  the  digitalisation 
process.  

115 

 
 
Prior  to  achieving  interoperability  on  EU  level,  Member  States  must  progress  with  vertical 
integration  (integration  of  services  and  processes  inside  the  organisation)  and  horizontal 
integration (integration of services and processes across organisations) on the national level.  

Moreover,  stakeholders  agreed  that  national  public  administrations  should  recruit  more  ICT 
professionals and strengthen partnerships with academia and the private sector to benefit more 
from  the  young  academics  and  entrepreneurs  that  are  working  in  the  GovTech  industry 
(LDD). 

116 

 
ANNEX 2: BASELINE DATA 

The below table presents the baseline data for each Member State for those targets, for which data are available. 

117 

At least basic digital skillsICT specialistsFemale ICT specialistsFixed Very High Capacity Network (VHCN) coverage5G coverageSMEs with at least a basic level of digital intensityBig dataCloudAIDigital public services for citizensDigital public services for businesses% of individualsTotal number% of ICT specialists% of households% of populated areas% of enterprises% of enterprises% of enterprises% of enterprisesScore (0-100)Score (0-100)Year: 2019Year: 2020Year: 2020Year: 2020Year: 2020Year: 2020Year: 2020Year: 2020Year: 2020Year: 2020Year: 2020AT66%193,500                 20%39%50%63%9%20%37%8885BE61%240,800                 17%68%4%75%23%43%24%7185BG29%103,300                 28%43%0%33%6%8%31%5787CY45%12,800                   18%26%0%49%6%22%not available6686CZ62%219,800                 10%33%0%59%9%20%40%7176DE70%1,947,000             18%56%18%62%18%20%28%7288DK70%156,000                 22%94%80%88%27%57%22%8496EE62%42,400                   22%71%0%74%10%48%15%9198EL51%79,300                   27%10%0%not available13%not available34%5454ES57%727,100                 20%92%13%62%9%22%22%8294FI76%191,500                 23%67%12%88%22%62%20%8793FR57%1,218,900             20%53%0%55%22%21%19%7391HR53%61,400                   18%47%0%62%14%29%21%6073HU49%170,600                 12%49%7%46%7%17%17%5476IE53%129,400                 21%83%30%66%23%41%14%86100IT42%828,000                 16%34%8%69%9%38%18%6989LT56%44,500                   24%67%0%54%11%23%34%7396LU65%18,500                   20%95%0%64%19%23%32%9097LV43%33,000                   23%88%0%42%9%18%21%8785MT56%11,400                   11%100%0%71%31%38%not available10095NL79%527,100                 18%90%80%75%27%47%24%8683PL44%553,900                 15%65%10%52%8%15%18%6567PT52%190,500                 22%87%0%51%11%21%31%8486RO31%202,700                 26%76%12%33%5%13%31%4449SE72%379,700                 21%81%14%82%19%59%30%8894SI55%42,500                   17%66%0%68%7%26%33%7478SK54%105,800                 16%50%0%52%6%18%15%6479EU56%8,431,300             19%59%14%60%14%26%25%7584Member State