COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Digital Decade Cardinal Points Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Report on the state of the Digital Decade 2023
Date: 2023-09-27
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, digital literacy, digital single market, digital transformation, digitisation, information security, innovation, public service, technological change, transmission network

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 27.9.2023  SWD(2023) 571 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Digital Decade Cardinal Points Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Report on the state of the Digital Decade 2023 {COM(2023) 570 final} - {SWD(2023) 570 final} - {SWD(2023) 572 final} - {SWD(2023) 573 final} - {SWD(2023) 574 final}  
 
 
 
Contents 
1 

Digital Skills ......................................................................................................................................6 

1.1  The EU’s digital skills landscape in 2023: Importance and status ............................................ 6 

1.2  Overall outlook based on DESI digital skills indicators ............................................................. 9 

1.3  Basic and advanced skills ........................................................................................................ 10 

1.3.1  At least basic digital skills ............................................................................................... 10 

1.3.2  More advanced skills, internet use and in-job training .................................................. 12 

1.3.3  At least basic digital skills: trends towards 2030 ............................................................ 14 

1.4  Highly skilled digital workforce .............................................................................................. 16 

1.4.1 

ICT specialists in employment ........................................................................................ 16 

1.4.2 

ICT graduates .................................................................................................................. 16 

1.4.3 

ICT specialists in employment: trends towards 2030 targets ........................................ 17 

1.5  Actions and initiatives ............................................................................................................ 20 

1.5.1  Action at country level .................................................................................................... 20 

1.5.2  Actions at EU level .......................................................................................................... 26 

1.6  Digital Decade Targets ............................................................................................................ 31 

1.6.1  Challenges in digital skills provision: Structured Dialogue findings ............................... 31 

1.6.2  Policy  Recommendations  included  in  a  proposal  for  a  Council  Recommendation  on 
improving the provision of digital skills in education and training ............................................ 32 

2 

Digital Infrastructures ................................................................................................................... 34 

2.1  Overall context: why are digital infrastructures critical and where is Europe in this regard in 
2023 at the outset of the Digital Decade? ..................................................................................... 34 

2.2  Overall outlook based on DESI digital infrastructure indicators ............................................ 38 

2.2.1  Gigabit connectivity ........................................................................................................ 39 

2.2.2  5G next-generation wireless high-speed networks ........................................................ 54 

2.3  Semiconductors ...................................................................................................................... 63 

2.3.1  Trends towards 2030 ...................................................................................................... 65 

2.3.2  Actions at EU and national level ..................................................................................... 65 

2.4  Edge nodes ............................................................................................................................. 66 

2.4.1  Trends towards 2030 ...................................................................................................... 68 

2.4.2  Actions at EU and national level ..................................................................................... 69 

2.5  Quantum computing .............................................................................................................. 69 

2.5.1  Trends towards 2030 ...................................................................................................... 70 

2.5.2  Actions at EU and national level ..................................................................................... 71 

3 

Digitalisation of Businesses .......................................................................................................... 73 

3.1  Overall  context:  why  is  digitalisation  of  businesses  important  and  where  is  Europe  in  this 
regard in 2023 at the outset of the Digital Decade ........................................................................ 73 

3.2  Overall outlook based on DESI digitalisation of businesses indicators .................................. 79 

3.4  Take-up of technologies by businesses .................................................................................. 80 

3.4.1  Artificial intelligence ....................................................................................................... 80 

3.4.2  Cloud ............................................................................................................................... 84 

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3.4.3  Big data ........................................................................................................................... 91 

3.5  SMEs ....................................................................................................................................... 94 

3.5.1  Overview ......................................................................................................................... 94 

3.5.2  Trends towards 2030 ...................................................................................................... 98 

3.5.3  Actions at EU and national level ..................................................................................... 99 

3.6  Unicorns................................................................................................................................ 101 

3.6.1  Overview ....................................................................................................................... 101 

3.6.2  Trends towards 2030 .................................................................................................... 103 

3.6.3  Actions at EU and national level ................................................................................... 104 

4 

Digital Public Services ................................................................................................................. 106 

4.1   Overall context: why are digital public services critical and where is Europe in this regard in 
2023 at the outset of the Digital Decade ..................................................................................... 106 

4.2  Overall outlook based on DESI digital public services indicators ......................................... 112 

4.3  Overview on digitalisation of public services ....................................................................... 112 

4.4  Trends towards 2030 for digitalisation of public services .................................................... 123 

4.5  Overview on Electronic identification (eID) ......................................................................... 125 

4.6  Trends towards 2030 on eID ................................................................................................ 126 

4.7  Overview on e-health ........................................................................................................... 126 

4.8  Trends towards 2030 on e-health, electronic health record ............................................... 127 

4.9  Actions at Member States and EU level ............................................................................... 127 

Table of Tables  
Table 1 DESI 2023 digital skills indicators grouped into two classes: 1a Basic and advanced skills; 1b 
Highly skilled digital workforce. ............................................................................................................ 10 

Table 2: Selection of good practices by Member State ........................................................................ 22 

Table 3: Good practice example from the Netherlands – Katapult.eu ................................................. 25 

Table 4: Good practice example from Germany – KI Campus (AI campus in English) .......................... 26 

Table 5: Overview of challenges in the provision of digital skills .......................................................... 31 

Table  6:  DESI    2023  digital  infrastructure  indicators  grouped  into  two  classes:  2a.  fixed  broadband 
and 2b. mobile broadband .................................................................................................................... 39 

Table of Figures  
Figure 1: Percentage of the  EU population with at  least  basic digital skills by  age  groups (reference 
year 2021) .............................................................................................................................................. 11 

Figure 2: Percentage of individuals aged 16-74 with at least basic skills in the EU by sex (from 2015 to 
2021). Left-hand side: percentage of women; right-hand side: percentage of men. Source: Eurostat, 
EU survey on the use of ICT in households and by individuals. ............................................................ 12 

Figure 3: Internet Use: Once a week, including every day (% of all individuals), 2022. Source: Eurostat, 
EU survey on the use of ICT in households and by individuals ............................................................. 13 

Figure 4: Percentage of enterprises providing ICT training, year 2022 (all activities except the financial 
sector). Source: Eurostat, EU survey on the usage of ICT in enterprises .............................................. 14 

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Figure 5: Percentage of people in the EU with at least basic digital skills (year 2021). The whole circle 
represents the 2030 target of which the blue part is the level already achieved by the EU, according 
to the latest available data point, while the grey part represents the gap. ......................................... 14 

Figure  6:  Basic  digital  skills  in  the  EU.  Historical  data,  Digital  Decade  (DD)  trajectory  and  baseline 
trajectory towards 2030 ........................................................................................................................ 15 

Figure  7:  ICT  specialists  in  employment  as  percentage  of  total  employment.  Reference  year  2022. 
Source: Eurostat, Labour Force Survey ................................................................................................. 16 

Figure  8:  Graduates  in  ICT  subjects  as  %  of  total  graduates  (source:  Eurostat,  year  2021,  Tertiary 
education levels ISCED: 5-8). No values for Czechia in 2021. ............................................................... 17 

Figure 9: Total number of ICT specialists (in million) in employment in the EU since 2017. The circle 
represents the 2030 target of which the blue part is the  level achieved by the EU in 2017 (left) and 
2022 (right), while the grey part represents the gap. ........................................................................... 18 

Figure 10: Percentage of individuals employed in ICT in the EU by sex. The solid lines show the time 
trend since 2012. Left-hand side: percentage of women employed in ICT; right-hand side: percentage 
of men employed in ICT. ....................................................................................................................... 18 

Figure  11:  ICT  specialists  in  the  EU.  Historical  data,  Digital  Decade  (DD)  trajectory  and  baseline 
trajectory towards 2030 ........................................................................................................................ 19 

Figure 12: Selection of Commission proposal for Council Recommendation ....................................... 33 

Figure 13 Total coverage by technology at EU level (% of households), 2021-2022 ............................ 40 

Figure 14 Rural coverage by technology at EU level (% of households), 2021 – 2022 ......................... 40 

Figure 15 Fixed very high-capacity network (VHCN) coverage (% of households) in the EU, 2015-2022
 ............................................................................................................................................................... 41 

Figure 16 Fixed very high-capacity network (VHCN) coverage (% of households), mid-2022 .............. 42 

Figure 17 Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) coverage (% of households), mid-2022 ................................... 42 

Figure 18 Households with access to Internet in the EU (% of households), 2017-2022 ..................... 43 

Figure 19 Households with a broadband subscription of at least 100 Mbps (% of households) 2017 – 
2022 ....................................................................................................................................................... 43 

Figure 20 Households with a broadband subscription of at least 100 Mbps (% of households), 2022 44 

Figure 21 Download speed of schools according to contracts with telecoms providers ...................... 45 

Figure 22 Fixed broadband subscriptions – technology market shares in the EU (% of subscriptions), 
July 2006-July 2022................................................................................................................................ 45 

Figure 23 Fixed broadband subscriptions – technology market shares in the EU (% of subscriptions), 
July 2022 ................................................................................................................................................ 46 

Figure  24  Fixed  broadband  subscriptions  –  operator  market  shares  in  the  EU  (%  of  subscriptions), 
January 2006-July 2022 ......................................................................................................................... 46 

Figure 25 Incumbent operator market share by technology in the EU (% of subscriptions), July 2022 46 

Figure 26 Fixed broadband subscriptions – operator market shares in the EU (% of subscriptions), July 
2022 ....................................................................................................................................................... 47 

Figure 27 Fixed Very-High-Capacity Networks coverage in the EU. Historical data, Digital Decade (DD) 
trajectory and baseline trajectory towards 2030 .................................................................................. 48 

Figure  28:  Fibre  to  the  Premises  coverage  in  the  EU. Historical  data, Digital  Decade  (DD) trajectory 
and baseline trajectory towards 2030................................................................................................... 49 

Figure 29: Selected Global Gateways projects ...................................................................................... 53 

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Figure 30 5G spectrum (assigned spectrum as a % of total harmonised 5G spectrum), end of March 
2023 ....................................................................................................................................................... 55 

Figure 31 Overall 5G mobile coverage (% of populated areas), mid-2022 ........................................... 56 

Figure 32 5G mobile coverage on the 3.4-3.8 GHz band (% of populated areas), mid-2022................ 56 

Figure 33 Mobile broadband penetration in the EU (% of individuals), 2016-2021 ............................. 57 

Figure 34 Mobile broadband penetration (% of individuals), 2021 ...................................................... 57 

Figure 35 5G rollout in the EU, historical data and baseline trajectory towards 2030  ........................ 58 

Figure 36 5G Pioneer Bands Authorisation in the EU ............................................................................ 59 

Figure 37 Global market shares in semiconductor industry evolution ................................................. 64 

Figure 38 Semiconductor value chain segments with EU market shares ............................................. 64 

Figure 39 Number of deployed edge nodes (EU projection to 2030) ................................................... 68 

Figure 40: Number of quantum computers in the EU. Trajectory towards 2030 ................................. 71 

Figure 41 Cloud Infrastructure Services Market ................................................................................... 76 

Figure 42 European Cloud provider Share of Local Market .................................................................. 76 

Figure 43 Use of AI technology by enterprise size (% of enterprises), 2021 ......................................... 81 

Figure 44 Use of AI technology by sector (% of enterprises), 2021 ...................................................... 81 

Figure 45 Share of enterprises using AI in the EU. Historical data, Digital Decade (DD) trajectory and 
baseline  trajectory  towards  2030  (same  speed  of  diffusion  parameter  as  in  the  Big  Data  baseline 
trajectory) .............................................................................................................................................. 82 

Figure 46 Cloud computing services of sophisticated or intermediate level (% of enterprises), 2021  85 

Figure  47:  Cloud  computing  services  of  sophisticated  or  intermediate  level  per  sector  (% of 
enterprises), 2021 ................................................................................................................................. 86 

Figure  48:  Share  of  enterprises  using  Cloud  services  in  the  EU.  Historical  data,  Digital  Decade  (DD) 
trajectory and baseline trajectory towards 2030  ................................................................................. 87 

Figure 49: Enterprise data flowing from the selected country to cloud facilities by country, 2030 ..... 88 

Figure 50: Enterprise data flowing from the selected country to cloud facilities by country, 2030 ..... 89 

Figure  51:  Data  flows  geography:  Net  inflow/outflow  map  for  data  flowing  to  cloud  and  edge  data 
centres for the 31 countries examined in the study (TB/month) in 2020 ............................................ 90 

Figure 52: Enterprises analysing big data per sector (% of enterprises), 2020 ..................................... 92 

Figure  53:  Share  of  enterprises  using  Big  Data  in  the  EU.  Historical  data,  Digital  Decade  (DD) 
trajectory and baseline trajectory towards 2030 .................................................................................. 93 

Figure 54: Digital Intensity Index indicators tracking digitisation processes (% enterprises), 2022 ..... 94 

Figure 55: Digital Intensity Index by level (% of SMEs), 2022 ............................................................... 95 

Figure 56: SMEs with at least basic level of digital intensity, 2022 ....................................................... 95 

Figure 57: Adoption of digital technologies (% enterprises), 2020, 2021, 2022 ................................... 96 

Figure 58: Trends in e-commerce (% of SMEs, % of SME turnover), 2015-2022 - ................................ 97 

Figure 59: SMEs selling online (2022) and selling online cross-border (2021) (% of SMEs) ................. 98 

Figure 60: Digital Intensity Index. Historical data and the Digital Decade (DD) trajectory towards 2030
 ............................................................................................................................................................... 99 

Figure 61: The definition of unicorns included in the analysis ............................................................ 101 

Figure 62: Number of unicorns per EU Member State ....................................................................... 102 

Figure 63: Distribution of the ‘potential future unicorns’ by EU member state ................................. 103 

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Figure 65: e-Government users interacting with public authorities via websites or apps in the last 12 
months (% of internet users), 2022 ..................................................................................................... 113 

Figure 66: Digital public services for citizens (score 0 to 100), 2022 .................................................. 114 

Figure 67: Cross-border online availability of public services for citizens (score 0 to 100), 2022 ...... 115 

Figure 68: Digital public services for businesses (Score 0 to 100), 2022 ............................................. 116 

Figure 70: Pre-filled forms (Score 0 to 100), 2022 .............................................................................. 118 

Figure 71: Transparency status in Member States (Score 0 to 100), 2022 ......................................... 119 

Figure 72: Transparency of service delivery (Score 0 to 100), 2022 ................................................... 120 

Figure 73: Transparency of personal data (Score 0 to 100), 2022 ...................................................... 120 

Figure 74: Transparency of service design (Score 0 to 100), 2022 ...................................................... 121 

Figure 75: User support (national) (Score 0 to 100), 2022 .................................................................. 122 

Figure 76: User support (cross-border) (Score 0 to 100), 2022 .......................................................... 122 

Figure 77: Mobile friendliness (Score 0 to 100), 2022 ........................................................................ 123 

Figure 78: Online service provision for citizens (top chart) and businesses (bottom chart). Historical 
data, Digital Decade (DD) trajectory and baseline trajectory towards 2030 ...................................... 124 

Figure 79: eHealth composite indicator. Historical data and DD trajectory ....................................... 127 

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1  Digital Skills 

1.1  The EU’s digital skills landscape in 2023: Importance and status 
We are currently facing a significant digital skills gap in Europe. Most jobs nowadays require some 
level  of  digital  skills1,  particularly  in  the  context  of  the  digital  transition,  and  following  the 
‘digitalisation push’ by companies as a reaction to the coronavirus crisis whereby almost half of adult 
workers  saw  new  digital  technology  introduced  at  their  workplaces.2  In  addition  to  that,  many 
companies  and  in  particular  small  and  medium-sized  enterprises  are  experiencing  an  increased 
competition for digitally skilled talent which they face on an already tense job market. 

More  generally,  a  large  share  of  all  Europeans  (46%  in  20213  according  to  Eurostat)  still  does  not 
possess  basic  digital  skills  and  are  thus  not  confident  when  performing  activities  online  and  with 
digital devices,  nor can they reap the full benefits of digital technologies.  There  is also evidence of 
low  levels  of  digital  skills  among  a  significant  share  of  young  people,  where  it  has  been  estimated 
that around one third of eighth graders are performing below a basic level of digital skills4.  

To ensure that everyone can embark on the digital transformation journey in a fair way, it is crucial 
to make sure that we are not leaving anyone behind, without the right digital skills. This is in line 
with Principle 20 of the European Pillar of Social Rights5, which identifies digital communications as 
one of the essential services to which everyone shall have access to and calls for support for access 
to those in need. It also reflects Principle 1, i.e. that everyone has the right to quality and inclusive 
education, training, and life-long learning in order to maintain and acquire skills that enable them to 
participate  fully  in  society  and  manage  successfully  transitions  in  the  labour  market.6  The  need  to 
tackle  the  digital  divide  is  also  clearly  stated  in  the  Declaration  on  Digital  Rights  and  Principles7, 
recalling  that  everyone  has  the  right  to  education,  training,  and  lifelong  learning,  as  provided  by 
Article  14  of  the  Charter  of  Fundamental  Rights  of  the  European  Union8,  and  should  be  able  to 
acquire basic and advanced digital skills.   

1 According to the CEDEFOP's 2nd European Skills and Job Survey, 87% of adult workers use computing devices 
at work. For further information see: Cedefop (2022). Setting Europe on course for a human digital transition: 
new evidence from Cedefop’s second European skills and jobs survey. Luxembourg: Publications Office. 
Cedefop reference series; No 123, available at http://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2801/253954. 
2 Cedefop (2022). Setting Europe on course for a human digital transition: new evidence from Cedefop’s second 
European skills and jobs survey. Luxembourg: Publications Office. Cedefop reference series; No 123, available 
at http://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2801/253954. 
3 For more information on the digital skills indicators published by Eurostat, see the digital skills indicator table  
(https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/product/view/ISOC_SK_DSKL_I21) as well as the section in the 
"Information about data" page (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/digital-economy-and-society/information-
data#Digital%20skills%20indicator) 
4 Fraillon J., Ainley J., Schulz W., Friedman T., Duckworth D. (2019). Preparing for Life in a Digital World: 
International Computer and Information Literacy Study 2018 International Report. Amsterdam: IEA. 
5 For more information on the European Pillar of Social Rights, see: 
https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1606&langId=en.  
6 Moreover, the Commission Staff Working Document on access to essential services in the EU (SWD(2023) 213 
final/2), which is one of the deliverables of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, identifies lack of 
digital skills as of the main barriers preventing vulnerable groups to access digital communications. More 
information and link to the report is available at: 
https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=89&furtherNews=yes&newsId=10595.  
7 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/european-declaration-digital-rights-and-principles.  
8 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/charter/pdf/text_en.pdf.  

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There is also a particular need to recruit more ICT specialists in Europe to fulfil the needs of industrial 
ecosystems  (e.g.,  the  automotive  industry,  aerospace,  electronics.),  which  are  increasingly  relying 
heavily on cutting-edge technologies. In fact, in 2019, more than half of EU enterprises that recruited 
or  tried  to  recruit  ICT  specialists  had  difficulties  in  filling  ICT  vacancies.9  To  give  one  concrete 
example,  between  260  00010  and  500  00011  cybersecurity  experts  are  currently  needed  in  Europe. 
The EU needs a bigger pool of such specialists to protect businesses and public services in Europe and 
to design the cybersecurity solutions of the future.12 Furthermore, innovations and breakthroughs in 
different areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, quantum technology or 6G, are bringing a 
wave  of  demand  for  a  new  generation  of  advanced  digital  skills,  such  as  skills  in  AI  and  machine 
learning algorithms, the Internet of Things, big data analytics, cloud computing or cybersecurity.  In 
this respect, higher education institutions play a crucial role in boosting the number of ICT specialists 
in Europe, given that about two-thirds of ICT specialists in the EU had completed a tertiary level of 
education  in  2022.13  In  this  sense,  while  the  academic  offer  of  both  bachelor  and  master’s 
programmes in the EU in the academic year 2022-23 with respect to the previous academic year in 
the  area  of  advanced  digital  technologies  has  increased,  the  EU  is  nevertheless  still  lagging  behind 
other regions of the world such as the United Kingdom or the United States14. While there is clearly a 
need to train ICT specialists with advanced digital skills in one or more technological domains, there 
is  also  a  need  to  train  ICT  specialist  to  acquire  domain-specific  knowledge  with  increased 
understanding  of  the  real  needs  and  specificities  of  a  specific  domain,  such  as  an  ICT  engineer 
requiring specific additional education in agriculture15.  

In  addition to  the  significant  shortage of  ICT  specialists,  Europe  also  faces  a  significant  digital  skills 
gap  in  more  traditional  non-ICT  professions.  Recent  research  from  Germany  and  the  U.S. 
demonstrated  a  rising  demand  for  digital skills  in  non-tech  industries16.  Moreover,  a Danish  study 
showed that in Denmark, the demand for sector specialists with advanced digital skills (i.e., so-called 
digital integrators) exceeds the demand for digital specialists in fields where digital is at the core of 
the  job.17  For  instance,  there  is  a  particularly  high  need  to  equip  sector  specialists  with  advanced 
digital skills, such as medical doctors who are increasingly relying on advanced digital technologies 
(e.g.,  AI  and  augmented  reality)  to  provide  more  accurate  diagnoses,  training  future  doctors  or 
process  the  data  of  their patients  in  electronic  health  records,  or  farmers  who  are  using  advanced 
data  analysis  to  optimise  their  agricultural  production  processes.  There  is  also  an  urgent  need  for 
more so-called digital integrators to unlock the potential of innovative digital solutions in the green 

9 Eurostat (2021) : https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=ICT_specialists_-
_statistics_on_hard-to-fill_vacancies_in_enterprises.  
10 (ISC)² in Assessing Cyber Skills on the basis of the ECSF, ENISA webinar, 16 February 2023 
11 According to European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO), as stated in the Joint Communication to the 
European Parliament and the Council, EU Policy on Cyber Defence, JOIN(2022) 49 final  
12 A Resilient Cybersecurity Profession Charts the Path Forward : (ISC)2 CYBERSECURITY WORKFORCE STUDY, 
2021 (https://www.isc2.org//-/media/ISC2/Research/2021/ISC2-Cybersecurity-Workforce-Study-2021.ashx), 
page 25. 
13 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=ICT_specialists_in_employment. 
14 This represents an increase of 8% in the number of bachelor programmes and an increase of 14% in the 
number of master programmes in the area of advanced digital skills. The dataset by the Joint Research Centre 
on the ‘Academic offer of advanced digital technologies 2022-2023’ is available here: 
https://data.jrc.ec.europa.eu/dataset/7aed1a89-c904-43ed-af0f-b024fc9cb92a.  
15 For other examples, see also: https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/latest/briefs/digital-jobs-deep-dive.  
16 https://www.burning-glass.com/wp-
content/uploads/2021/02/after_the_storm_recovery_jobs_executive_summary.pdf; 
https://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/fileadmin/files/user_upload/STUDIE_Burning_Glass_EN_FINAL.pdf;  
17 https://download.digitaldogme.dk/hubfs/Det%20digitale%20Kompetencebarometer%202020.pdf 

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transition,  to  maintain  the  EU’s  competitiveness  in  a  carbon-neutral  economy  and  to  support  the 
skills’  pillar  of  EU  Net  Zero  Industrial  Act  and  other  EU  and  national  green  transition  initiatives. 
Examples  include,  for  instance,  experts  in  the  field  of  digitalisation  of  energy  systems,  connected 
mobility  precision  farming  and  hydro  informatics,  experts  mastering  the  predictive  and  analytical 
capacities of AI for future weather forecasting or energy grid management or experts capable of the 
manipulation of big geospatial data for better resource utilisation. 

In  addition  to  the  structural  shortage  of  both  ICT  specialists  (including  those  with  domain-specific 
knowledge)  and  sector  specialists  that  possess  advanced  digital  skills,  the  sector  suffers  from  a 
severe  gender  imbalance  in  the  EU  with  81%  of  employed  ICT  specialists  in  2022  being  male18, 
although  women  account  for  51%  of  the  European  population.  The  way  that  digital  solutions  are 
devised and deployed may be affected by the fact that only a small share of employed ICT specialists 
and ICT graduates are women. This gap does not fully recognise the value of women’s contributions 
and  talent  which  is  essential  for  building  a  Digital  Europe,  and  there  is  therefore  a  high  need  to 
increase the pool of talent in this field. Furthermore, the need to close the gender digital divide was 
both an important topic of discussion during the Structured Dialogue on Digital Education and Skills 
as well as during the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, which took place at the 
UN Headquarters in New York in March 2023. The Agreed Conclusions inter alia restate commitment 
to enhance digital skills and literacy for all women and girls. 

Moreover,  it  is  important  to  note  that  we  cannot  create  ICT  specialists  or  sector  specialists  with 
advanced digital skills overnight. This is why boosting the development of digital skills from an early 
age onwards and in a continuous manner is therefore essential for advancing the level of digital skills 
of the EU population and the number of students of all ages and genders who consider studies and 
careers in ICT or digital-related fields. In this respect, for instance, evidence shows that pupils who 
are involved in the learning of coding or computational thinking from an early age are more likely to 
continue studying ICT or digital-related fields. This has an impact on the number of students choosing 
this  study  path  or  young  people  embarking  on  a  career  in  a  digital  field.19  Three  main  educational 
approaches  currently  are  applied  across  the  EU  to  boost  digital  skills    already  at  school  level, 
including  the  (a)  cross-curricular  approach  (aims  at  having  students  develop  digital  skills  in 
all/multiple subjects), the (b) approach to introduce a separate subject (e.g. informatics, also known 
as computer science) as well as the (c) approach to include digital skills in an already existing subject 
(e.g.  science).  Whereas  each  approach  is  valid,  making  informatics  a  compulsory  subject  has  the 
advantage to offer the possibility to all students to develop digital skills, potentially increasing their 
interest in STEM and digital disciplines, and reducing the above-mentioned gender gap.20 

There is a crucial need to tackle skills mismatches in Europe, including by boosting the digital skills of 
young  people  and  encouraging  them,  and  particularly  women,  to  take  up  ICT  studies  and 
subsequently  to  embark  on  a  job  in/related  to  ICT,  provide  up-  and  reskilling  opportunities  to  the 
working  population  as  well  as  to  achieve  gender  convergence  in  the  ICT  related  studies  and 
occupations. For this, many important initiatives and policies to boost digital skills already exist at EU 
and Member  State level. The  Recovery and Resilience  Facility (RRF), for instance,  supports reforms 
and  investments  aiming  to  promote,  among  others,  the  development  of  human  capital  in 
digitalisation, including measures supporting basic and advanced digital skills as well as the formation 

18 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=ICT_specialists_in_employment  
19 https://news.microsoft.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Microsoft_girls_in_STEM_final-Whitepaper.pdf 
20 For a more detailed discussion of the different existing approaches, see the Commission Staff Working 
Document  (SWD(2023) 205 final) accompanying the ‘Proposal for a Council Recommendation on the key 
enabling factors for successful digital education and training’ and the ‘Proposal for a Council Recommendation 
on improving the provision of digital skills in education and training’. 

8 

 
 
 
of ICT specialists (see section 1.5.1.2 for more details).  The RRF funds are complemented by national 
funding as well as other European funding programmes (e.g., Erasmus+, European Social Fund Plus, 
Digital Europe Programme, InvestEU, Horizon Europe, etc.) and key initiatives (e.g., Digital Skills and 
Jobs  Coalition/Platform,  the  European  Skills  Agenda,  the  Digital  Education  Action  Plan,  EU  Code 
Week, Large-scale Partnership in the Digital ecosystem under the Pact for Skills, etc.), as described in 
further detail in this thematic chapter further below. 

The EU’s ambitious Digital Decade targets of the recently adopted Path to the Digital Decade Policy 
Programme  (DDPP)  will  only  be  achieved  with  focused  and  coordinated  efforts,  including  the  aim 
that  at  least  80%  of  the  population  aged  16-74  will  have  basic  digital  skills  by  203021  and  that  20 
million  ICT experts  will be employed in the EU, with more graduates and a better  gender balance. 
The  Digital  Decade  targets  are  complemented  by  a  target  set  in  the  European  Education  Area22  of 
reducing the percentage of eighth graders who underachieve in computer and information literacy 
to less than 15% by 2030. 

Given the urgency to boost skills, including digital skills at all levels, President von der Leyen of the 
European Commission announced during the State of the Union address in 2022 that 2023 would be 
designated as the European Year of Skills23. This decision was made to emphasize the importance of 
individuals acquiring the necessary skills through education and upskilling for quality employment, to 
address labour market mismatches, to aid businesses in addressing the shortage of skilled workers, 
including by attracting the right skills to our continent, and to unify efforts at EU level to enhance the 
skills  -  including  digital  skills  -  of  EU  citizens.    The  European  Year  of  Skills24  will  pursue  four  main 
objectives: 

•  Promoting  investment  in  training  and  upskilling,  enabling  people  stay  in  their  jobs  or  find 

new ones. 

•  Ensuring skills match the needs of employers, by closely cooperating with social partners and 

companies. 

•  Matching people's aspirations and skill sets with opportunities on the job market, especially 

for the green and digital transition and the economic recovery. 

•  Attracting people from outside the EU with the skills needed. 

1.2  Overall outlook based on DESI digital skills indicators 
The Digital Skills Dimension of DESI 2023 includes two groups of indicators, one describing the digital 
skills of the population, the other describing highly skilled digital workforce, in line with the targets of 
the Digital Decade25.  

21 This target is also included in the European pillar of Social Rights Action Plan. 
22 Council Resolution on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training towards the 
European Education Area and beyond (2021-2030) 2021/C 66/01. 
23 Available at: https://state-of-the-union.ec.europa.eu/index_en  
24 https://year-of-skills.europa.eu/index_en 
25 For details on DESI 2023 methodology and indicators, including indicator’s codes: “Digital Decade Digital 
Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2023 Methodological Note” SWD (2023) 574 
(https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news-redirect/798352) .  

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Table  1  DESI  2023  digital  skills  indicators  grouped  into  two  classes:  1a  Basic  and  advanced  skills;  1b  Highly 
skilled digital workforce.  

Source: DESI 2023, European Commission. Indicators’ description and details in DESI 2023 methodological note26. Indicators 
and 2030 targets of the Digital Decade Policy Programme are highlighted. 80% of individuals with at least basic digital skills 
and 20 million of ICT specialists in employment, corresponding to approximately 10% of total employment, both by 2030. 

1.3  Basic and advanced skills 
1.3.1  At least basic digital skills 

Almost  one  European  out  of  two  does  not  have  the  basic  digital  skills  needed  to  access  the 
opportunities  offered  online  such  as  obtaining  information  from  public  authorities,  using  online 
banking, shopping online, or other selected activities related to internet or software use for work, 
learning and participating in society.  

Digital skills are measured via a Eurostat indicator that refers to the five digital competences of the 
EU  Digital  Competence  Framework  (DigComp):  information  and  data  literacy  skills,  communication 
and  collaboration  skills,  digital  content  creation  skills,  safety  skills  and  problem-solving  skills.  All 
competences  are  assessed from a digital point of view27To reach at least  basic digital skills, people 
must  know  how  to  do  at  least  one  activity  related  to  each  digital  competence.  No  recent  data  is 
available in this area and many measures already  undertaken by Member States are therefore  not 
reflected in available data. As reported in the 2022 DESI exercise, which contains the latest available 
data, in 2021, only 54% of the adult population of the European Union had at least basic skills, still far 
from  the  DDPP  2030  target  of  80%.  Differences  among  countries  are  stark:  the  Netherlands  and 
Finland were close to reaching the target with 79% of adults with at least basic digital skills in 2021. 
However, in eight Member States the share of individuals with at least basic digital skills  was lower 
than 50%, with Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, and Italy ranking the lowest. 

26 “DESI 2023 methodological note”, SWD(2023) 574: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news-
redirect/798352 
27 The list of questions can be consulted here under Section 4.1 “Data description”: 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/metadata/en/isoc_sk_dskl_i21_esmsip2.htm  

10 

EUEUDESI 20232030 target1a1 Internet use89%% individuals20221a2 At least basic digital skills54%80%% individuals20211a3 Above basic digital skills26%% individuals20211a4 At least basic digital content creation skills66%% individuals20211a5 Enterprises providing ICT training 22%% enterprises20221b1 ICT specialists4.6%20 million% individuals in employment aged 15-742022~10%1b2 ICT graduates4.2%% graduates2021 
 
 
 
 
Socio-demographic  factors  influence  the  levels  of  digital  skills.  For  example,  71%  of  young  adults 
(aged 16-24), 79% of individuals with high formal education, and 77% of higher education students 
had  at  least  basic  digital  skills.  By  contrast,  only  35%  of  those  aged  55-74  and  29%  of  retired  and 
inactive  citizens  had  at  least  basic  digital  skills.  The  gap  between  the  digital  skills  of  the  rural 
population and those of urban areas was still substantial: only 46% of individuals living in rural areas 
had at least basic digital skills compared to people living in the predominantly urban areas (61%). 

The analysis by age groups at the EU level shows that the digital skills gap is particularly important 
for older age groups (Figure 1). Slightly more than half of the EU population (54%) had at least basic 
digital  skills  in 2021,  but  the  percentage  decreases  in  older  age-cohorts.  Amongst  the  elderly  aged 
65-74,  only  one  in  four  (25%)  were  classified  as  having  at  least  basic  digital  skills28.  Significant 
differences remained between Member States. Digital reskilling efforts are needed and may prove to 
be particularly challenging for the oldest age groups. This makes the 2030 target in basic digital skills 
even  more  distant  if  specifically  designed  initiatives  targeting  the  older  age  groups  are  not  put  in 
place.  

Figure 1: Percentage of the EU population with at least basic digital skills by age groups (reference year 2021) 

The gap between men and women's digital skills has continued to decrease in recent years, with 
the  difference  in  percentage  of  men  and  women  with  basic  skills  dropping  from  5.6  percentage 
points in 2015 to 3.4 percentage points in 2021 (Figure 2) 29. 

28 For a more sophisticated analysis of the groups affected by the digital divide please see Centeno et al, 2022. 
29 The methodology to collect digital skills indicators has been changed substantially between 2019 and 2020 to 
better capture the rapid technological changes of the ICT landscape. A new Digital Skills Indicator (DSI) was 
introduced in 2022 based on the European Commission’s Digital Competence Framework 2.0. The methodology 
was updated by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission and the Information Society Statistics 
Working Group with Member State representatives. The changes include variation in the mode of data 
collection due to the Covid pandemic from face-to-face to telephone or online interviews; changes in the 
sampling of some countries; and the inclusion of a fifth dimension of digital skills on safety (the DSI now 

11 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 2: Percentage of individuals aged 16-74 with at least basic skills in the EU by sex (from 2015 to 2021). Left-hand side: 
percentage of women; right-hand side: percentage of men. Source: Eurostat, EU survey on the use of ICT in households and 
by individuals. 

1.3.2  More advanced skills, internet use and in-job training  
In 2021, 26% of EU individuals had above basic digital skills30. This means that they scored above 
basic  in  all  five  digital  competences.  Having  above  basic  digital  skills  is  important  both  to  increase 
competitiveness in the labour market and to enable the take-up of digital solutions in business.  

As reported in the 2022 DESI exercise, different levels of individuals’ skills in digital content creation 
were observed in 2021 across Europe. The competence of digital content creation is considered here 
as  the  most  relevant  one  in  terms  of  labour  market  needs,  as  it  includes  among  other  skills  using 
advanced features for data analysis and writing code in a programming language31. The Netherlands 

measures: Information and data literacy; Communication and collaboration; Digital content creation; Safety 
and Problem solving). More info in: Vuorikari et al, 2022(a) and Vuorikari et al. 2022(b). 
30 The digital skills sub-dimension of DESI includes other basic indicators in addition to the at least basic digital 
skills one, that is one of the DD KPIs. DESI is in fact a composite index providing a metric for the multiple facets 
of the level of digitisation of the Eu and its Member States. To this aim, its dimensions and sub-dimensions are 
populated by different observable indicators, each describing a slightly various aspects of the very same latent 
concept. In a well-constructed composite index, the ensemble of the indicators included helps providing a 
more complete picture of the concept to measure. The skills sub-dimension includes, in addition to the 
headline indicator “at least basic digital skills”, indicators describing more advanced skills – percentage of 
people having “above basic digital skills” and “at least basic digital content creation skills”, the “frequency of 
internet use” and the share of “enterprises providing ICT training”.  
31 The list of activities in the digital content creation area is: Using word processing software; Using spreadsheet 
software. 
Editing photos, video or audio files; Copying or moving files (such as documents, data, images, video) between 
folders, devices (via e-mail, instant messaging, USB, cable) or on the cloud; Creating files (such as documents, 
image, videos) incorporating several elements such as text, picture, table, chart, animation or sound; Using 
advanced features of spreadsheet software (functions, formulas, macros and other developer functions) to 
organize, analyse, structure or modify data and Writing code in a programming language.  

12 

 
 
 
 
 
 
and  Finland  lead  in  at  least  basic  digital  content  creation  skills,  closely  followed  by  Croatia  and 
Luxembourg with scores above 80%. Romania and Bulgaria have the lowest percentage of individuals 
reporting at least basic digital content creation skills in 2021. 

In 2021, over one  in four (26%) EU citizens indicated being worried about  the difficulty of learning 
new digital skills to take an active part in society, like working or studying online and online voting. At 
the same time, more than eight in ten Europeans (81%) indicated thinking that digital tools and the 
internet will be important in their lives by 203032, illustrating the growing importance of the internet 
in our societies.  In 2022, regular internet users stood at 89%, meaning those who used internet  at 
least once  a week, including those  using it every day (Figure 3), with an increase  of 10 percentage 
points in six years (79% in 2017). The highest share of internet users was recorded in Denmark and 
Sweden with 96% of individuals, closely followed by Ireland, Luxembourg, and Finland with 95%. In 
2022, Bulgaria (79%) Croatia (81%) and Greece  (82%) reported the lowest rates of  regular  internet 
users in the EU.  

Figure 3: Internet Use: Once a week, including every day (% of all individuals), 2022. Source: Eurostat, EU survey on the use 
of ICT in households and by individuals 

Training is also crucial to equip or enhance employees with ICT skills. In 2022, 1 out of 5 enterprises 
provided  ICT  training to  their  personnel  (22%), a value  that  has  remained  stable  since  2017  (21%). 
The value reached among large enterprises - 70% - was in 2022 more than three times higher than 
that of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), 21%, which represent the largest share of the non-
financial  business  sector  in  the  EU.  However,  in  the  information  and  communication  sector  more 
than 65% of enterprises provided ICT training to their employees in 2022, an increase from 63% in 
2017.  

Given the transversal role of digital competences in the economy, the ICT training of the workforce 
plays a key role in all the different sectors of the EU economy. 

32 Source: Special Eurobarometer Report on Digital Rights and Principles, n. 518, 2021 

13 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure  4:  Percentage  of  enterprises  providing  ICT  training,  year  2022  (all  activities  except  the  financial  sector).  Source: 
Eurostat, EU survey on the usage of ICT in enterprises 

1.3.3  At least basic digital skills: trends towards 2030 

By 2021,  the EU reached only 68% of the objective of the  Digital Decade in digital skills  –  that is 
having 80% of people equipped with at least basic digital skills – demonstrating an insufficient pace 
of progress to reach the 2030 target. In four years, between 2015 and 2019, the percentage of the 
population with at least basic digital skills in the EU increased only by 2.4 percentage points, which 
makes reaching the 80% target in approximately seven years unrealistic without massive investments 
and policy interventions (see also Figure 6)33. 

Figure 5: Percentage of people in the EU with at least basic digital skills (year 2021). The whole circle represents the 2030 
target of which the blue part is the level already achieved by the EU, according to the latest available data point, while the 
grey part represents the gap.  

According to the  baseline trajectory, in 2030 approximately 60% of the population would have at 
least basic digital skills, corresponding to a projected business-as-usual growth of 11% from 2021 
to 2030.  

33 Full comparison with previous year is not possible due to the methodological revision that took place 
between 2019 and 2020. 

14 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Digital Decade and baseline trajectories for the skills KPI are based on the linear functional form. 
The  assumption  is  that  the  basic  digital  skills  indicator  will  follow  a  linear  trend  with  a  constant 
growth  rate  until  2030.  Between  2019  and  2021  a  revision  of  the  methodology  to  measure  this 
indicator caused a break in the series. For this reason, the baseline trajectory is first estimated on the 
historical time series until 2019 (included) and then adjusted to correct for the break in series. Figure 
6  shows  the  available  historical  data,  the  Digital  Decade  and  baseline  trajectories  of  the  KPI. 
According  to  the  baseline  trajectory,  in  2030  approximately  60%  of  the  population  is  estimated  to 
have at least basic digital skills, corresponding to a growth of only 11% in the next seven years. The 
2030 estimate stands at 20 percentage points below the target34. 

To progress from 54% to 80% of digitally skilled citizens in the population, the basic skills KPI should 
overall grow by 48% from now to the end of the decade, a much higher rate than the one estimated 
under  a  business-as-usual  scenario  (11%)  This  means  accelerating  the  growth  of  the  business-as-
usual  scenario  by  more  than  four  times.  The  target  is  not  expected  to  be  met  without  significant 
reinforced investments and policy interventions. 

Figure 6: Basic digital skills in the EU. Historical data, Digital Decade (DD) trajectory and baseline trajectory towards 2030 

34 Digital Decade and baseline trajectories are presented in the “Communication from the Commission 
establishing Union-level projected trajectories for the digital targets” C(2023) 7500 

15 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.4  Highly skilled digital workforce 

1.4.1 

ICT specialists in employment 

The  introduction  of  new  technologies  and  digitalisation  continues  to  impact  our  society  through 
changes  in the  way that people live, work, and interact  with one  another. Digital technologies  and 
services have already been the cause of significant changes in methods of production and patterns of 
employment  within  the  EU.  Tracking  developments  and  setting  milestones  for  ICT  specialists  is 
therefore  crucial  as  these  influence  a  country’s  comparative  advantage  in  the  development, 
installation  and  servicing  of  digital  technologies  and  services,  all  necessary  conditions  to  foster 
competitiveness and productivity. 

Despite  the  sustained  growth  over  the  last  10  years,  the  total  number  of  ICT  specialists  in 
employment was 9.37 million across the entire EU in 2022, falling short by more than 10 million of 
the 2030 target at the EU level (20 million). To allow comparisons amongst countries, it important to 
note that the 20 million target corresponds to approximately 10% of the workforce by 2030 while the 
2022 value in the EU corresponds to 4.6% of total employment. The phenomenon is heterogeneous 
across  the  EU  countries,  with  Sweden,  Luxembourg,  Finland  and  the  Netherlands  all  having  a 
percentage  of  ICT  specialists  in  employment  in  between  7.2%  and  8.6%;  whilst  in  Italy,  Bulgaria, 
Croatia, Poland, Romania and Greece the percentage was below 4% in 2022 (Figure 7).  

Figure 7: ICT specialists in employment as percentage of total employment. Reference year 2022. Source: Eurostat, Labour 
Force Survey 

1.4.2 

ICT graduates 

ICT graduates are essential in meeting the growing labour market demand for ICT specialists, as the 
number of ICT specialists in employment in the EU grew by 58% from 2012 to 2022 in the EU, almost 
six times as high as the increase (9%) of total employment.. ICT graduates play a critical role in digital 
transformation, especially in the most advanced technologies like Big Data, AI and cybersecurity. In 
2021 only 4.2% of all the graduates focused on ICT subjects (Tertiary education levels ISCED: 5-8), 
an  increase  of  only  0.8  percentage  points  in  five  years  (it  was  3.4%  in  2016).  The  highest  shares 
were  recorded  in  2021  in Estonia,  Ireland,  Finland,  and  Luxembourg,  all  with  percentages  equal  or 
above 7.4%; while Italy, Portugal, Cyprus, and Belgium all had values lower than 2.8% (Figure 8). The 
percentage  of  women  graduates  in  ICT  is  much  lower  than  that  of  men  across  all  EU  countries.  In 
2021, only one in five ICT graduates were women (0.9% out of 4.2% of all the graduates in the EU in 
2021).  Even  the  best  performers  struggle  to  have  more  female  graduates  in  ICT,  highlighting  the 
16 

 
 
 
 
 
 
significant gender disparity. Furthermore, critical sectors like cybersecurity continue to fail to attract 
women, with only 20% of cybersecurity graduates being women.35   

Figure 8: Graduates in ICT subjects as % of total graduates (source: Eurostat, year 2021, Tertiary education levels  ISCED: 5-
8). No values for Czechia in 2021.  

1.4.3 

ICT specialists in employment: trends towards 2030 targets  

The number of ICT  specialists  in the EU  reached 9.4 million in 2022 corresponding to 4.6% of total 
employment. However, in the past six years, the number of employed ICT specialists grew by a mere 
2.2 million people, from 7.2 million in 2017 to 9.4 million in 2022 that is less than the half of the 20 
million target for the EU in 2030 (Figure 9). At the current growth rate, the EU will fall substantially 
short of the target set for 2030. 

35 Cybersecurity Higher Education Database (CyberHEAD)  

17 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure  9:  Total  number  of  ICT  specialists  (in  million)  in  employment  in  the  EU  since  2017.  The  circle  represents  the  2030 
target of which the blue part is the level achieved by the EU in 2017 (left) and 2022 (right), while the grey part represents the 
gap.  

2017 

2022 

In  2022,  the  gender  gap  in  ICT  specialists  was  still  substantial  with  only  19%  of  the  total  ICT 
workforce being made up of women. In the past decade, there have been consistently more men 
than women (about five men for each woman), with the women’s percentage being between 16% 
and 19% and the men’s one between 81% and 84% (Figure 10, please note that the charts for women 
and  men  have  different  scales).  Despite  a  small  dip  between  2013  and  2015,  the  percentage  of 
women in ICT employment has risen at a slow pace since 2012 (Figure 10, left). In the same period, 
the  percentage  of  men  employed  in  ICT  has  decreased  since  its  peak  in  2014-2015  but  remains 
significantly higher than the  percentage of women in the sector, on average  almost 5 times higher 
(Figure  10,  right). To  increase  the  number  of women  in  the  ICT  field,  all  EU Member  States  would 
need to take action to promote their access to this field.  

Figure 10: Percentage of individuals employed in ICT in the EU by sex. The solid lines show the time trend since 2012. Left-
hand side: percentage of women employed in ICT; right-hand side: percentage of men employed in ICT. 

18 

 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
In  the  case  of  the  ICT  specialists’  KPI,  the  DD  trajectory  is  assumed  to  be  a  straight  line 
connecting  the  2021  value,  the  most  recent  available  data  point,  with  the  2030  target.  The 
baseline  trajectory  is  based  on  the  linear  functional  form  based  on  the  historical  data  (all 
available  years  included).  The  assumption  is  that  the  KPI  follows  an  increasing  trend  with  a 
constant rate over the whole period36. 

The DD trajectory is shown in Figure 11 together with the historical data and the baseline trajectory. 
The time series shows a moderate acceleration in the trend of the number of ICT specialists in the 
past three years, with a slightly higher average growth than in the previous decade (6.0% between 
2020  and  2022  compared  to  4.2%  between  2011  and  2019).  However,  according  to  the  current 
trend,  the  number  of  ICT  specialists  in  the  EU  will  be  around  12.0  million,  with  an  estimated 
growth of 29% until 2030. Given that the number of ICT specialists was 9.4 million in 2022, the EU 
would need to more than double the number of ICT specialists to close the gap with the DD target. 
Without further interventions in the sector, the EU is not expected to meet the 2030 target. 

Figure 11: ICT specialists in the EU. Historical data, Digital Decade (DD) trajectory and baseline trajectory towards 2030  

36 Digital Decade and baseline trajectories are presented in the “Communication from the Commission 
establishing Union-level projected trajectories for the digital targets” C(2023) 7500 

19 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.5  Actions and initiatives 

1.5.1  Action at country level 

1.5.1.1  Structured Dialogue on Digital Education and Skills: cross-country synthesis of the main 

current and emerging themes and trends occurring at Member State level 

In  the  2021  State  of  the Union  address,  Commission  President  von  der Leyen  stressed  that  digital 
education  and  skills  “need  leaders’  attention”  and  launched  the  Structured  Dialogue  on  digital 
education  and  skills  to  support  Member  States  with  an  integrated,  coherent,  and  more  ambitious 
approach37.  The  Structured  Dialogue  was  carried  out  in  2022  as  a  process  of  exchange  regarding 
digital  education  and  skills  between  the  European  Commission  and  Member  States  and  further 
confirmed the high political importance accorded by Member States to the need for taking action. 

Many  important  initiatives  and  policies  exist  in  the  Member  States  contributing  to  achieving  the 
common goals of the Digital Decade. In terms of digital skills investments at national level, Cosgrove 
et  al.  (2023)38  recently  conducted  a  thematic  analysis  on  the  Structured  Dialogue  with  Member 
States on Digital Education and Skills, which confirms that all Member States had been engaging in 
digital skills training initiatives outside of formal education settings over the past number of years. 
This includes initiatives related to the provision of general digital skills (e.g., via public employment 
services  and  national  Digital  Skills  and  Jobs  Coalitions),  targeted  upskilling  and  reskilling  initiatives 
(e.g.,  targeted towards  staff  in  SMEs  and the  unemployed,  civil  servants,  the  elderly,  migrants  and 
refugee  groups,  etc.)  as  well  as  the  provision  of  advanced  digital  skills  training  (e.g.,  advanced 
trainings  in  cybersecurity  for  public  administration  staff).  In  terms  of  formal  education,  the  report 
also  showed  that  several  Member  States  are  currently  designing  their  curricular  reforms  to  make 
sure that digital skills become part of the curriculum at primary and secondary school level as well. In 
addition, some Member States have made efforts to match vocational education and training (VET) 
curricula  to  labour market  needs (with  digital  skills  being  central  to  these  reforms)  and  supporting 
teachers  to  build  digital  skills  (e.g.,  via  online  learning,  digital  education  platforms,  massive  open 
online  courses).  Several  Member  States  are  also  implementing  programmes  at  higher  education 
level  to  teach  students  either  general  digital  skills,  or  to  increase  the  provision  of  advanced  or 
specialist digital skills. Some countries also introduced more general digital skills courses into non-ICT 
disciplines at higher education level. However, as identified by the Structured Dialogue, the issue of 
increasing ICT graduates from higher education is not solely a matter of increasing course places, but 
also  entails  identifying  barriers  and  solutions  to  course  intake  numbers  and  graduation  rates, 
including  the  labour  market  ‘pull’  of  ICT  students  to  work  in  the  private  ICT  sector  before  course 
completion. Moreover, to further address the shortage of ICT specialists, initiatives at Member State 
level  also  include  the  creation  of  shorter/more  flexible  courses  to  adapt  to  the  varying  needs  of 
learners  as  well  as  subsidised  courses  (some  via  public-private  partnerships).  Moreover,  many 
initiatives  at  Member  State  level  aim  to  achieve  gender  equality,  ranging  from  multi-year 
programmes  targeted  towards  girls  and  women  in  disadvantaged  communities  and  industry-led 
mentoring  programmes,  to  information  days  and  awareness  raising.  Furthermore,  in  several 
countries  digital  skills  certification  has  been  implemented  or  is  currently  under  development. 

37 Available at: https://education.ec.europa.eu/focus-topics/digital-education/action-plan/action-1  
38 Cosgrove, J., Tsotsou, I., Cachia, R., Centeno, C., Sala, A., Punie, Y., Thematic analysis in support of the Staff 
Working Document for Council Recommendations: Improving the provision of digital skills in education and 
training, and Digital education – enabling factors for success, JRC Science for Policy Report, 2023, available as 
Annex 3 to the Commission Staff Working Document SWD(2023) 205 final, available here: deap-swd-digital-
skills-180423_en.pdf (europa.eu). 

20 

 
 
 
 
 
Several Member States are also developing or implementing microcredentials and individual learning 
accounts in Higher and Vocational Education contexts, and many Member States use multiple data 
sources to produce labour market forecasting. 

1.5.1.2  Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) expenditure dedicated to digital skills 

Several of the above-described initiatives at national level are included in the digital components in 
Member  States’  national Recovery  and  Resilience  Plans  under  the  RRF.  In  fact,  around  18%  of  the 
RRF expenditure contributing to digital objectives (EUR 23 billion) is dedicated to digital education 
and digital skills development. Furthermore, out of the EUR 117 billion expected to contribute to the 
Digital Decade targets, EUR 13.9 billion is considered relevant for at least basic digital skills and EUR 
9.2  billion  for  ICT  specialists23.  More  concretely,  the  study  by  Cosgrove  et  al.  (2023)39,  which  also 
analysed  the  key  themes  emerging  from  RRF  national  plans40),  showed  that  digital  skills  provision 
outside  formal  education  was  the  topic  with  the  highest  frequency  of  RRF  investments  and  was 
complemented by a large number of reforms, which were mostly targeted at the  labour market  in 
general; businesses and in particular SMEs; government; or citizens more generally. Reforms related 
to digital skills provision in formal education included curricular reforms at primary and secondary 
level and reforms in the Higher Education Sector (e.g., increasing course places adapting both course 
content  and  structure,  etc.).  Slovakia,  for  instance,  plans  to  update  school  curricula  and  learning 
materials to include digital skills and teach computational thinking. Italy will review its active labour 
market  policies  to  also  encourage  job  seekers  to  acquire  green  and  digital  skills,  among  others. 
Moreover, investments  in the  provision of digital skills in formal education were  also included in  a 
several national recovery and resilience plans. Concrete RRF investments41, for example: 

▪  A  measure  in  the  Latvian  plan  aimed  at significantly  increasing  the  number  of  specialists  with 
advanced digital skills, consisting of developing approximately 20 training modules in advanced 
digital  skills  for  technologies  such  as  quantum,  high  performance  computing,  and  language 
technologies. This training module will be included in higher education programmes as well as 
educational  programmes  for  professionals 
in  enterprises,  reaching  approximately  3000 
participants in total. 

▪  A measure in the Spanish plan aimed at increasing the digital skills for employment structured 
along  three  pillars.  The  first  pillar  entails  digital  skills  for  the  employed  and  unemployed,  in 
particular  youth.  The  second  pillar 
includes  a  digital  training  programme  for  public 
administrators whereas the third pillar includes training programmes for managers and experts 
in SMEs, with a focus on increasing the number of female managers and workers in ICT sectors. 
The investment is expected to reach at least 450.000 people. 

▪  A measure in the Finnish plan has the aim of increasing basic cybersecurity skills of the general 
population,  by  funding  a  research  project  to  collect  and  summarise  information  on  all  EU 
Member  States  on  how  each  country  trains  its  citizens  in  basic  cybersecurity.  The  research 

39 Cosgrove, J., Tsotsou, I., Cachia, R., Centeno, C., Sala, A., Punie, Y., Thematic analysis in support of the Staff 
Working Document for Council Recommendations: Improving the provision of digital skills in education and 
training, and Digital education – enabling factors for success, JRC Science for Policy Report, 2023, available as 
Annex 3 to the Commission Staff Working Document SWD(2023) 205 final, available here: deap-swd-digital-
skills-180423_en.pdf (europa.eu). 
40 Please note that this analysis did not take into account the magnitude of investments. 
41 Several of the following RRF measures were included in the thematic analysis on digital skills and education 
in the Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard (2022), available here: 
https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/recovery-and-resilience-
scoreboard/assets/thematic_analysis/scoreboard_thematic_analysis_digital_skills.pdf. 

21 

 
 
 
 
project  then  uses  this  information  to  create  a  common  digital  platform  for  teaching  and 
developing cybersecurity skills. 

▪  A  measure  in  the  Romanian  plan  to  enhance  the  basic  digital  skills  of  citizens  living  in 
disadvantaged  communities  (targeting  100.000  citizens)  consists  of  the  reconversion  of  105 
libraries in communities with marginalised groups into hubs for the development of digital skills 
is underpinned by additional funds for 1030 libraries to change/upgrade their IT equipment. 

▪  A measure in the Portuguese plan, where the National Cybersecurity Centre (Centro Nacional de 
Cibersegurança)  is  using  RRF  to  develop  an  advanced  training  programme  in  cybersecurity  for 
public administration and the private sector. The initiative, “C-Academy"42, is part of a broader 
investment  to  strengthen  the  overall  cybersecurity  framework  in  the  country.  The  C-Academy 
will offer approximately 44 training courses, with the participation of almost all universities and 
polytechnics.  In  addition,  the  programme  will  provide  certification,  including  through  micro-
credentials.  

1.5.1.3  Selection of good practices in digital skills shared on the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform 

The  Digital  Skills  and  Jobs  Platform  is  home  to  the  Digital  Skills  and  Jobs  Coalition  and  the  entire 
digital  skills  community.  It  brings  together  relevant 
information  and  resources  to  support 
stakeholders in their work on closing the digital skills gap in Europe. 

Table 2 includes a selection of good practices in digital skills taking place at regional or Member State 
level  during  the  year  of  2022.  Those  good  practices  were  shared  on  the  Digital  Skills  and  Jobs 
Platform43,  tackling  several  digital  skills  levels,  and  have  the  potential  to  be  replicated  in  other 
countries and different contexts. It is important to note that the scale of initiatives (e.g. number of 
participants, geographic scope) varies across these examples. 

Table 2: Selection of good practices by Member State 

Country 

Short description of good practice 

Belgium 

Bulgaria 

Czech 
Republic 

Denmark 

Digital 
level/ target  

skills 

Basic, 
intermediate, 
advanced,  digital 
expert, 
gender 
convergence 

Be Digital Together: an initiative to tackle the gender gap and promote 
the recruitment of women in ICT, or other sectors calling for workers 
with sound digital skills, and female entrepreneurship. It also offers an 
online platform with training and upskilling programmes.44  

Digital  National  Alliance:  the  project  promotes  digital  skills  and 
technology in schools and issues a Digital School of the Year Award.45 

Basic 

Computer at School: a  yearly conference that brings together mainly 
teachers  from  primary  and  secondary  schools  to  promote  the 
effective use of digital technologies in education.46 

Basic, 
intermediate 

Digital  Hub  Denmark:  a  portal  for  the  technology  industry  also 
including  an  introduction  to  a  series  of  topics,  useful  to  anyone 
interested  in  studying,  working,  and  living  in  Denmark  with  a  special 

Advanced,  digital 
expert 

42 CNCS - C-Academy 
43 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en  
44 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/be-digital-together-belgium. 
45 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/digital-national-alliance-bulgaria. 
46 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/conference-computer-school. 

22 

 
 
 
 
 
Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

focus on technology.47 

AI  Campus:  a  free  digital  platform  with  a  selection  of  courses  on  AI 
with  the  objective  to  build  networks  between  learners,  training 
providers  of  AI  courses,  and  educational  experts.  It  has  successfully 
built  a  nation-wide  (and  global)  ecosystem  of  relevant  players  in  the 
digital field.48 

Basic, 
intermediate,  

advanced,  digital 
expert  

Digital  Competence  Initiative:  a  clear  and  simple  competence  model 
for  school  students  including  assessment  criteria,  self-assessment 
surveys, a digital technology glossary and digital learning scenarios.49 

Basic, 
intermediate, 
advanced 

Skills  to  Advance:  an  initiative  offering  upskilling  and  reskilling 
opportunities  to  those  with  little  or  no  digital  skills,  who  now  find 
themselves in need of new skills to progress and perform their job to 
the best of their ability.50  

Basic, 
intermediate, 
advanced 

Greece  

Counselling, training, and certification in ICT for 1.600 unemployed ICT 
graduates between the ages of 25 and 29.51   

Spain 

France 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Junta Andalucía: a training programme with an integrated curriculum 
for  cloud  computing,  available  in  105  vocational  training  centres  to 
train around 6000 students in Andalusia.52 

PIX: an online platform  which provides an accessible self-assessment 
tool  allowing  learners  to  assess  their  digital  understanding  and 
proficiency and offers online tutorials for further upskilling as well as 
subsequent digital skills certification.53 

basic, 
intermediate, 
advanced,  digital 
expert 

Girls  Code  it  Better:  an  initiative  focusing  on  girls  in  secondary 
interest  towards  digital  and 
education  and  on  boosting  their 
through  a  course  delivered  during 
innovation-related 
extracurricular afternoon classes.54 

topics 

Basic, 
intermediate, 
gender 
convergence 

Institute  for  the  future  (IFF):  a  research  centre  at  the  University  of 
Nicosia  which  focusses  on  blockchain  and  AI.  It  is  the  leading  formal 
education  institution  on  blockchain  and  accepts  bitcoin  as  payment 
for tuition fees.55 

Basic, 
intermediate 

Intermediate, 
advanced,  digital 
expert 

Intermediate, 
advanced 

47 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/digital-hub-denmark. 
48 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/ki-campus-germany. 
49 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/digital-competence-initiative-estonia. 
50 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/skills-advance-ireland. 
51https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/counselling-training-certification-ict-
unemployed-young-people-greece. 
52https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/junta-andalucia-integrated-curriculum-
cloud-computing. 
53 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/pix-france. 
54 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/girls-code-it-better-italy. 
55 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/institute-future-iff. 

23 

 
 
 
 
Latvia 

initiative  to  support  SMEs 

Smart  Latvia:  An 
in  their  digital 
transformation by promoting digital skills and understanding of digital 
technologies, including an in-depth assessment of a company's digital 
maturity level.56 

Basic, 
intermediate 

Luxembourg  Digital  Learning  Hub:  the  initiative  is  open  to  everyone  of  adult  age 
and  hosts  training  courses  in  the  field  of  IT,  including  coding, 
cybersecurity, blockchain and design thinking.57 

Basic, 
intermediate, 
advanced 

Hungary 

Malta 

Netherlands 

Code your future!: the project offers an  internship programme for IT 
students  with  a  mentoring  scheme  to  increase  the  number  of 
graduating students graduates in the field of IT.58 

Advanced,  digital 
expert 

The SkolaSajf: this service offers children between the ages of 3 and16 
activities  during  the  summer  months  in  57  centres.  In  2022  fun 
robotics sessions were provided in 30 SkolaSajf Centres.59 

Basic 

Katapult:  a  nationwide  network,  which  supports  more  than  450 
public-private  partnerships  in  the  higher  education  and  vocational 
training  sector  to  bridge  the  gap  between  the  skills  that  students 
develop at university, and the skills the labour market needs.60 

Basic, 
intermediate, 
advanced,  digital 
expert 

Austria 

Poland 

Portugal 

Romania 

Digital  Pioneers:  A  digital  year  for  women  aged  17-27  interested  in 
STEM professions including funded 8-week  basic training and funded 
work on projects in a partner company for at least eight months.61 

Digital  School  of  Wielkopolsk@2020:  a  regional  project  with  training 
for teachers and extra-curricular activities for students to improve the 
quality of education in 700 schools by 2023.62  

Basic, 
intermediate,  

gender 
convergence 

Basic 

Digital literacy courses for people with intellectual and developmental 
disabilities for better employment opportunities.63 

Basic, 
intermediate 

First AI course for secondary school and high- school pupils developed 
by AI specialists to introduce young people to AI and encourage them 
to embark on tech careers. 64 

Basic, 
intermediate, 
digital expert  

Slovenia 

Female Engineer of the Year: an award to inspire young girls to choose 
engineering  careers  by  providing  role  models  and  highlighting  their 

Advanced,  digital 
gender 
expert, 

56https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/digital-skills-knowledge-sharing-seminar-
latvia. 
57 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/digital-learning-hub-luxembourg. 
58https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/internship-programme-it-students-
mentoring-scheme. 
59 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/skolasajf-malta. 
60 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/katapulteu-netherlands. 
61 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/digital-pioneers-austria. 
62https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/digital-school-wielkopolsk-2020-initiative. 
63https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/digital-literacy-course-people-intellectual-
and-developmental-disability. 
64 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/first-ai-course-pre-university-education-
romania. 

24 

 
 
 
 
work. 65 

IT Fitness Test: a self-assessment test available on two difficulty levels 
targeting  primary  school  pupils  and  teachers,  high  school  and 
university students, and all citizens curious to assess  and certify their 
digital skills level. 66 

OdigO Project – Lapland: an accessible online programme for seniors 
to  increase  Lapland  residents’  awareness  of  supporting  the  digital 
skills of adults and aging populations. 67  

Smart  Industry  Step  2:  a  project  to  develop  advanced  level  courses 
linked to the SMART Industry to match the actual skills needed on the 
labour market. 68 

convergence 

Basic, 
intermediate 

Basic, 
intermediate, 
advanced,  digital 
expert 

Advanced,  digital 
expert 

Slovakia 

Finland 

Sweden 

Table 3 and  

Table  4  provide  some  further  details  regarding  two  selected  good  practice  examples,  providing  a 
short description of main aims of the different examples as well as further background information 
(e.g., with regard to impact). 

Table 3: Good practice example from the Netherlands – Katapult.eu69 

Main aim 

Why is this 
a good 
practice? 

-  Katapult  is  a  national  network  created  by  the  Dutch  National  STEM  Platform,  which 
supports  various  public-private  partnerships  in  the  higher  education  and  vocational 
training sectors. Its aim is to improve cooperation between the two sectors and bridge 
the gap between the skills that students develop at university, and the skills the labour 
market needs. 

-  Katapult.eu  produces  toolkits  addressing  a  variety  of  topics  (e.g.,  lessons  for  VET 

providers on supervising students). 

- 

Examples of partnerships include university visits and lessons by business professionals, 
or students who conduct research for SMEs during their studies. 

-  Katapult has achieved substantial results so far: 

o  More than 450 public-private partnerships between education and business 

o 

o 

o 

124 000 participating students 

12 000 participating companies 

8 000 participating teachers 

-  Katapult includes virtually all VET providers within the Netherlands. 

- 

- 

The  Katapult  business  model  scores high  in  both  sustainability  and  accessibility  and  is 
based  on  contributions  by  approx.  10  000  participating  companies  (1/3  of  the  overall 
budget) as well as funding via the Dutch Regional Investment Fund VET. 

Toolkits are available in different EU languages and can be used free of charge. 

65 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/female-engineer-year-slovenia. 
66 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/it-fitness-test. 
67 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/odigo-project-lapland-finland 
68https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/boosting-competitiveness-manufacturing-
smart-industry-sweden. 
69 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/katapulteu-netherlands. 

25 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 4: Good practice example from Germany – KI Campus (AI campus in English)70 

Main aim 

- 

The  AI  campus,  funded  by  the  German  Federal  Ministry  of  Education,  provides  a  free 
digital learning platform for artificial intelligence with free online and research courses, 
videos and podcasts on various topics of AI and data literacy. 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

The  platform  is  also  building  networks  between  learners,  training  providers  and 
educational  experts,  and  thereby  improves  the  quality  and  quantity  of  AI  teaching 
provision, skills and competences. 

The AI Campus promotes knowledge exchange and research mobility of experts across 
the EU and has built sustainable partnerships with similar platforms/initiatives. 

The  AI  Campus  also  has  AI  Expert  Labs  that  serve  as  the  central  innovation  hubs  to 
facilitate  networking  and  knowledge  exchange  between  experts  in  AI  implementation, 
researchers, teachers, and IT practitioners. 

Since  its  start  in  2020,  the  AI  Campus  has  successfully  built  a  nation-wide  (and 
international)  ecosystem  of  relevant  players  in  the  digital  field  (from  research  to 
academia, to industry and business, education, and politics). 

The AI campus aims to achieve high impact: i.e., to train at least 100 000 people in AI by 
2025  and  that  at  least  100  higher  education  institutions  in  Germany,  Austria  and 
Switzerland use the ecosystem. 

Why is this 
a good 
practice? 

1.5.2  Actions at EU level 

1.5.2.1  Policies and initiatives at EU level 

The European Commission has also considerably stepped up its efforts to boost digital skills over the 
last  years  through  a  number  of  initiatives.  Concretely,  digital  skills  development  was  one  of  the 
strategic priorities of the Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027, defining the Commission’s long-
term vision for the digital transformation of education71. More precisely, the Action Plan proposed a 
coordinated effort at  EU  level to support education and training systems through a number of key 
actions, including on digital skills, such as launching the Structured Dialogue on digital education and 
skills72.  

For the European Year of Skills, the EU will build on many additional ongoing initiatives in the area of 
skills  or  will  launch  new  initiatives  to  underpin  ongoing  efforts.  The  following  non-exhaustive  list 
includes both initiatives, which have either a direct emphasis on digital skills, or address digital skills 
within the wider aim of boosting skills in general, , including73: 
•  The European  Skills  Agenda74,  which  is  the  framework  for  EU  skills  policy  cooperation,  will 

continue to help individuals and businesses to develop skills and to apply them. 

70 For further information on the AI campus, see: https://ki-campus.org/about and https://digital-skills-
jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/good-practices/ki-campus-germany.  
71 COM(2020) 624 final 
72 https://education.ec.europa.eu/focus-topics/digital-education/action-plan/action-1.  
73 Many of the listed bullet points were included here: https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-
policy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/european-year-skills-2023_en or here: 
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_1501. 
74 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_1196  

26 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
•  The Pact  for  Skills75:  with  1  500  members  and  18  large-scale  partnerships  in  strategic  sectors, 
there are pledges to help upskill up to 6 million people. The new Pact for Skills partnership in the 
digital  ecosystem  aims  at  enabling  the  upskilling  and  reskilling  of  workers  and  attracting  more 
people  to  the  digital  industry.  Partnerships  for onshore  renewable  energy, heat  pumps skills 
and energy efficiency are in the making. 

•  The Council Recommendations on Individual Learning Accounts and Micro-credentials76 , which 

help people to update or complete their skill sets in a more flexible and targeted way. 

•  The  European Digital  Skills  and  Jobs  Coalition77 and  its  National  Coalitions,  which  tackle  the 
digital  skills  gap  by  bringing  together  all  relevant  partners  to  raise  awareness,  exchange  good 
practices, and encourage training to boost digital skills across Europe. 

•  The European Digital Skills and Jobs Platform78 , which is the EU’s one-stop-shop for digital skills. 
It  gathers  information  and  resources  on  digital  skills,  good  practices,  training  opportunities, 
funding opportunities, opinion posts, events, and a self-assessment tool. It is also the home of the 
Coalition, and a meeting place for stakeholders looking for partners. Stakeholders can also make 
pledges,  which  are  commitments  made  to  reduce  the  digital  skill  gap.  These  contribute  to  the 
reaching of the Digital Decade targets and can inspire others to take similar actions. 

•  The New  European  Innovation  Agenda79 which  includes  a  set  of  actions  to  create  the  right 

framework conditions for talents. 

•  The European strategy for universities80 which proposes several actions to develop high-level and 

future-proof skills for a wide range of learners, including lifelong learners. 

•  Digital  skills-related  elements  of  the  Council  Recommendation  on  Upskilling  Pathways:  New 

Opportunities for Adults81. 

•  Preparatory action for the data space for skills82 preparing the ground for the future deployment 

of the European Data Space for Skills. 

•  Provision  of  digital  competence 

(DigComp83)  and  educators 
(DigCompEdu84)  and associated tools for educational contexts  (SELFIEforTEACHERS85) and work-
based learning (SELFIE WBL86).87 

for  Citizens 

frameworks 

•  The European Digital Education Hub88, which is a community for cooperation across all levels and 
sectors  of  education  and  training  with  the  aim  to  support  digital  education  and  skills.  The  Hub 

75 https://pact-for-skills.ec.europa.eu/index_en  
76 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_6476  
77 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/about/digital-skills-and-jobs-coalition  
78 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en  
79 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_22_4273  
80 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_22_365  
81 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ%3AJOC_2016_484_R_0001. 
82 https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/digital-
2021-prepacts-ds-01-skills and https://www.skillsdataspace.eu.  
83 https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/digcomp_en.  
84 https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/digcompedu_en.  
85 https://education.ec.europa.eu/selfie-for-teachers.  
86 https://education.ec.europa.eu/selfie/selfie-for-work-based-learning.  
87 These frameworks and tools are in use in a large majority of EU countries for a variety of purposes (e.g., 
providing a common conceptual approach to digital skills development; as a basis for the development of 
teaching, learning and assessment content and/or for digital skills certification). 
88 https://education.ec.europa.eu/focus-topics/digital-education/action-plan/european-digital-education-hub.  

27 

 
 
 
works in close cooperation with the new Support, Advanced Learning and Training Opportunities 
(SALTO) resource centre and other initiatives such as the Digital Education Hackathon89. 

Moreover, several new EU proposals and initiatives have been adopted or will be adopted during the 
Year of Skills to underpin ongoing efforts and further boost  skills development across the Member 
States,90 
•  Adoption  of  a digital  education  and  skills  package91 to  improve  digital  skills,  education,  and 
training, including  two proposals for Council Recommendations. On the one  hand, the  proposal 
for a Council Recommendation on the key enabling factors for successful digital education and 
training92 calls on Member States to ensure universal access to inclusive and high-quality digital 
education  and  training  for  everyone.  On  the  other  hand,  the  proposal  for  a  Council 
Recommendation on improving the provision of digital skills in education and training93 calls on 
Member  States  to  start  providing  digital  skills  early  to  develop  digital  skills  in  a  coherent  way 
through all levels of education and training. 

•  The  launch  of  the EU  talent  pool94 would  facilitate  international  recruitment  and  provide 
opportunities  for  qualified  third-country  nationals  to  work  in  sectors  identified  as  of  strategic 
relevance at EU level, notably by facilitating the matching between vacancies in the EU and skilled 
non-EU third-country nationals. This is an initiative under the Skills and Talent Package adopted in 
April 2022. 

•  The  roll-out  of Talent  Partnerships95 with  selected  non-EU  partner  countries  would  help 
identifying skilling and training needs to enhance mobility opportunities and legal pathways to the 
EU. This is a key initiative under the New Pact on Migration and Asylum96. 

•  As  announced  in  the Green  Deal  Industrial  Plan97,  the  Commission  proposed  in  the  Net  Zero 
Industry  Act98  to  establish Net-Zero  Industry  Academies to  roll  out  up-skilling  and  re-skilling 
programmes in strategic industries for the green transition like raw materials, hydrogen and solar 
technologies. 

•  The Cybersecurity Skills Academy99 which aims at increasing the number of professionals trained 
in  cybersecurity  and  ensuring  a more  coordinated  approach to  closing  the  growing  cyber talent 
gap. The Academy will bring together existing initiatives aimed at  promoting cybersecurity skills 
and  will  make  them  available  on  an  online  platform.  To  facilitate  the  cooperation  between 
Member States, the Commission and relevant stakeholders, the Academy could take the form of a 

89 https://digieduhack.com/en.  
90 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_1501.  
91 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_2246.  
92 COM(2023) 205 final. Further information available here: https://education.ec.europa.eu/focus-
topics/digital-education/action-plan/action-10https://education.ec.europa.eu/focus-topics/digital-
education/action-plan/action-1.  
93 COM(2023) 206 final. Further information available here: https://education.ec.europa.eu/focus-
topics/digital-education/action-plan/action-10. 
94 https://eures.ec.europa.eu/eu-talent-pool-pilot_en. 
95https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/migration-and-asylum/legal-migration-and-integration/talent-
partnerships_en 
96 https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/promoting-our-european-way-
life/new-pact-migration-and-asylum_en 
97 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_510.  
98 https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/publications/net-zero-industry-act_en. 
99For further information, see COM(2023) 207 final (eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52023DC0207) as well as: https://digital-skills-
jobs.europa.eu/en/cybersecurity-skills-academy.  

28 

 
 
 
European  Digital  Infrastructure  Consortia  (EDIC),  a  new  instrument  introduced  by  the  Digital 
Decade Policy Programme100. 

•  The Deep  Tech  Talent  Initiative101,  a  flagship  initiative  under  the  New  European  Innovation 
Agenda, which will help train 1 million pupils, students, and professionals in the 'deep tech' fields 
by 2025. 

•  The European Digital Skills Awards 2023102 , which  aim to give visibility to and reward regional, 
national and European projects and initiatives that are helping to bridge the digital gap in Europe. 
This  year,  330  applications  from  highly  ambitious  and  exciting  initiatives  were  received.  On  28 
June  2023,  six  winners  were  chosen  across  five  categories:  empowering  youth,  digital  skills  for 
education, inclusion, women in ICT, and digital upskilling at work. Giving these initiatives that are 
supporting  digital  skills  for  everyone  the  attention  they  deserve  also  serves  as  inspiration  for 
other initiatives as well as upscaling existing ones. 

The European Commission is currently also working on the development of a European Digital Skills 
Certificate103 which aims to serve as a quality label for (existing and future) schemes delivering digital 
skills certificates, in order to help people have their digital skills widely, quickly and easily recognised 
and accepted by governments, employers, education and training providers and other stakeholders. 
A feasibility study including broad stakeholders’ consultation, launched in 2022, is due for finalisation 
at the end of 2023, and a pilot of the certificate was launched with Member States in April 2023, as 
part  of  the  adoption  of  the  Digital  Education  and  Skills  Package,  and  as  a  deliverable  of  the  2023 
European Year of Skills. 
Furthermore,  the  Commission  is  also  supporting  EU  Code  Week104,  which  is  a  grassroots  initiative 
bringing coding and digital literacy to everyone in a fun and engaging way with activities organised 
around  the  world  by  teachers  and  coding  enthusiasts.  The  10th  edition  of  Code  Week  took  place 
between 8 and 23 October 2022. The main goal of the initiative is to encourage children and young 
people  to  discover  and  master  the  basics  of  coding  and  computational  thinking  and  make  them 
interested in taking up STEM subjects at school and, eventually, in pursuing studies and careers in the 
digital field. At the heart of EU Code Week are groups of motivated volunteers, including Code Week 
ambassadors  and  leading  teachers  from  around  the  world.  Moreover,  EU  Code  Week  provides 
teachers with free resources, ready-made lesson plans, free online introductory  courses, and other 
materials to help bring coding and technology to all subjects and classrooms. In 2022, a total of 3 425 
838  participants  took  part  in  Code  Week  events, of which  just  over  49%  were  women or  girls,  the 
same  share  as  in  2021.  The  average  age  of  a  Code  Week  participant  was  11  years  old.  A  total  of 
77,541 events were registered in 2022, with Italy, Turkey, and Poland at the top of the table in terms 
of events organised, with 20,986, 20,254 and 13,909 events respectively.  

1.5.2.2  Funding instruments at EU level 

In  terms  of  funding,  several  EU  funding  instruments  (besides  the  RRF)  aim  to  strengthen  digital 
capacities and the skills needed for their deployment through experimenting, evaluating, and scaling 
up  innovative  education  and  training  programmes  and  specialised  digital  technology  training  and 
education programmes. The  Digital Europe Programme  (DEP)105  supports, for example,  short-term 
training  in  key  capacity  areas,  such  as  High-Performance  Computing  (HPC),  cybersecurity,  Artificial 

100 Decision (EU) 2022/2481 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 
101 https://www.eitdeeptechtalent.eu/.  
102 https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/european-digital-skills-award-2023  
103 https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/digcomp/european-digital-competence-certificate-edsc_en  
104 https://codeweek.eu/  
105 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/activities/work-programmes-digital  

29 

 
 
 
 
Intelligence and other emerging technologies, targeted at businesses and in particular at SMEs. The 
programme also supports the development of education and training programmes (e.g., bachelor’s 
and  master’s  programmes)  in  cutting-edge  technologies  in  order  to  support  excellence  in  higher 
education institutions, making them world leaders in training of digital specialists, and to increase the 
capacity of the training offer for advanced technologies. The budget for the DEP work programmes 
2021 and 2022 in the area of advanced digital skills within the strategic objective 4 amounted to 72 
and 84 million Euros, respectively. More precisely, the first two DEP calls for master programmes and 
short-term  training  courses  in  key  digital  technologies  awarded  21  new  consortia,  gathering  230 
partners in all, including businesses, universities and research and training centres. The third call in 
the  area  of  specialised  education  programmes  resulted  in  the  selection  of  8  additional  projects. 
Moreover, the Digital Europe Programme work programme for 2023 in the area of advanced digital 
skills,  with  an  overall  budget  of  58  million  Euros,  will  continue  supporting  specialised  education 
programmes  or  modules  in  key  capacity  areas  and  will  also  support  the  creation  of  the 
aforementioned  Cybersecurity  Skills  Academy,  the  strengthening  of  the  skills  needed  for  the 
semiconductor  ecosystem,  as  well  as  boosting the  development  of  digital skills  from  an  early  age 
(e.g., via school holiday camps, upscaling the EU Code Week initiative, etc.). 

Apart  from  that,  additional  programmes  that  can  support  skills  development  (including  on  digital 
skills) include the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+)106 with a budget of more than EUR 99 billion for 
2021-2027,  which  is  the  EU's  main  instrument  for  investing  in  people.  Moreover,  Horizon 
Europe107 underpins  skills  for  researchers,  entrepreneurs  and  innovators  notably  through  its Marie 
Skłodowska-Curie  Actions108,  the European  Innovation  Council109 and  the European  Institute  for 
Technology110.  Horizon  Europe  is  currently  also  co-funding  several  innovation  actions  for  the 
development, application and testing of eXtended Reality technologies in education as well as skills 
development.  Furthermore,  Erasmus+111,  with  a  budget  EUR  26.2  billion,  includes  a  transversal 
priority which focuses on addressing digital transformation in all education and training sectors112, as 
well  as  in  the  youth  and  sports  fields  and  supports  the  personal  and  professional  development  of 
learners,  staff  and  organisations  in  all  supported  fields.  .  The  programme  also  funds  flagship 
initiatives, such as the European Universities, the Centres for Vocational Excellence and the Erasmus+ 
Teacher Academies, which aim to have a leading role in the digital transformation of education and 
training  systems.  More  generally,  Erasmus+  supports  the  implementation  of  the  Digital  Education 
Action Plan, in close alignment with the Plan’s two strategic priorities, developing a high performing 
digital  education  ecosystem  and  enhancing  digital  skills  and  competences  for  the  digital 
transformation. A specific Resource Centre has been set up in 2022 to contribute to high-quality and 
inclusive  implementation  for  the  digital  dimension  of  the  programme.  Other  programmes  that  can 
include  also  the InvestEU  programme113,  the European 
support  (digital)  skills  development 
Globalisation  Adjustment  Fund114 for  displaced  workers,  the European  Regional  Development 
Fund115,  the  European  agricultural  fund  for  rural  development116,  the Just  Transition  Fund117, 

106 https://ec.europa.eu/european-social-fund-plus/en  
107 https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-
open-calls/horizon-europe_en 
108 https://marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/  
109 https://eic.ec.europa.eu/index_en  
110 https://eit.europa.eu/  
111 https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/  
112 i.e. higher education, school education, adult education, vocational education and training (VET). 
113 https://investeu.europa.eu/index_en  
114 https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=326&langId=en  
115 https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/funding/erdf/  

30 

 
 
 
the Public  Sector  Loan  Facility118 under  the  Just  Transition  Mechanism,  the European  Solidarity 
Corps119,  the Programme  for  Environment  and  climate  action120 (LIFE),  the Modernisation  Fund121, 
the Technical  Support  Instrument122,  and  the Neighbourhood,  Development  and  International 
Cooperation Instrument123.124 

1.6  Digital Decade Targets 

1.6.1  Challenges in digital skills provision: Structured Dialogue findings 
The  study  by  Cosgrove  et  al.  (2023)125  provides  a  cross-country  synthesis  of  the  main  themes 
discussed in the Structured Dialogue with respect to digital skills. The Structured Dialogue allowed, 
besides  the  identification  of  ongoing  national  reforms,  investments  and  initiatives  described  in 
section  1.6.,  for  the  identification  of  challenges  that  are  being  experienced  across  most  Member 
States  and  thus  need  to  be  addressed  by  concerted  policy  actions,  including  amongst  others  the 
issues summarized in Table 5. 
Table 5: Overview of challenges in the provision of digital skills126 

Challenges in 
the provision 
of digital skills 
outside of 
formal 
education 

Mismatch between digital skills training offerings and current market needs, 
both for general training and for ICT specialists 

Shortage of ICT specialists  

Challenge in engaging adult population in lifelong learning initiatives including 
those related to digital skills 

Low representation of women in the ICT sector           

Challenge  to  upskill  and  reskill  SME  employees  particularly  in  those  Member 
States where large percentages of the workforce are employed in SMEs 

116 https://commission.europa.eu/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes/european-
agricultural-fund-rural-development-eafrd_en  
117 https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal/finance-and-green-deal/just-
transition-mechanism/just-transition-funding-sources_en  
118 https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/just-transition-mechanism_en  
119 https://youth.europa.eu/solidarity/mission_en  
120 https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes/programme-
environment-and-climate-action-life_en  
121 https://modernisationfund.eu/  
122 https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes/technical-support-
instrument/technical-support-instrument-tsi_en  
123 https://international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-instruments/global-europe-
neighbourhood-development-and-international-cooperation-instrument_en  
124 https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=1223&furtherNews=yes&newsId=10431  
125 Cosgrove, J., Tsotsou, I., Cachia, R., Centeno, C., Sala, A., Punie, Y., Thematic analysis in support of the Staff 
Working Document for Council Recommendations: Improving the provision of digital skills in education and 
training, and Digital education – enabling factors for success, JRC Science for Policy Report, 2023, available as 
Annex 3 to the Commission Staff Working Document SWD(2023) 205 final, available here: deap-swd-digital-
skills-180423_en.pdf (europa.eu) 
126 Cosgrove, J., Tsotsou, I., Cachia, R., Centeno, C., Sala, A., Punie, Y., Thematic analysis in support of the Staff 
Working Document for Council Recommendations: Improving the provision of digital skills in education and 
training, and Digital education – enabling factors for success, JRC Science for Policy Report, 2023, available as 
Annex 3 to the Commission Staff Working Document SWD(2023) 205 final, available here: deap-swd-digital-
skills-180423_en.pdf (europa.eu) 

31 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Challenges in 
the provision 
of digital skills 
in formal 
education 

Other cross-
cutting 
challenges 

Challenge  tackling  the  digital  divide  of  groups  at  risk  of  social  and  economic 
exclusion  regarding  equitable  provision  of  digital  skills  to  achieve  digital 
inclusion 

Low  levels  of  interest/motivation/participation  in  digital  skills  continuous 
professional development among education staff 

Challenge in assessing or monitoring digital skills levels of education staff  

Challenge in implementing digital skills and assessing learning targets within a 
transversal approach, where the responsibility for achieving learning targets is 
shared between teachers of different subjects 

A low emphasis on the assessment of learners’ digital skills in national curricula 
and various challenges associated with curricular reforms 

Low number of ICT graduates and low retention rates in university courses 

Whole-of-government implementation of digital education and skills strategies 

Challenges regarding monitoring and evaluation of digital skills provision (e.g., 
complexity in developing micro-credentials and digital skills certifications) 

Challenge regarding the timely availability of appropriate data for digital skills 
forecasting 

1.6.2  Policy  Recommendations  included  in  a  proposal  for  a  Council  Recommendation 

on improving the provision of digital skills in education and training 

In  line  with  the  challenges  described  in  the  chapter  above,  many  policy  actions  need  to  be  put 
forward  and  pooled  (both  at  EU  level  as  well  as  at  national  level)  to  achieve  the  EU  digital  skills 
targets.  In  fact,  the  above-mentioned  Council  Recommendation  proposal  on  improving  the 
provision  of  digital  skills  in  education  and  training127included  high-level  policy  recommendations 
targeted towards Member States to boost digital skills in a lifelong learning perspective (from young 
people to adults) and to increase the number of ICT specialists and graduates in the EU while striving 
for  gender  convergence.  The  proposal  considers  all  levels  of  education  and  training  and  calls  for 
engagement  by  various  stakeholders  and  complements  another  proposal 
for  a  Council 
Recommendation on the key enabling factors for successful digital education and training128. Both 
proposals are under negotiation in the Council. 

Figure 12 includes a selection of those recommendations on the provision of digital skills in education 
and  training,  which  have  been  targeted  to  Member  States,  and  which  have  direct  relevance  to 
achieving  the  Digital  Decade  targets.  The  figure  attempts  to  link  each  proposed  recommendation 
with the Digital Decade indicator that the recommendation will most likely impact: basic digital skills, 
ICT  specialists  or  gender  balance.  The  table  also  attempts  to  categorise  whether  the 
recommendations target: a) general education programmes (primary and secondary level as well as 
Vocational  Education  and  Training  (VET),  b)  tertiary  formal  education,  and/or  c)  outside  formal 
education (which also includes training for employees). For instance, the recommendation regarding 
setting  up  a  separate  subject  on  informatics  in  primary  and  secondary  education  including  VET  is 
considered to impact  the Digital Decade target of “ICT  specialists”, given that evidence  shows  that 
pupils  who  are  involved  in  learning  about  coding  or  computational  thinking  from  an  early  age  are 

127 COM(2023) 206 final. See further information here: https://education.ec.europa.eu/focus-topics/digital-
education/action-plan/action-10. 
128 COM(2023) 205 final. See further information here: https://education.ec.europa.eu/focus-topics/digital-
education/action-plan/action-10. 

32 

 
 
 
 
 
 
more likely to continue studying ICT or digital-related fields, and this has an impact on the number of 
students choosing this study path as well as young people embarking on a digital career. The main 
purpose  of  this  figure  is  therefore  to  convey  how  different  proposed  Council  Recommendations 
relate  to  the  Digital Decade  targets  set  for 2030.  It  is  important  to  highlight  that  for  achieving  the 
Digital Decade targets, an overarching transversal approach is required, including the need to follow 
a  whole-of-government  approach  and  to  work  with  key  stakeholders  to  achieve  coherence  and 
integration across various actors and actions involved, in line with the first recommendation of the 
Commission  proposal  for  a  Council  Recommendation  on  improving  the  provision  of  digital  skills  in 
education and training. The recommendations pictured in Figure 12 shall be considered as indicative 
given that the final selection of the recommendations included in the Council Recommendation on 
improving  the  provision  of  digital  skills  in  education and  training  is  still  under negotiation with  the 
Council. 

Figure 12: Selection of Commission proposal for Council Recommendation 

a  Note:  This  graph  gives  a  simplified  version  of  selected  proposed  recommendations  of  the  Commission  proposal  for  a 
Council Recommendation on improving the provision of digital skills in education and training129.  
b VET = Vocational Education and Training 

There  is  no  digital  future  without  the  appropriate  digital  skills.    Without  the  right  digital  skills,  the 
European  Union  will  not  be  able  to  cope  with  current  and  future  strategic  dependencies.  Only  by 
stepping up efforts in boosting digital skills and the number of ICT specialists, the EU will continue to 
be able to master the rapid evolution of digital technologies and to ensure its digital sovereignty. 

129 COM(2023) 206 final. See further information here: https://education.ec.europa.eu/focus-topics/digital-
education/action-plan/action-10 

33 

 
 
 
 
 
2  Digital Infrastructures 

2.1  Overall context: why are digital infrastructures critical and where is Europe 

in this regard in 2023 at the outset of the Digital Decade? 

Broadband connectivity 

In  today’s  changing  geopolitical,  economic,  social  and  environmental  landscape,  the  need  for 
sustainable,  resilient,  secure  and  efficient  digital  infrastructures  has  become  increasingly  essential. 
The  COVID-19  pandemic  highlighted  the  unequivocal  importance  of  digital  communications 
networks, as the basis for a digital society. The war in Ukraine has taught us the importance of having 
secure and resilient infrastructure, highlighting also our dependencies and the need to reinforce the 
EU’s  digital  ecosystem.  The  crucial  importance  of  protecting  Europe’s  critical  infrastructure  and 
making  it  resilient  in  the  face  of  emerging  threats  was  highlighted  in  the  EU  Security  Union 
Strategy130. This political impetus calls for an intensification of the work begun in the past decade to 
accelerate Europe’s digital transformation, building on progress towards a functioning Digital Single 
Market  and  intensifying  actions  defined  in  the  strategy  for  Shaping  Europe’s  digital  future.  The 
Declaration on Digital Rights  and Principles recalls the  importance of ensuring access to affordable 
and high-speed digital connectivity.  

The  Digital  Decade  Policy  Programme  (DDPP),  sets  concrete  targets  and  objectives  up  to  2030  to 
equip the Union with secure, performant and sustainable digital infrastructures. The targets build on 
the 2025 ones and continue  the focus on improving and developing sustainable, “future proof”  5G 
and fibre network infrastructures, that can accommodate exponential growths in data traffic. More 
specifically, the aim is to achieve gigabit connectivity for all and enable 5G in all populated areas by 
2030 with a specific attention to rural and remote regions.  

At  the  outset  of  the  Digital  Decade,  the  Union  is  still  far  from  achieving  these  objectives.  While 
overall fixed very high-capacity network (VHCN)131 coverage stands at 73% and fibre to the premises 
coverage  at  56%  of  the  households,  we  can  reasonably  expect  that  cable  networks  will  not  widen 
their  footprint  significantly  and  that  the  remaining  investment  will  be  in  fibre  and  Fixed  Wireless 
Access.  Overall  5G  coverage  may  stand  at  81%132  of  the  households,  however  its  quality  still  falls 
short of end-users' expectations, and industry needs. 
The  Commission  has  recently  commissioned  a  study133  to  evaluate  the  investment  gap  required  to 
reach  the  Digital  Decade  objectives  for  2030:  gigabit  connectivity  for  all  and  enable  5G  in  all 
populated areas. Its main findings, reveal that: 

a)     About EUR 114 billion are required to achieve complete coverage of FTTP (of which EUR 40 
billion  in  public  funding).  5G  Fixed  Wireless  Access  (FWA)  services  could  reduce  the  gap  in 
fixed connectivity to around  Euro  108  billion and  Euro  29  billion  in public subsidies if most 
rural households are 5G FWA covered. 

130 COM(2020) 605. See further information on the implementation of the EU Security Union Strategy: 
https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/promoting-our-european-way-
life/european-security-union_en. 
131 Networks with the capability to offer gigabit connectivity. 
132 The current KPI for the 5G target does not take into account the quality of service provided under peak time 
conditions. A key challenge is to ensure that the deployed networks respond to future needs, notably support  
key industry sectors and critical applications that will benefit consumers and businesses in all sectors. To 
measure Member States readiness to overcome this challenge, further examination is required to enhance and 
broaden the measurement framework for 5G. 
133  IHS Markit, Omdia and Point Topic, Broadband coverage in Europe studies. 

34 

 
 
 
b)     An additional EUR 33.5 billion is estimated to be needed for the provision of “full 5G service”. 
The total investment for fixed and mobile is EUR 148 billion of which EUR 43 billion in public 
subsidies (if fixed and mobile networks are deployed independently). 

c)     Alternatively, the study estimates EUR 120 billion in total investment for fixed and mobile of 
which EUR 33 billion in subsidies, if full 5G deployment and FTTP deployment are deployed in 
parallel.  

d)     In addition to the two previous points on fixed and mobile infrastructure investments, EUR 
26 billion which could go up to EUR 79 billion, in investment is estimated for full 5G coverage 
of transport paths including roads, railways and waterways. Seamless 5G connectivity along 
transport  paths  will  be  indispensable  for  the  development  of  connected  and  automated 
mobility,  which  will  be  based  on  advanced  standalone  5G  features,  such  as  distributed 
computing, network slicing and improved positioning systems, to enable innovative use cases 
for  connected  and  automated  mobility.  This  brings  the  total  investment  gap  in  a  range  of 
EUR 174 billion to EUR 227 billion. 

Semiconductors  

Semiconductors technologies  are the  backbone of the  digital  transformation  and green transitions. 
Semiconductor  chips  are  designed, manufactured,  and  packaged  to  perform tailored  functions  and 
are  the  building  blocks  of  a  variety  of  digital  products,  from  computers  and  smartphones  to  the 
infotainment  and  safety  of  cars  or  from  gaming  consoles  to  domestic  appliances.  Emerging  data 
processing  capabilities,  the  shift  towards  edge-computing,  the  future  autonomous  and  electrical 
mobility,  the  growing  need  to  support  a  distributed  workforce,  the  deployment  of  modern  energy 
and  broadband  communication  infrastructures,  all  require  the  computational  power,  the  reduced 
energy consumption and the added security offered by advanced semiconductor technologies. 

Beside  the  strategic  importance  for  the  economy  of  the  whole  semiconductor  sector,  the  recent 
shortage of chips has highlighted the fragility of its globalized value chain. It has also made clear the 
extent  of  European  dependency  in  many  segments,  from  the  production  of  wafers  to  the 
manufacturing  of  chips,  or  packaging.  Geopolitical  tensions  further  undermine  a  level  playing  field 
and harm competition.  

In 2022, sales of chips surpassed EUR 615 billion worldwide, and in the coming years, the market for 
chips is expected to increase above approximately EUR 1 trillion in 2030134. To ensure that the whole 
European  society  can  embark  on  the  twin  transformation  train  it  is  thus  crucial  to  address 
weaknesses  and  support  the  semiconductor  values  chain  with  a  long-term  policy,  notably  in  the 
sectors as mentioned below. 

As of 2021, the EU has a small amount of total manufacturing capacity compared to other regions in 
the  semiconductor  value  chain.  This  creates  dependencies  in  EU  industries  (e.g.,  automotive, 
industrial automation, communications) from third-country chip manufacturers.  

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.  

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, in particular the processor chips that are needed to help make sense of 
the ever-increasing quantities of data.  

134 https://www.techinsights.com/manufacturing-analysis-formerly-VLSIresearch 

35 

 
 
 
 
Future mobility is quickly moving towards electric and automated vehicles which require on one side 
new  power  electronics,  assuring  longer  autonomy  and  faster  charging,  and  on  the  other  side  fast 
computation of huge quantities of data and images. The EU needs to support this growing sector to 
defend the leading position of its car industry. 

During  the  State  of  the  Union  address  in  2021,  President  von  der  Leyen  announced  the  European 
Chips Act whose package, including Communication, Regulation and Recommendation was adopted 
by  the  Commission  in  February  2022135.  The  Chips  Act  emphasizes  the  crucial  importance  of 
semiconductors  for  our  society  and  citizens  and  to  further  commit  for  a  thriving  semiconductor 
ecosystem  and  resilient  supply  chain.  The  European  Union  should  take  advantage  of  this  unique 
opportunity and act to the benefit of the whole of Europe. 

Edge nodes  
Already  in  2020,  the  European  strategy  for  data136  predicted  a  fundamental  change  in  the  way  in 
which data is stored and processed. In 2020, 80% of the processing and analysis of data took place in 
data  centres  and  centralised  computing  facilities,  and  only  20%  in  smart  connected  objects  and 
computing facilities  close to the  user (‘edge  computing’).,The  European strategy  for data  predicted 
that by 2025 these proportions to be inverted with 80% of data processing at the edge, and only 20% 
in data centres and centralised computing facilities.  

Owing to the availability of ultra-low latency data processing services offered through the cloud and 
edge  compute  continuum,  individuals,  businesses,  and  organisations  should  be  able  make  better 
decisions based on data insights. 

Edge computing makes it possible for decentralised sites at the edge of the network to provide data 
processing  services,  reducing  the  volume  of  data  that  needs  to  be  transmitted  over  the  network 
along with improving cloud computing's overall performance. 

Through the use of edge computing, Europe is given an unprecedented market opportunity to meet 
the  demand  for  next-generation  data  processing  infrastructures,  allowing  it  to  improve  its  data 
processing capacity and, as a result, its technical sovereignty. In particular, edge computing enables 
transitioning away from today's completely centralised data processing models, which are dominated 
by  international  players,  and  allows  for  the  ability  to  meet  the  rising  compute  needs  that 
sophisticated AI, IoT and 5G scenarios are bringing to the Edge.  

In addition, the move  to decentralised Edge  data processing services can aid Europe  in maximising 
benefits  of  its  already-existing  data  processing  infrastructures  by  allowing  the  exploitation  of  the 
geographic  capillarity  of  the  various  European  cloud  providers  and  their  adherence  to  European 
legislation. 

Data  suggests  that  by  2025,  edge  computing  will  complement  cloud  computing  for  nearly  every 
enterprise.137  Global  spending  on  edge  computing  is  steadily  on  the  rise.  It  has  reached  EUR  190 
billion in 2023, an increase  of 13.1% over 2022, and is expected to reach nearly  EUR 289  billion in 
2026.138 

Market figures show that in 2021, edge spending accounted for 15% of total infrastructure spending 
by  European  businesses139.  In  terms  of  uptake  of  emerging  technologies,  in  2021  one  in  three 

135 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/european-chips-act-communication-regulation-joint-
undertaking-and-recommendation  
136 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52020DC0066 
137 https://www.gartner.com/en/doc/750789-infographic-understanding-edge-computing 
138 IDC Worldwide Edge Spending Guide 
139 UNLOCK-CEI, Cloud-Edge-IoT Demand Landscape (April 2023), 
https://zenodo.org/record/7821330#.ZD0wTnZByUk 

36 

 
 
 
European firms were reported to use edge computing solutions in any capability linked to their daily 
operations. Organisational dimensions also affect adoption levels, with large enterprises embracing 
Edge technologies at greater speed than smaller organisations. Even though the adoption trends are 
promising, maturity of the adoption continues  to be still rather low:  only 17% of organisations are 
employing edge computing in production - and only half of those make edge computing production 
solutions available to the entire organisation. A larger share (83%) of organisations is in the process 
of building awareness and getting familiarised with the technology (35%) and developing early-phase 
pilots of edge solutions with mainly a single business unit focus (48%)140. 

The European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association, which represents a large part of 
the telecom market and - the edge market’s fastest growing spending area - reports a total of three 
commercial  deployments  of  edge  computing  in  Europe  in  2022.  According  to  the  same  report, 
another 18 edge cloud offers were announced in Europe in 2022, making Europe the region with the 
second most announced edge offers in that year (19 announced offers in the Asia-Pacific and five in 
North America).141.  

At  present,  edge  computing  in  Europe  is  still  considered  to  be  in  its  infancy  with  a  focus  on 
awareness raising, education and small-scale pilot projects. The baseline  for 2022 and the start for 
Europe’s  path towards the deployment of 10.000 climate-neutral and highly  secure  edge  nodes  by 
2030 can therefore be set at zero. 

Quantum computing  

Quantum  technologies  have  the  potential  to  solve  some  of  the  major  challenges  of  our  time, 
whether  that  is  by  tracking  future  pandemics  or  finding  new  pharmaceutical  solutions,  modelling 
extreme weather patterns in an era of climate change, protecting critical infrastructures from cyber-
attacks, enhancing the ability to detect movement below ground and underwater, and provide other 
functionalities  that  may  not  even  have  been  imagined  yet.  Quantum  computers  and  simulators  in 
particular  will  solve  problems  that  today  need  hundreds  of  days,  if  not  years,  in  much  shorter 
timeframes  while  consuming  much  less  energy  than  today’s  highest  performance  computers.  The 
global market in quantum technologies is expected to reach EUR 3209 million by 2030.142  

Europe  can  be  considered  the  birthplace  of  quantum  technologies:  over  the  past  century,  it  has 
nurtured numerous research breakthroughs.143 In 1999, the EU was the first global player to launch a 
research  programme  focused  on  quantum  information  processing  and  communications.144  Since 
then, combined EU and Member State investments in quantum technologies have totalled over EUR 
1 billion, and currently more than 5000 researchers in the EU are working on quantum science and 
technology  development,  resulting  in  the  highest  concentration  of  quantum  researchers  (231  per 
million people) of any world region. 

Nevertheless, the great strategic and economic potential of quantum computing means that the race 
towards  worldwide  leadership  in  this  field  is  a  highly  competitive  one.  Government  investment  in 
quantum  technologies  is  continually  rising,  with  cumulative  worldwide  public  investments  in 

140 UNLOCK-CEI, Cloud-Edge-IoT Demand Landscape (April 2023), 
https://zenodo.org/record/7821330#.ZD0wTnZByUk  
141 ETNO, The State of Digital Communications 2023 (February 2023), https://etno.eu/library/reports/112-the-
state-of-digital-communications-2023.html  
142 https://www.reportlinker.com/p06285788/Quantum-Technologies-Global-Market-Forecast-to.html 
143 European Nobel laureates in the field have included Albert Einstein, Erwin Schrödinger, and Werner 
Heisenberg and, in recent years, Alain Aspect, Theodor Hänsch, Albert Fert, Peter Grünberg, Serge Haroche, 
and Anton Zeilinger – to mention only a few names.  
144 The Fifth European Framework Programme for Research’s Quantum Information Processing and 
Communication FET Proactive initiative. 

37 

 
 
 
quantum  research  and  development  now  reaching  an  estimated  EUR  27  billion.145  The  EU  and  its 
Member States collectively have announced a total of EUR 7.2 billion of planned government funding 
for quantum technologies –  second only to China’s  EUR 14  billion. 97.5% of that  European funding 
comes  from  the  EU  itself  and  from  four  Member  States  (France,  Germany,  the  Netherlands,  and 
Sweden). However, Europe is behind other world regions when it comes to private investments: in 
the middle of 2021, around 25% of quantum industry participants globally were based in Europe, yet 
the region had received less than 5% of global funding. 146 

Strong, coordinated action at European level, and a higher priority for quantum technologies on the 
agenda  of  all  Member  States,  will  be  needed  for  the  EU  to  capitalise  on  its  strengths  in  research, 
thrive in the global quantum race, and achieve its Digital Decade targets of having its first computer 
with  quantum  acceleration  by  2025  and  subsequently  being  at  the  cutting  edge  of  quantum 
capabilities by 2030.  

2.2  Overall outlook based on DESI digital infrastructure indicators 
The  DESI  digital  infrastructure  indicators  measure  both  the  demand  (take-up)  and  the  supply 
(coverage) sides of fixed and mobile broadband. Under fixed broadband, they assess the take-up of 
at  least  100  Mbps,  at  least  1  Gbps  broadband,  the  coverage  of  fixed  very  high-capacity  networks 
(VHCNs),  and  of  Fibre  to  the  Premises  networks.  Under  mobile  broadband,  they  include  the  5G 
population coverage, the assignment of radio spectrum for 5G (5G spectrum indicator) as well as the 
take-up of mobile broadband.  

145 https://qureca.com/overview-on-quantum-initiatives-worldwide-update-2022/ 
146 McKinsey & Company, Quantum Technology Monitor June 2022 

38 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Table  6:  DESI    2023  digital  infrastructure  indicators  grouped  into  two  classes:  2a.  fixed  broadband  and  2b. 
mobile broadband147 

2a1 At least 100 Mbps broadband take-up 

% households 

2a2 At least 1 Gbps broadband take-up 

% households 

2a3 Fixed Very High-Capacity Network (VHCN) coverage 

% households 

2a4 Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) coverage 

% households 

2b1 Mobile broadband take-up 

% individuals 

2b2 Overall 5G coverage 

% populated areas 

2b3 5G spectrum 

Assigned spectrum as a % of total harmonised 5G spectrum 

EU 

2030 
target 

100% 

100% 

EU 

DESI 
2023 

55% 

2022 

13.8% 

2022 

73% 

2022 

56% 

2022 

87% 

2021 

81% 

2022 

68% 

2023 

Source:  DESI  2023,  European  Commission.  Indicators’  description  and  details  in  2023  DESI  methodological  note.  Key 
performance indicators for the 2030 targets of the Digital Decade Policy Programme are highlighted.  

2.2.1  Gigabit connectivity 
2.2.1.1  Broadband coverage 
At  least  one  broadband  network  has  been  available  to  all  households  in  the  EU  since  2013,  when 
considering all major technologies (xDSL, cable, fibre to the premises  - FTTP, fixed wireless access - 
FWA, 4G, 5G and satellite). Internet access at home is provided mainly through fixed technologies, 
with  overall  coverage  at  97%.  Among  these  technologies,  xDSL  continued  to  have  the  largest 
footprint (87%) followed by FWA (68%), FTTP (56%) and DOCSIS 3.0 cable (42%).  

Fixed  very  high-capacity  networks  (VHCN)  covered  73%  of  EU  homes  in  2022,  following  a  slight 
increase  of  3  percentage  points  compared  to  the  previous  year.  FTTP  deployments  were  mainly 
responsible for this increase, as the FTTP coverage went up from 50% in 2021 to 56% in 2022. 

147 Indicators’ full description can be found in the “DESI 2023 methodological note”, SWD(2023) 574: 
https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news-redirect/798352 

39 

 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
Figure 13 Total coverage by technology at EU level (% of households), 2021-2022 

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

Broadband coverage of rural areas148 remains challenging, as 9% of households are not covered by 
any  fixed  network,  and  55%  are  not  served  by  any  fixed  VHCN  technology.  Rural  coverage  of  5G 
reached 51% of populated areas, up from 33% in the previous year, while rural coverage using the 
3.4-3.8  GHz  is  low  (10%).  On  fixed  technologies,  there  was  a  further  marked  increase  in  the  rural 
coverage of FTTP (from 34% in 2021 to 41% in 2022). 

Figure 14 Rural coverage by technology at EU level (% of households), 2021 – 2022 

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

VHCN  coverage  increased  significantly  between  2014  and  2022  from  19.5%  to 73%.  This  growth  is 
thanks  to  large  scale  deployments  of  FTTP  networks  e.g.,  in  Ireland,  Cyprus,  Bulgaria,  Hungary, 
France  and  Romania  and  major  upgrades  of  cable  networks  to  DOCSIS  3.1  (e.g.,  in  Malta, 
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Germany).  

148 For the definition of rural areas see sub-chapter ‘3.2 Defining households and rural areas’ in the 
methodology of the study ‘Broadband Coverage in Europe 2018’, page 16, by IHS Markit and Point Topic 
(https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/study-broadband-coverage-europe-2018). 

40 

 
 
 
 
 
In rural areas, growth was stable and substantial, from 4% to 41% over the same time period. FTTP is 
mainly  responsible  for  this  improvement.  The  large  gap  between  total  and  rural  VHCN  coverage 
shows the regional disparities in digital opportunities and confirms that more investment is needed 
for rural areas to catch up. 

To  close  the  digital  divide  in  rural  and  remote  areas,  the  EU  supports  investments  in  an 
unprecedented  manner.  Around  EUR  16  billion  Recovery  and  Resilience  Facility  (RRF)  reforms  and 
investments  have  been  approved  to  roll  out  digital  connectivity  networks  in  the  next  four  years, 
especially in rural regions. Moreover, the EU will also leverage connectivity investments through the 
new  Cohesion  Funds  (ERDF  EUR  2.4  billion),  the  EAFRD,  InvestEU  and  EIB  loans,  and,  last  but  not 
least,  through  CEF  Digital  (EUR 2.1  billion.  CEF  Digital,  a  programme  directly  managed  by  the 
Commission  through  its  HADEA  Agency,  will  grant  EUR  2  billion over  7 years  for  high-performance 
connectivity  infrastructures,  with  the  aim  of  leveraging  between  EUR  3  and  6  billion  targeted 
investments in line with the 2030 digital connectivity targets.  

Figure 15 Fixed very high-capacity network (VHCN) coverage (% of households) in the EU, 2015-2022 

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

In  mid-2022,  Malta  had  the  highest  rate  with  100%  of  total  VHCN  coverage,  followed  by  the 
Netherlands, Denmark, Romania, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, and Latvia with above 90% coverage. 
On the other hand, VHCN covered less than two thirds of households in Greece (28%), Czechia (53%), 
Italy  (54%),  Austria  (55%),  Cyprus  (60%)  and  Croatia  (61%).  There  has  been  significant  progress  in 
Cyprus  (19  percentage  points),  France,  Croatia,  and  Italy  (each 10  percentage  points).  The  average 
rural coverage across all countries is 53%, which is well below the average total coverage of 77%. 

41 

 
 
 
 
 
Figure 16 Fixed very high-capacity network (VHCN) coverage (% of households), mid-2022 

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

Fibre to the premises (FTTP) coverage almost doubled in the last 5 years and reached 56% in 2022 in 
the EU. Romania, Spain, Portugal, Latvia, and Bulgaria had the highest rates, at or above 85% FTTP 
coverage, while Belgium, Germany and Greece are still lagging behind the other EU countries, with 
below  30%  coverage.  FTTP  coverage  increased  most  in  Cyprus  (19  percentage  points)  and  in  the 
Netherlands  (11  percentage  points).  Rural  FTTP  coverage  is  catching  up,  and  reached  41%  of 
households in 2022, as opposed to 11% five years ago.  

Figure 17 Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) coverage (% of households), mid-2022 

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

2.2.1.2  Fixed broadband take-up 
92% of households had access to internet in 2022, compared to 86% 5 years ago. 

42 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 18 Households with access to Internet in the EU (% of households), 2017-2022 

Source: Eurostat, European Union survey on the use of ICT in Households and by Individuals; Households - level of internet 
access (ISOC_CI_IN_H) 

National  take-up  rates  ranged  from  85%  to  98%.  The  Netherlands,  Luxembourg  and  Finland 
registered the highest figures, while Greece, Croatia and Bulgaria had the lowest.  

There is a small difference in overall broadband take-up between rural areas and cities: 90% of rural 
households have a broadband subscription compared with 94% of households in cities.  

Looking at broadband speeds, there has been a sharp upward trend in at least 100 Mbps broadband 
penetration in the last 5 years. In 2022, 55% of EU households subscribed to such a service, up from 
18% in 2017.  

Figure 19 Households with a broadband subscription of at least 100 Mbps (% of households) 2017 – 2022 

Source: Estimated based on the European Union survey on the use of ICT in Households and by Individuals and data from the 
Communications Committee (COCOM) 

43 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Over three quarter of households in Spain, Sweden, Romania, Portugal, and Luxembourg subscribed 
to at least 100 Mbps in 2022. In Greece, Croatia, Austria, and Estonia, by contrast, uptake is still low 
(less than 30%). 

Figure 20 Households with a broadband subscription of at least 100 Mbps (% of households), 2022 

Source  Estimated based  on  the European  Union  survey  on  ICT usage  in  Households  and  by  Individuals  and data  from  the 
Communications Committee (COCOM) 

Regarding  connectivity  coverage  in  schools,  Member  States  are  on  average  still  far  from  achieving 
the EU’s 2025 strategic connectivity target of high-speed broadband connectivity (at least 1 Gbps or 
more) for all schools.149 A recent 2023 European Court of Auditors (ECA) report150 showed that in 
the Member States covered by their survey151  very few schools had access to a gigabit broadband 
connection and are therefore able to take full advantage of ICT for digital education. In addition, poor 
infrastructure  of  the  school  buildings  was  marked  as  another  issue  preventing  schools  from  good 
quality internet access. In their Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRPs), Member States have allocated 
large investments to measures improving school connectivity. 

149 Communication from the Commission on Connectivity for a Competitive Digital Single Market - Towards a 
European Gigabit Society, COM (2016)587. 
150 European Court of Auditors (2023). EU Support for the Digitalisation of Schools: Significant investments, but 
a lack of strategic focus in the use of EU financing by Member States. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the 
European Union. 
151 The ECA report audited the following Member States: Germany, Poland, Austria, Croatia, Greece and Italy. 
Austrian schools were not covered by the specific survey. The survey covered ISCED (International Standard 
Classification of Education) levels 1-3. 

44 

 
 
 
 
 
Figure 21 Download speed of schools according to contracts with telecoms providers  

Source European Court of Auditors (2023). EU Support for the Digitalisation of Schools: Significant investments, but a lack of 
strategic focus in the use of EU financing by Member States. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.  

xDSL  remained  the  most  widely  used  fixed  broadband  technology,  although  its  market  share 
decreased to 40% in 2022 from 82% in 2006. FTTP became xDSL’s main challenger over the last years: 
the share of FTTP lines increased from 5% in 2012 to 37% in 2022. Cable lines152 represented 18% of 
fixed broadband lines in 2022, compared with 14% in 2006. 

Figure 22 Fixed broadband subscriptions – technology market shares in the EU (% of subscriptions), July 2006-July 2022153 

Source: Communications Committee (COCOM) 

FTTP is the most widely used technology in a growing number of Member States and has the highest 
market share in Romania (81%), Spain (81%), Sweden (80%) and Lithuania (79%). On the other hand, 
cable is dominant in Belgium (53%), Malta (48%) the Netherlands (46%) and Hungary (45%).  

152 Any DOCSIS standard. 
153 FTTP is part of ‘other’ technologies until June 2011 on the chart. 

45 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 23 Fixed broadband subscriptions – technology market shares in the EU (% of subscriptions), July 2022 

Source: Communications Committee (COCOM) 

Market  shares  are  calculated  at  national  level  for  incumbents  and  new  entrants.  However, 
broadband  markets  are  geographically  fragmented,  suggesting  that  a  large  number  of  households 
are served by only one provider (most likely the incumbent operator). 

New  entrant  operators  held  61%  of  fixed  lines  in  2022,  compared  with  45%  in  2006.  The  market 
share of incumbents is the highest in Luxembourg (60%), Cyprus (58%), Estonia (57%) and Lithuania 
(53%)  while  it  is  lowest  in  Romania  (11%)  and  Czechia  (22%).  However,  incumbent  operators 
remained predominant in the xDSL market. 

Figure 24 Fixed broadband subscriptions – operator market 
shares  in  the  EU  (%  of  subscriptions),  January  2006-July 
2022 

Figure  25  Incumbent  operator  market  share  by  technology 
in the EU (% of subscriptions), July 2022  

Source: Communications Committee (COCOM) 

Source: Communications Committee (COCOM) 

46 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 26 Fixed broadband subscriptions – operator market shares in the EU (% of subscriptions), July 2022 

Source: Communications Committee (COCOM) 

2.2.1.3  Trends towards 2030 
The available historical data on the VHCN indicator show an S-shaped trend that is adopted for this 
KPI  for  both  the  Digital  Decade  and  the  baseline  trajectory  (Figure  27).  This  is  in  line  with  the 
conceptual model assumed for this measure where, typically, the  additional deployments of optical 
fibre-based infrastructures start in areas with reasonable investment costs as well as in dense urban 
areas where existing cable networks are being upgraded. Conversely, the persistent investment gap 
affects  households  in  the  more  cost-intensive  suburban,  semi-rural  and  rural  areas,  and  remote 
regions.  

The speed of diffusion of the VHCN baseline trajectory is based on the Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) 
historical  data.  This  better  reflects  the  expected  investment  costs  of  deploying  optical  fibre 
infrastructure  under  the  assumption  that  future  gigabit  rollout  will  depend  solely  on  FTTP 
infrastructure. Figure 27 shows that the baseline trajectory, based on the currently available data is 
expected to reach 94% by the end of the projection period. 

47 

 
 
 
 
 
Figure  27  Fixed  Very-High-Capacity  Networks  coverage  in  the  EU.  Historical  data,  Digital  Decade  (DD)  trajectory  and 
baseline trajectory towards 2030154 

The  current  indicator  for  Fixed  very  high-capacity  networks  (VHCN),  based  on  the  current  DESI 
indicator, covers  networks currently  able to deliver gigabit  connectivity;  however,  this may include 
networks  that  are  not  at present  delivering  gigabit connectivity,  not  least  at peak  time  conditions. 
This  is  for  instance  the  case  of DOCSIS  3.1  networks  which  do  not  have  fibre deployed  sufficiently 
close  to  the  end-user.  However,  it  is  not  currently  possible  to  appropriately  map  and  therefore 
exclude such networks from the measurement. In consequence, the measured values may be higher 
than the actual coverage. Moreover, the upgrade of DOCSIS 3.0 networks currently covering 11 % of 
homes  will  have  a  very  limited  impact  on  rural  connectivity.  Lastly,  not  all  FTTP  networks  are 
currently  sufficiently  dimensioned  to  provide  Gigabit  speeds  at  peak  time.  More  investments  are 
needed in the core and backhaul parts of the network to be able to sustain the exponential growth in 
data  transmission  needs  expected  by  2030  and  beyond.  Further  investments  in  hardware  and 
software  are  expected  to  be  necessary  beyond  the  upgrade  of  the  access  networks  to  fibre. 
Additional  work  will  be  required  to  agree  a  common  methodology  for  a  KPI  to  measure  gigabit 
connectivity  to  allow  the  comparison  of  data  at  EU  level  on  the  quality  of  service  of  VHCN 
infrastructures capable of delivering 1 Gbps under peak time conditions. 

Fixed VHCN having the capability of offering gigabit connectivity, covered 73% of EU households in 
2022,  up  from 70%  a year  earlier.  This  growth  has  been  driven  by  the  deployment of optical  fibre 
networks  (Fibre  to  the  Premises  or  FTTP),  which  in  2022  covered  56%  of  EU  households.  The 
remaining 27% of households still not covered by VHCN will be reached mainly through further FTTP 
deployments, requiring sustained efforts. It is not excluded that the most rural areas will have to be 
reached  by 5G  Fixed Wireless  Access  networks.  Moreover,  gaps  in  rural  areas persist,  with  55%  of 
households  in  rural  areas  not  covered  by  VHCN,  a  factor  that  places  further  challenges  to  further 
gigabit rollout until full coverage. It shall be noted that the marginal cost of connecting a household 
substantially increases when reaching rural and remote areas.  

154 Details on Digital Decade and baseline trajectories are presented in the “Communication from the 
Commission establishing Union-level projected trajectories for the digital targets” C(2023) 7500 

48 

 
 
 
 
 
In order to track the  progress  of FTTP coverage,  as outlined in the KPI Implementing Decision, EU-
level trajectories  are  developed  for this  indicator  as well  (Figure  28).  According  to  estimates  along 
the baseline trajectory, by 2030, FTTP is projected to reach 87% of households in the EU. 

Figure 28: Fibre to the Premises coverage in the EU. Historical data, Digital Decade (DD) trajectory and baseline 
trajectory towards 2030155 

2.2.1.4  Actions at EU and national level 
Transposition of the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) 

Achieving  the  timely  deployment  of  secure  connectivity  networks,  available  to  all  EU  citizens  and 
businesses,  not  only  requires  a  good  cooperation  with  Member  States,  but  also  a  regulatory 
framework  that  can  facilitate  investments  in  the  sector  and  measures  that  can  address  long-term 
challenges in the connectivity ecosystem.  

The European Electronic Communications Code, adopted in 2018, brought the regulatory framework 
governing the  European telecommunication sector up to date. Its transposition  is a prerequisite to 
foster  conditions  for  the  achievement  of  the  targets  and  objectives  that  the  Digital  Decade  Policy 
Programme sets. 

The Member States had two years to transpose the Code into their legal system and the Commission 
has been monitoring the process and providing them with guidance and assistance. However, in April 
2022 the Commission referred 10 Member States (Spain, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ireland, Poland, 
Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, and Sweden) to the Court of Justice of the European Union over their 
failure  to  fully  transpose  and  communicate  to  the  Commission  their  respective  national 
implementing  measures.  Since  then,  some  of  the  Member  States  concerned  have  notified  full 
transposition and currently 16 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, 
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovakia,  Spain, and Sweden) have 
communicated that the Code had been transposed in their national legal system.  

155 Digital Decade and baseline trajectories are presented in the “Communication from the Commission 
establishing Union-level projected trajectories for the digital targets” C(2023) 7500 

49 

 
 
 
 
 
 
The infringements remain open against 11 Member States, including Ireland, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, 
and  Slovenia,  which  were  referred  to  the  Court  of  Justice  of  the  European  Union.  Croatia  and 
Romania  have  notified  full  transposition  in  July  2022,  hence  the  Commission  decided  to  suspend 
their referral to the Court. The completeness checks for the nine countries (the above mentioned 11 
except for Ireland and Poland, which have yet to notify full transposition), as well as Cyprus, Estonia, 
France, and the Netherlands are ongoing.  

Review and adaptation of the Regulatory Framework 

The  Union  keeps  modernising  its  Regulatory  Framework  for  Electronic  Communications  to  further 
promote competition and support the deployment of connectivity.  

The  proposal  for  a  ‘Gigabit  Infrastructure  Act’  was  adopted  on  23  February  by  the  Commission  as 
part  of  a  package  of  measures  to  support  connectivity.  It  aims  at  reducing  the  cost  of  rolling  out 
gigabit infrastructure across the EU by streamlining permits and limiting the associated charges and 
fees,  digitalising  the  permit  granting  procedures,  ensuring  better  and  more  information  on 
infrastructure and planned civil works in electronic format. It also aims to foster fibre deployment by 
pre-equipping new and majorly renovated buildings with fibre and ensuring building fibre-readiness, 
in  synergy  with  the  building  renovation  wave  triggered  by  Green  Deal,  and  ensuring  clearer 
conditions for access to physical infrastructure and coordination of civil works. 
The EECC aims at stimulating infrastructure-based competition (e.g., access to passive network has a 
priority)  and  relaxing  cumbersome  regulation  where  it  is  no  longer  necessary  (e.g.,  regulatory 
commitments,  co-investments).  The  Commission  has  consulted  BEREC  on 
its  draft  Gigabit 
Recommendation,  which  is  aimed  at  complementing  the  proposed  Gigabit  Infrastructure  Act.  The 
for  electronic 
draft  Gigabit  Recommendation  aims  to  support  the  EU 
communications  and  services  by  favouring  investment  and  enhancing  effective  competition.  It 
emphasizes  the  importance  of  provisions  introduced  by  the  Code  (i.e.,  access  to  civil  engineering 
infrastructure  as  the  first,  and,  under  certain  conditions,  the  only  remedy,  co-investment, 
commitments, promotion of cooperative arrangements and wholesale-only operators). 

internal  market 

At  national  level,  Member  States  have  intensified  their  efforts  to  achieve  the  Digital  Decade 
objective.  In  order  to  facilitate  network  deployment,  Belgium  has  launched  a  website  fibreinfo.be 
which provides information on fibre deployment. In Ireland, the MPBT, made up of state actors and 
industry  representatives, 
improved 
connectivity, e.g. in the areas of permit granting, planning and licensing processes and more efficient 
use  of  infrastructure  and  assets.  A  nation-wide  analysis  (“Potenzialanalyse”)  was  conducted  in 
Germany to ensure greater transparency of the potential for future roll-out of fibre networks at local 
level  and  for  the  funding  of  broadband.  The  analysis  quantitatively  estimates  the  scope  of  private 
roll-out in areas that are underserved. 

identifying  and  overcoming  barriers  to 

is  tasked  with 

The  exploratory  consultation  has  gathered  views  on  the  future  of  the  electronic  communications 
sector  and  its  infrastructure  was  launched  on  23  February  2023  to  allow  a  broad  reflection on  the 
future  of  the  connectivity  infrastructure,  investigating  the  impact  of  technological  and  market 
developments  on  future  networks  and  business  models  of  electronic  communications  providers, 
consumer  related  aspects,  the  existing  barriers  to  the  consecution  of  a  real  single  market  and  the 
issue of the fair contribution by all players benefitting from the digital transformation.  

The  consultation  closed  on  19  May  2023.  The  Commission  received  437  contributions  and  164 
position papers from different participants from industry stakeholders, to citizens, NGOs, Academia 
and research institutes and EU Member States, as well as contributions from the United Kingdom and 
the USA. A summary of the contributions will be published. 

Overall,  it  is  important  to  ensure  that  Europe  remains  on  top  of  innovation  and  technological 
developments. R&D and legislation should evolve accordingly  and accompany these developments. 

50 

 
 
Europe  should  further  reap  the  benefits  of  a  truly  internal  market,  including  for  electronic 
communications.  

To  achieve  the  ambitious  2030  targets,  the  EU  has  established  an  effective  policy  programme  and 
governance  mechanism  to  ensure  good  collaboration  between  Member  States,  businesses,  local 
communities,  industry,  and  other  sectors,  while  also  setting  a  strong  regulatory  framework  to 
facilitate massive connectivity investments for the future.  

The principle of the open internet is embedded in Regulation (EU) 2015/2120, which has applied in 
all Member States since 30 April 2016. The Commission recently reviewed, for the second time since 
2016,  the  Regulation’s  provisions  on  open  internet  access  (Articles  3,  4,  5  and  6)  and  submitted  a 
report  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council.  It  concluded  that  the  Regulation  and  its 
implementation  have  been  able  to  stand  the  test  of  time  and  confirmed  that  the  principle-based 
approach of the Regulation continues to guarantee the essential balance between the protection of 
end-user rights and the need to foster a competitive EU digital single market. It also concluded that 
the principles of an open internet remain relevant, from the perspective of end-users, content and 
application providers, and internet access service providers.  

Several NRAs have already used the new regulatory tools put at their disposal by the Code. The DK 
NRA has imposed access obligations on wholesale-only operators in its recent wholesale broadband 
market  review156.  The  French157  and  Finnish  NRAs  have  enforced  regulatory  commitments  under 
their regulatory measures for the wholesale broadcasting markets.  

With the spreading of deployments an increasing level of competition can be observed, in particular 
in  the  most  densely  populated  areas.  The  NRAs  are  therefore  gradually  deregulating  the  markets, 
targeting  their  regulation  in  the  geographic  areas  and  services  where  regulation  is  still  needed  to 
ensure competition. The segmentation of the geographic market or the segmentation of remedies is 
a flexible regulatory approach that many NRAs are adopting. The NRAs of Finland, Hungary, Poland, 
Spain, Germany, Ireland, Slovenia, Austria, and Croatia have defined separate geographic markets for 
local  and  central  access  or/and  for  dedicated  capacity.  The  NRAs  of  Cyprus,  Belgium,  France, 
Denmark,  and  Slovenia  have  differentiated  remedies  on  geographic  basis  on  the  markets  for  local 
and  central  access  or/and  for  dedicated  capacity.  Finally,  the  NRAs  of  Italy,  Belgium  and  Portugal 
have mixed defining separate geographic markets with differentiation of remedies.  

The FR NRA defined a separate geographic market for access to the civil engineering infrastructure. 
The Commission called upon the NRAs of Spain and Estonia to consider the same for the next round 
of  market  reviews.  The  Commission  also  encouraged  the  DE  NRA  to  have  a  price  differentiation 
between legacy and newly built assets.  

As the markets for (fixed and mobile) call termination was withdrawn in 2020 from the list of markets 
recommended  for  ex  ante  regulation,  the  Commission  consistently  asks  those  regulators  that  still 
maintain regulation of these markets to reassess their current findings even prior to the end of the 
current market review cycle158.  

Furthermore, the Commission, in its role of ensuring consistency of regulatory obligations in the EU, 
opened  four  Phase  2  investigations  in  2022  and  4  in  2023.  In  two  Polish  cases  the  Commission 
questioned the lack of mandatory public consultations for the proposed regulatory measures and in 
two Czech cases the Commission expressed its serious doubts with respect to the compatibility of the 
analysis of wholesale broadband markets with competition law. In all those cases, the Commission’s 

156 DK/2021/2346. 
157 FR/2022/2365, FI/2022/2401. 
158 LV/2022/2410, DE/2023/2425. 

51 

 
 
 
assessment  was  supported  by  BEREC  and  the  notifying  regulators  eventually  withdrew  their 
notifications. 

Measures for the financing of the connectivity investment gap 

At EU level, there are several financial instruments that were put in place to bridge the digital gap, 
including  the  urban/rural  one:  the  RFF,  the  European  Regional  Development  Fund  (ERDF),  the 
European agricultural fund for rural development (EAFRD), the Connecting European Facility (CEF) – 
Digital programme, the Connecting Europe Broadband Fund (CEBF) and the InvestEU initiative, which 
in particular will allow the European Investment Bank and National Promotional Banks to make use 
of the EU guarantee and leverage public resources by attracting additional resources from the private 
sector.  For  example,  the  Nordic  Investment  Bank  (NIB)  has  signed  in  December  2022  an  InvestEU 
guarantee agreement worth up to EUR 114 million. The agreement will unlock NIB financing of up to 
EUR 480 million specifically for digital investments across the Nordic and Baltic countries as well as 
Poland. 

For the period 2021-2027, the financing of broadband will mostly come from the RRF, ERDF and CEF. 
The total digital expenditure in the Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRPs) amounts to EUR 130 billion, 
about 26% of the total plan allocation. Investments in digital connectivity have attracted about 13% 
of the RRF digital expenditure amounting to about  EUR 16.4 billion159, including Very High-Capacity 
Networks  and  5G  roll-out  in  market  failure  areas  (e.g.,  rural,  sparsely  populated  areas).  More 
specifically for Gigabit networks the expected expenditure is close to EUR 13 billion. For example: 

• 

Italy  (allocation  to connectivity:  EUR  6.7  billion) will  implement  five  connectivity measures, 
providing  around  7  million  street  addresses  with  fixed  gigabit  connectivity,  facilitating  the 
development of 5G mobile networks in market failure areas, securing approximately 10000 
schools  with  free  gigabit  internet  connectivity  services,  providing  approximately  12 300 
healthcare facilities with (at least) gigabit connectivity and connecting 19 smaller islands with 
fibre optic core network cables.  

•  The  Croatian  plan  (allocation  to  connectivity:  EUR  157.5  million)  includes  a  reform  and 
investment  package  with  the  aim  to  provide  gigabit  connectivity  to  households  and  socio-
economic  drivers.  The  reform  aims  to  identify  and  address  the  administrative  burden  and 
regulatory barriers related to the construction of gigabit connectivity networks, as well as to 
implement  the  necessary  regulatory  framework  and  the  objectives  of  the  National 
Broadband Plan. The reform is accompanied by investments in the deployment of broadband 
infrastructure to at least 100 000 Croatian households.  

•  Estonia  plans  substantial  investments  (EUR  24.3  million)  in  very  high-capacity  networks  in 
rural areas, which is expected to ensure broader access to online services. Overall, 8000 sites 
(residential,  companies,  establishments)  will  be  covered  by  very  high-capacity  networks 
under this investment. 

The  CEF  Digital  programme,  moreover,  will  also  support  and  catalyse  both  public  and  private 
investments in digital connectivity infrastructures with a budget of EUR 2.1 billion over 7 years. It is 
the first programme under the Multiannual framework 2021-2027 directly managed by the European 
Commission. DG CNECT has already approved some excellent proposals for the first set of calls and 
have  received  an  overwhelming  number  under  call  two.  CEF  Digital  projects  inter  alia  support 
submarine  cables,  a  key  infrastructure  for  secure  connectivity  links  within  the  EU  and  with  like-
minded  countries.  Overall,  the  goal  of  this  CEF  Digital  action  is  to  support  the  deployment  of 
backbone networks as part of the Digital Global Gateway Strategy of the EU, by strengthening the 
quality of connectivity and improving network reliability within the Union, including its most remote 
parts  i.e.  the  Outermost  Regions,  as  well  as  with  third  countries.  More  specifically,  this  means 

159 https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/recovery-and-resilience-scoreboard/disbursements.html?lang=en 

52 

 
 
 
creating the necessary infrastructure, like submarine cables, to ensure internet connectivity despite 
any outages or significant increases in data traffic.  

Out of the 25 projects submitted,  13 projects were selected (depicted in the below map), the first 
one starting its deployment on 1 June 2022.  

Figure 29: Selected Global Gateways projects 

In  addition,  the  Connecting  Europe  Broadband  Fund  (CEBF),  an  equity  fund  of  EUR  555  million,  of 
which about 30% are from private investors, created in 2018 at the initiative of the Commission with 
the participation of the EIB and five national promotional banks, is currently investing in state-of-the-
art  networks  in  predominantly  greenfield  areas  (grey  or  white  areas,  typically  semi-dense  or  rural 
areas) across the EU. So far, the Fund has invested in the roll-out of FTTH to 1.7 million premises in 
the Union. 

Furthermore, the Commission supports the implementation of the new Union’s Secure Connectivity 
Programme 2023-2027 IRIS (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) 
with a budget of EUR 2.4 billion of the total cost of about EUR 6 billion, which also includes satellite 
broadband coverage in rural areas. While not contributing directly to the achievement of the Digital 
Decade targets, satellites could provide resilient and flexible connectivity allowing Europe to always 
remain connected, including in the event of large-scale cyber-attacks.  

Finally, the EU is also leveraging connectivity investments through the Cohesion Funds like the ERDF 
(about  EUR  2.36  billion).  Member  States,  which  are  planning  to  use  ERDF  for  higher  Gigabit 
investments  during  the  next  years,  are Poland  (ca.  EUR  800  million),  Greece  (ca.  EUR  246 million), 
Spain (ca. EUR 244 million), Hungary (ca. EUR 208 million) and Portugal (ca. EUR 157 million)”.  

Moreover, the Commission adopted a revised Communication on State aid for broadband networks 
(‘Broadband Guidelines'), setting out the rules under which it will assess State aid measures notified 
by  Member  States  to  support  the  deployment  and  take-up  of  broadband  networks  in  the  EU.  The 
new  rules  contribute  to  the  EU's  strategic  objectives  of  ensuring  gigabit  connectivity  for  everyone 
everywhere by the end of the decade, which is essential to achieve the digital transition of the Union. 
In particular, the revised Guidelines align the threshold for public support to fixed networks with the 
latest  technological  and  market  developments  and  explain  how  public  support  can  be  used  to 
incentivise the take-up of broadband services. They also simplify and clarify certain rules to facilitate 
the practical application of the Guidelines and to cut red tape for companies and public authorities, 
e.g.,  in  the  area  of  wholesale  access  products,  mapping,  wholesale  access  pricing,  and  claw  back 

53 

 
 
 
 
 
mechanisms. Lastly, they update the criteria used for balancing the positive impact of the aid against 
its negative effects on competition and trade.  

While  all  investments  need  to  be  in  line  with  the  applicable  State  Aid  rules,  the  Commission  also 
adopted  a  targeted  amendment  to  the  General  Block  Exemption  Regulation  ('GBER')  to  further 
facilitate, simplify and speed up support for the EU's green and digital transitions. Aid measures that 
are  fully  in  line  with  all  relevant  criteria  in  the  GBER  can  be  implemented  directly  by  the  Member 
States without prior scrutiny by the Commission. 

This includes support for the deployment of broadband networks, as well as mobile networks such as 
5G  networks,  to  bring  high  quality  infrastructure  to  areas  suffering  from  insufficient  broadband 
coverage,  in  particular  in  rural  and  remote  areas.  It  also  includes  support  for  backhaul  networks, 
highly relevant for the further deployment of both fixed and mobile networks.  

The GBER also fosters aid for certain projects of common interest, financed under CEF2 or awarded a 
Seal of Excellence under CEF2. This is particularly relevant for cross-border 5G corridors and certain 
backbone networks and submarine cables.  

The revised GBER also exempts from notification certain aid measures in the form of a vouchers for 
consumers  to  facilitate  teleworking,  online  education,  training  services  or  for  SMEs,  provided  that 
certain conditions are fulfilled. 

2.2.2  5G next-generation wireless high-speed networks 

Three frequency bands have been identified and harmonised as the 5G pioneer bands in the Union. 
These are the 700 MHz (694-790 MHz), the 3.6 GHz (3.4-3.8 GHz) and the 26 GHz (24.25-27.5 GHz) 
frequency bands. To achieve the single market objectives inter alia for timely 5G deployment in the 
Union,  Member  States  had  to  allow  the  use  of  the  5G  pioneer  bands  by  end  2020.  So  far,  not  all 
Member States have respected this deadline. 

The 5G spectrum  indicator in the  DESI shows the  portion of spectrum assigned for 5G purposes in 
each Member  State  in the  5G  pioneer  bands  identified  and  harmonised  in the EU.  The  percentage 
score  of  the  5G  spectrum  indicator  is  based  on  the  amount  of  spectrum  assigned  in  a  specific 
Member State and ready for 5G use.  

This  score  is  calculated  based  on  the  portion  of  spectrum  assigned  in  each  5G  pioneer  band  in 
comparison with the maximum feasible amounts, which are as follows: 

•  700 MHz band: 60 MHz (703-733 & 758-788 MHz); 

•  3.6 GHz band: 400 MHz (3,400-3,800 MHz); 

•  26 GHz band: 1000 MHz within 24,250-27,500 MHz. 

All three spectrum bands have an equal weight, so having the maximum feasible amount assigned – 
and ready for 5G use  –  in the  range of one of these bands will result in a score of 33.3%,  i.e., one 
third of the total maximum score. 

54 

 
 
 
 
 
Remarks: 

1.  For the 700 MHz band, there are a number of derogations allowing for a delay until 30 June 
2022.  However,  the  5G  spectrum  indicator  is  about  factual  reporting,  not  a  judgement  on 
legal compliance. 

2.  For the 3,400-3,800 MHz band, only licences aligned with the latest technical conditions (in 
line with Commission Implementing Decision (EU)  2019/235) were considered ready for 5G 
use. 

3.  For the 26 GHz band, at least a portion of 1,000 MHz within the band must be assigned and 

ready for 5G use, as required by the European Electronic Communications Code. 

By  the end  of March 2023,  26 of  the  27 Member  States  had  assigned  spectrum  in  the 5G  pioneer 
bands.  Germany,  Croatia,  Denmark,  Greece,  Finland,  Spain,  Slovenia  and  Italy  assigned  more  than 
90%  of  spectrum.  Poland  has  not  yet  assigned  any  5G  spectrum  (according  to  the  conditions 
mentioned above). 

Figure 30 5G spectrum (assigned spectrum as a % of total harmonised 5G spectrum), end of March 2023  

Source: Communications Committee (COCOM)  

Therefore, overall 5G coverage of populated areas using any spectrum band grew to 81%160. Looking 
at the 3.4-3.8 GHz band, 5G is available in 41% of populated areas. The pace of deployment of 5G 
depends  not  only  on  the  timely  availability  of  spectrum  but  also  on  the  business  strategy  of  each 
operator, their current network topology and the level of demand (cf. p. 212 of the study assessing 
the  efficiency  of  radio  spectrum  award  processes  in  the  Member  States,  including  the  effects  of 
applying the European Electronic Communications Code). 

Commercial services were launched in all Member States as of mid-2022. Overall coverage is above 
90%  in  10  Member  States:  in  Cyprus,  Malta,  the  Netherlands,  Italy,  Denmark,  Finland,  Luxemburg, 
Germany, Austria, and Lithuania. A significant share of this coverage was achieved using 4G spectrum 
rather  than  5G  pioneer  bands,  which  allow  for  higher  performance  potential.  Spectrum  sharing  is 
deployed by operators to accelerate their 5G rollouts, but also to optimise overall spectrum use. This 
is a solution to enable frequency sharing between 5G and 4G (and sometimes 3G too). An area has 
5G  coverage  if  it  is  in  the  stated  coverage  area  of  at  least  one  5G  mobile  network  as  reported  by 

160 European 5G Observatory, European 5G scoreboard, last updated in July 2022. 

55 

 
 
 
 
 
 
operators and national regulatory authorities. It is expressed as the percentage of populated areas. 
The user experience is not measured in this indicator, and it may be affected by a variety of factors 
such as the  spectrum, the device used, environmental conditions, number of concurrent users and 
network  capacity.  Such  factors  make  it  difficult  to  compare  operators’  5G  rollouts  using  just 
population coverage metrics, headline data rates, etc. 

Unlike the majority of current 5G networks in the Member States, which are non-standalone 5G, the 
standalone  (SA)  ones  implement  a  5G  core  network  to  manage  connectivity,  mobility,  and  user 
authentication, as well as other essential network management functions. Only the unconstrained SA 
5G mode can deliver all the promised features of 5G New Radio (NR) (lower cost and more efficient 
delivery of better user experience and support for a variety of use cases).  

Figure 31 Overall 5G mobile coverage (% of populated areas), mid-2022 

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

Looking at only the 3.4-3.8 GHz band (), coverage of populated areas stands at 41%, with the highest 
rates recorded in Finland (84%), Italy (80%), Denmark (75%) and Austria (74%).  

Figure 32 5G mobile coverage on the 3.4-3.8 GHz band (% of populated areas), mid-2022 

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

56 

 
 
 
 
 
 
In  2021,  87%  of  people  used  a mobile  device to  access  the  internet  (up  from 73%  in  2016),  which 
corresponds to the number of regular internet users (87% of people in 2021). Mobile internet access 
is a useful proxy indicator for measuring connectivity rate in the population. 

Figure 33 Mobile broadband penetration in the EU (% of individuals), 2016-2021161 

Source: Eurostat, European Union survey on the use of ICT in Households and by Individuals 

Mobile  broadband is widely used in  every Member State; national penetration rates  vary  between 
73% in Bulgaria and 98% in Ireland. 

Figure 34 Mobile broadband penetration (% of individuals), 2021162 

Source: Eurostat, European Union survey on the use of ICT in Households and by Individuals 

161 Data refers to individuals using a mobile device to access the internet. 
162 Data refers to individuals using a mobile device to access the internet. 

57 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.2.2.1  Trends towards 2030 
Over  the  past  few  years,  there  has  been  a  significant  increase  in  5G  coverage,  with  the  European 
Union value reaching 81.2% in 2022. Some Member States even reported values close to or at 100%. 
This expansion has relied on the utilization of dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS), which employs non-
5G pioneer bands, such as 1.8 GHz or 2.1 GHz, enabling demand-based sharing between 4G and 5G. 
To determine the expected progress of this KPI, data from the years 2020 to 2022 has been analysed. 
Based  on  this  analysis,  the  forecast  along  the  baseline  trajectory  predicts  that  by  2024,  100%  of 
populated areas in the EU will be covered by 5G networks overall. However, the current KPI for the 
5G  target  does  not  take  into  account  the  quality  of  service  provided  under  peak  time  conditions. 
Further significant investments will therefore be needed in 5G, primarily in the radio access network 
(i.e.  building  new  base  stations,  interconnecting  existing  and  new  base  stations).  The  use  of  more 
spectrum in the medium and high bands will be needed to gradually improve the quality of service 
on  5G  networks  and  enable  the  deployment  of  5G  for  Industry  5.0163.  A  key  challenge  will  be  to 
ensure that the deployed networks support key industry sectors and critical applications that benefit 
consumers  and  businesses  in  all  sectors.  To  measure  Member  States’  readiness  to  overcome  this 
challenge, further examination is required to improve and broaden the measurement framework for 
5G  to  capture  the  actual  quality  of  service  as  experienced  under  peak  time  conditions  and 
encompass other “next-generation wireless high-speed networks” with performance equivalent to or 
surpassing 5G. 

Figure 35 5G rollout in the EU, historical data and baseline trajectory towards 2030 164 

163 Industry 5.0 complements and extends Industry 4.0. It emphasises aspects that will be deciding factors, not 
just economic or technological, for the place of industry in the future European society. 
164Digital Decade and baseline trajectories are presented in the “Communication from the Commission 
establishing Union-level projected trajectories for the digital targets” C(2023) 7500. 

58 

 
 
 
 
 
 
2.2.2.2  Actions at EU and national level 
The  successful  deployment  of  5G  networks  requires  that  the  necessary  spectrum  resources  are 
assigned under investment friendly conditions, low administrative or regulatory burden and access to 
financing. While the Union and the Member States have made considerable steps in this direction, 
additional efforts are needed to achieve the objectives. 

Regulatory interventions 

By  the end  of March 2023,  26 of  the  27  Member  States  had  assigned  spectrum  in  the 5G  pioneer 
bands, reaching an average volume of 68% of all the 5G pioneer spectrum (83% of 700 MHz band, 
85%  of  the  3.6  GHz  and  36.5%  of  the  26 GHz  band).  Germany,  Croatia, Denmark,  Greece,  Finland, 
Italy, Spain, and Slovenia have assigned more than 90% of spectrum. Poland has not yet assigned any 
5G  pioneer  band  (according  to  the  conditions  mentioned  above).  The  state  of  play  in  spectrum 
authorisation is depicted in Figure 36.: 

Figure 36 5G Pioneer Bands Authorisation in the EU 

The  Commission  is  following  closely  the  assignment  procedures  for  the  5G  spectrum.  Pursuant  to 
Article 35 EECC, Member States are required to notify the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) when 
they intend to undertake a selection procedure to award EU-harmonised radio spectrum and at the 
same time, to indicate whether they wish the RSPG to convene a “Peer Review Forum” (PRF) 

In  2022,  the  Commission  adopted  a  number  of  harmonisation  Decisions,  for  the  availability  and 
efficient use of spectrum for 5G, for Wi-Fi, and for short range devices (such as remote controls and 
IoT and to enhance the operation of mobile communications services on aircraft). 

Moreover, the proposal for a new GIA also aims to accelerate rapid 5G deployment by ensuring new 
possibility to access public physical infrastructure, such as public buildings’ rooftops and non-network 
elements (e.g., street furniture, traffic lights, etc) as well as including the independent TowerCos in 
its scope. 

In  2021,  four  Member  States  (Malta,  Croatia,  Lithuania,  and  the  Netherlands)  submitted  formal 
notification and requested a Peer Review Forum (PRF). In 2022, Estonia and Spain held a PRF, while 
Slovakia, Romania and Lithuania submitted a formal notification without requesting a PRF. In 2023 
(until end of March), Sweden held a PRF, while France and Belgium submitted a formal notification to 
the RSPG without requesting a PRF. 

59 

 
 
 
 
 
Moreover, to draw some lessons from these assignment procedures for the future, the Commission 
launched  a  study  on  the  assessment  of  the  efficiency  of  radio  spectrum  awards  processes  in  the 
Member States, including the effects of applying the Code, (completed in January 2023). The study 
looked at the conditions attached to the rights of use in the context of spectrum awards processes 
run by the Member  States (in light,  notably, of the  new provisions of the Code) to assess whether 
they are affecting the rollout of 5G networks in the internal market. The study found that, in general, 
current  processes  do  not  hamper  network  deployment  but  that  a  more  coordinated,  clarified 
approach would be beneficial.  

Unsurprisingly, the study also found that the earlier spectrum is made available for 5G, the better the 
coverage  that  had  been  achieved  and  that  the  more  5G  spectrum  is  sold,  the  greater  is  the  5G 
population  coverage.  Some  notable  exceptions  to  this  pattern  that  may  be  explained  by  other 
factors. For example, both the Netherlands and Malta exhibit good 5G population coverage despite 
their generally delayed spectrum awards. The  high population density in  both Member States may 
have played a part, and in the Netherlands, the early availability of the 700 MHz band allowed one 
operator to roll out quickly, providing a high coverage figure.  

The study found that the more competitive auctions and mobile markets are, the more they facilitate 
investment  in 5G rollout.  It also found that lower consumer prices  are an indication of a faster  5G 
network rollout.  

The  study  also  noted  several  factors  beyond  the  5G  pioneer  bands  that  influence  the  5G  rollout 
(trend of using sub-3 GHz FDD legacy bands to support 5G network deployment). Indeed, the study 
concluded that the correlation between availability and coverage could have been stronger, but the 
option to use legacy spectrum (e.g., with DSS) may mitigate against high auction prices as a barrier to 
5G  rollout.  Further,  a  metric  that  measured  the  deployment  of  “full  5G”,  using  5G  pioneer  bands, 
might have a different relationship to relative prices paid in awards. 

 It also found that lower consumer prices are also an indication of a faster 5G network rollout.  

In terms of regulation, the mobile markets remain unregulated. Early 2023, the Commission adopted 
two “veto” decisions, requiring the Czech regulator to withdraw its proposals to regulate the mobile 
access  market.  On  the  contrary,  there  is  much  scope  for  voluntary  cooperation  as  the  European 
Electronic  Communications  Code  already  provides  an  effective  framework  to  facilitate  network 
sharing,  which  has  fostered  the  emergence  in  the  EU  of  new  models  such  as  “neutral  hosts”  and 
independent  infrastructure  players.  5G  is  likely  to  bring  network  sharing  to  the  next  level  by  the 
introduction of “network slicing” and increasing possibilities to implement multi-tenant connectivity 
solutions based on network  virtualisation and edge  cloud functionalities. Therefore, EU progress  in 
that  field  could  become  part  of  the  regular  best  practice  exchanges  in  the  context  of  the  Digital 
Decade process.  
The new Roaming Regulation165 that entered into force on 1 July 2022 gives increased guarantees for 
EU citizens travelling in Europe, to be able to benefit from the 5G quality of services, while roaming. 
End-users should be able to roam abroad with the same quality and speeds as at home. Operators 
should be able to guarantee the same level of quality while their customers are roaming abroad,  if 
this  is  technically  feasible on  the  network  of  the  visited  country  The  new  rules  aim  to  ensure  that 
when similar quality or speeds are available in the visited network, the domestic operator should not 
deliberately lower the quality of the roaming service. Operators in the visited country should allow 
reasonable  access  to  all  available  networks  and  technologies.  That  means,  if  a  consumer  has  5G 
connectivity at home, they should not have 4G connectivity while roaming, if 5G is available at the 
location  they  are  visiting.  According  to  the  new  roaming  rules,  operators  should  inform  their 

165 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32022R0612. 

60 

 
 
 
customers  of  the  quality  of  service  they  can  expect  to  have  while  roaming  by  stating  this  in  the 
service contract. BEREC adopted at the end of 2022 new retail and wholesale roaming guidelines to 
ensure consistent application of the new rules all over the EU. 

Funding interventions 

In terms of funding, the Member States’ RRF plans include at least EUR 3,5 billion of investment in 
5G.  
Anticipating  this  development,  the  newly  adopted  Broadband  Guidelines166  introduce  a  new 
assessment  framework  for  the  deployment of mobile  (including 5G)  networks.  The  new  Guidelines 
will enable Member States to support mobile networks where the investment would not otherwise 
have  been  undertaken  by private  operators  and  is  not  guaranteed  by other measures,  such  as  the 
coverage obligations attached to the use of some radio spectrum. 

Following  the  first  call  for  proposals  of  the  Connecting  Europe  Facility  Programme  –  Digital  (CEF 
Digital),  15  projects  were  awarded  EU  funding  to  accelerate  the  deployment  of  5G  connectivity 
infrastructures  along  the  main  transport  paths  throughout  Europe.  All  these  projects  are  multi-
country projects (MCPs) and are coordinated by the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking. 

The resulting portfolio of projects that will receive EU funding will pave the way for Connected and 
Automated  Mobility  (CAM)  including  safety  and  non-safety  services,  be  it  for  road,  rail,  inland 
waterways, or multimodal transport.  

More specifically, the projects will support 5G infrastructure deployment over cross border sections 
of  5G  corridors  and  ensure  service  continuity  when  crossing  said  border,  thus  contributing  to 
connecting different regions throughout Europe. 

Seven of these projects will start deploying the needed infrastructure straightaway, both active and 
passive, to enable Connected and automated mobility services to develop in the coming years. At the 
same  time,  eight  inception  studies  will  prepare  the  groundwork  for  future  large-scale  5G 
infrastructure deployment projects in view of upcoming CEF Digital Calls. More information on these 
projects  and  studies  can  be  found  below.  A  second  5G  Corridors  call  for  deployment  works,  and 
studies  closed  in  April  2023.    It  included  a  call  for  a  Coordination  Support  Action  (CSA)  aiming  at 
integrating  5G  connectivity  infrastructure  with  edge  nodes  and  European  Cloud  Federation 
infrastructure. 5G connectivity has huge potential to improve digital services in cities and local areas. 
By  ensuring  higher  speeds,  low  latency,  wider  coverage,  and  increased  network  reliability,  5G 
networks  can  help  modernise  services  of  general  interest  in  many  sectors,  notably  in  healthcare, 
education, public administration and transport, making them more efficient and resilient. Following 
the first Connecting Europe Facility – Digital (CEF Digital) call for proposals at the beginning of 2022, 
the Commission selected seven projects that will deploy 5G connectivity and enable innovative use 
cases  for  public  services  and  services  of  general  interest.  The  selected  5G  for  Smart  Communities 
projects  have  started  in  Q1  2023  with  a  timeframe  of  3  years.  They  will  serve  as  European  best 
practices,  demonstrating  what  the  deployment  of  5G  networks  can  bring  to  various  sectors  of 
society.  

•  One  of  the  projects  will  implement  a  5G  Private  Mobile  Network  (MPN)  to  support  new 
functional approaches to education and training in universities and hospitals, as well as the 
creation of a continuous care system.  

•  Another  project  will  deploy  a  leading-edge  5G  infrastructure  at  the  Frankfurt  University 
Hospital in Germany, enabling innovative 5G use cases and improving the provision of public 
health services.  

166 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52023XC0131%2801%29&qid=1675764915102. 

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•  A  5G  Mobile  Private  Network  (MPN)  Hub  will  be  established  at  a  Demonstration  farm  in 
Hungary to enable end-to-end solutions in agriculture. In Wavre (Belgium), a state-of-the-art 
5G private network complying with current security standards and attaining the highest level 
of performance will transform the municipality into a smart city.  

•  The  EU-funded  Flanders  Smart  Fields  project  will  provide  standalone  5G  coverage  for  the 
Westhoek region in Belgium to support innovative applications in healthcare and education. 
Lastly, Hi5 will roll out 5G technology in the Toulouse metropolitan area by 2025 delivering 
leading-edge connectivity to public services, building on the existing fibre-optic network and 
data  centres,  focuses  on  five  use  cases:  city  services,  event  connectivity,  mobility  lab, 
education and high-speed video data offloading. 

A second 5G for Smart Communities call closed in April 2023. 

Longer term impact of 5G on the digital transformation of Industry and Society 

Deployment  of  5G  private  networks  is  accelerating  across  EU  countries,  typically  using  network 
elements  and  resources  to  provide  dedicated  secure  services,  mainly  to  private  enterprises  such  as 
factories, large campuses, harbours and airports. 

This type of 5G network deployment is as important as 5G public networks because they are expected 
to  unleash  the  truly  innovative,  and  potentially  disruptive,  impact  of  5G  by  enabling  innovative 
applications  and  new  ecosystems  (especially  around  virtualisation  of  networks  and  increased 
flexibility). Europe is relatively well placed in this area with a strong industrial fabric in many Member 
States  and  this  is  illustrated  by  the  high  number  of  5G  private  network  pilot  projects  and  early 
deployment  initiatives  that  are  taking  place  in  the  EU  as  compared  to  other  regions.  It  will  be 
important to continue leading deployment of 5G aimed at such B2B developments. In that context, the 
timely transition, by all operators, to 5G standalone core networks will also be an important factor to 
enable advanced connectivity applications.  

An overview of 5G private networks featuring a searchable table of major private network projects in 
the EU can be found at this link: https://5gobservatory.eu/5g-private-networks/. 

From 5G to 6G 

It is crucial to reach our digital goals to maintain Europe’s competitive position in 6G and advanced 5G, 
in  particular  through  a  close  partnership  with  the  European  industry  (such  as  with  global  telecom 
suppliers Nokia, Ericsson, telecom operators, as well as SMEs active in the field). The Commission has 
launched a major initiative to develop 6G systems concepts and technologies, the Smart Networks & 
Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU). The SNS JU materialises the partnership between the Commission 
and the EU telecommunications industry and research community to establish a common strategy and 
the critical tools to develop technology capacities for 6G systems as a basis for future digital services 
towards  2030.  The  SNS  JU  has  already  launched  35  6G  R&I  projects  for  a  total  EU  funding  of  €  250 
million in 2022. Another call of EUR 132 million is taking place in 2023.  

Network sharing: 

The European Electronic Communications Code already provides an effective framework to facilitate 
network sharing, which has fostered the emergence in the EU of new models such as “neutral hosts” 
and independent  infrastructure  players. However, 5G is likely  to bring network  sharing to the next 
level by the introduction of “network slicing” and increasing possibilities to implement multi-tenant 
connectivity solutions based on network virtualisation and edge cloud functionalities. Therefore, EU 
progress in that field could become part of the regular best practice exchanges in the context of the 
Digital Decade process. 

In  terms  of  best  practices,  France  adopted  an  “acceleration  strategy”  for  5G  and  future  networks. 
The  authorities  lowered  the  price  of  5G  licences  for  industrial  application  and  launched  Franco-

62 

 
 
 
German joint calls for projects since 2020,  including in that call, four projects were selected in July 
2022  to  deploy  cases  of  concrete  uses  of  5G  dedicated  to  Industry  4.0.  A  total  of  32  partners  (16 
German,  16  French)  will  be  supported.  France  launched  21  projects  worth  163  million  euros  for 
experimental 5G use cases and 6 major Campus Fablabs are upcoming.  

Industrial 5G has started in France with 30 deployments and 750 experimental facilities as estimated 
by Arcep7. Operators announced major deployments in partnership with large industry players. Small 
enterprises are also active: for example, in Toulouse, Alsatys participated to an Arcep experimental 
project  and  started  a  European  project  of  5G  for  Smart  Communities,  funded  at  75%  by  the  CEF 
programme.  

The  5G  Coalition  is  a  professional  cooperation  forum  established  in  Hungary  with  the  ambition  to 
make the country one of the centres of European 5G developments, at the forefront of the world in 
the  field of  introduction, spread  and  practical  application of 5G.  Among  the main  achievements  of 
the 5G  Coalition (5GC) was the testing of the  first traffic  cases based on 5G at the vehicle industry 
test  track  in  Zalaegerszeg  and  the  achievements  in  the  agricultural  cases  (e.g.,  development  of 
innovative  monitoring,  data  collection,  analysis  and  intervention  control  solutions  that  take 
advantage  of  the  possibilities  of  5G,  which  support  farmers'  decisions  with  the  help  of  AI-based 
analyses).  Preliminary  results  from  the  exploratory  consultation  highlight  that  investments  on  the 
deployment of 5G networks are fundamental to enable the automation of network processes, ensure 
greater  energy  efficiency  and  help  operators  to  identify  network  problems  faster  in  many  sectors 
such as healthcare and transport. 

2.3  Semiconductors 
Semiconductors  are  at  the  centre  of  strong  geostrategic  interests  and  of  the  global  technological 
race.  Currently,  in  terms  of  revenues  across  the  semiconductors  value  chain,  the  US  is  the  market 
leader, followed by South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and the EU, whose revenues are around 10% of the 
market. The Path to the Digital Decade set the target that the EU’s market share should double by 
2030.  

As the digital transition accelerates, worldwide demand for chips will grow rapidly and is expected to 
exceed USD 1 trillion by 2030, essentially doubling its value in this decade. This means that the EU 
will need to quadruple its revenues to reach its targeted market share of 20% in semiconductors by 
2030.  

The  world’s  leading  economies  are  keen  to  secure  their  supply  in  the  most  advanced  chips  as  this 
increasingly  conditions  their  capacity  to  act  (economically,  industrially,  militarily)  and  drives  the 
digital  transformation.  Public  support  measures  to  innovate  and  strengthen  their  production 
capacities are now being rolled out. The US Chips and Science Act allocates USD 52 billion of public 
funding  to  semiconductors  manufacturing  and  R&D  until  2026,  coupled  with  USD  24  billion  of  tax 
credits  for  semiconductor  facilities  offered  by  the  FABS  Act  with  the  possibility  also  for  support  at 
state level; China is on a path to surpass its targeted USD 150 billion investments in the decade 2015-
2025,  Japan  is  offering  public  support  for  semiconductor  projects,  among  which  more  than  USD  8 
billion  for  two  new  fabrication  plants  and  tens of  billion  USD  for  a  new  chip venture167,  and  South 
Korea  will  bolster  its  semiconductor  industry  by  supporting,  through  tax  incentives,  its  domestic 
companies’ private investments in R&D and manufacturing, which are estimated at USD 450  billion 
until 2030.  

167 Rapidus: a new state-backed Japanese consortium to develop and produce cutting-edge two-nanometre 
chips. 

63 

 
 
 
 
The bulk of global demand (close to 70%)168 comes currently from end-use applications in computing 
(including  PCs  and  data  centre  infrastructure)  and  communications  (including  smartphones  and 
network  infrastructure).  In  view  of  their  centrality  to  digital  transition,  Europe’s  share  of  these 
markets  is  quite  small  (telecommunications  4%,  PC  &  data  processing  5%).  Europe  has  a  strong 
position in components for embedded and professional systems, and consequently in the production 
of  electronic  systems.  This  is  reflected  also  in  the  European  demand  for  semiconductors  from 
different  market  segments,  which  is  particularly  high  in  automotive  and  industrial  automation, 
segments previously ruled by analogue and mechanical technology. 

Figure 37 Global market shares in semiconductor industry evolution 

Source: SIA, WSTS, Omdia 

The  EU  has  core  strengths  in  R&D  and  in  manufacturing  equipment  (see  Figure  38),  but  besides 
advanced  manufacturing,  it  would  need  to  address  current  weaknesses  in  chip  design  and  in 
packaging & assembly, that represent a good part of the added value in the supply chain. 

Figure 38 Semiconductor value chain segments with EU market shares 

Source: Data in % within each block represents added value of that segment in the value chain (from AT Kearney, CSET, IC 
insights, WSTS, SEMI) - EU % = EU share of global market in that segment; N% = added value of segment in the value chain. 

Several  factors  explain  why  the  EU  is  lagging  in  the  semiconductor  race.  Investment  has  been 
insufficient  to  keep  up  with  the  sector  growth.  Moreover,  the  production  of  semiconductors  in 

168 Semiconductor Market Size forecast by application (in USD billion, Source: Statista, ASML 2021) 

64 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Europe has focused on certain sectors important in the EU, such as automotive, which do not require 
the  use  of  the  most  advanced  semiconductors.  Consequently,  the  European  semiconductor  sector 
had  limited  incentives  to  evolve  and  keep  up  with  the  technological  advances  of  US,  Korean  and 
Taiwanese  firms.  Against  this  backdrop,  reaching  the  Digital  Decade  target  will  require  major 
investments, not only to increase production and designing capacity but also to boost the knowledge 
needed to produce cutting-edge semiconductors. 

2.3.1  Trends towards 2030  

No trajectory available yet. 

2.3.2  Actions at EU and national level 
On  7  December  2020,  twenty-two  Member  States  already  signed  a  joint  declaration169  expressing 
their  interest  to  work  together  to  bolster  Europe’s  electronics  and  embedded  systems  value  chain 
with  a  strong  focus  on  processors  and  semiconductor  chips.  The  declaration,  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 projects through the development of proposals for Important 
Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI). 

Member States, after the first successful IPCEI on Microelectronics, have launched a second IPCEI on 
Microelectronics  and  Communication  Technologies  which  will  support  a  broad  range  of  activities 
along  the  whole  semiconductors  value  chain:  IP  design,  equipment  for  manufacturing  of  leading-
edge nodes, power electronics, AI, advanced packaging, photonics, and open network architectures 
(ORAN)  boosting  future  5G/6G  Telecom  networks.  The  Member  States  will  provide  up  to  EUR  8.1 
billion  in  public  funding,  which  is  expected  to  unlock  additional  EUR  13.7  billion  in  private 
investments.  As  part  of  this  IPCEI,  56  companies,  including  small  and  medium-sized  enterprises 
(‘SMEs')  and  start-ups,  will  undertake  68  projects.  Under  the  first  IPCEI on  Microelectronics,  direct 
participants have received around EUR 1.9 billion in public funding. This was combined with private 
funding around EUR 6.5 billion. 
Finally,  since  the  EU  Chips  Act  has  been  proposed170,  the  Commission,  the  Council  and  the 
Parliament,  which  have  reached  the  political  agreement  in  April  2023,  have  been  working  to  link 
together  Europe’s  world-class  research  capacities  and  to  coordinate  EU  and  national  investment 
along the value chain. The EU Chips Act aims to build on Europe’s strengths and address outstanding 
weaknesses,  to  develop  a  thriving  semiconductor  ecosystem  and  resilient  supply  chain.  It  is  a  key 
step  for  the  EU’s  technological  sovereignty  and  to  support  Europe’s  achievement  of  the  relevant 
Digital  Decade  target.  Since  its  announcement  in  February  2022,  the  Chips  Act  has  mobilised  over 
100 billion private and public investments. 

As  already  mentioned,  beside  important  strongholds  like  in  research,  materials  and  equipment, 
several challenges are being experienced across Europe and along the semiconductor value chain: 

•  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. 

169 Joint declaration on processors and semiconductor technologies | Shaping Europe’s digital future 
(europa.eu) 
170 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/european-chips-act-communication-regulation-joint-
undertaking-and-recommendation  

65 

 
 
 
 
 
•  Vertical integration with key industry sectors in Europe, including future electric automated 
mobility,  industrial  automation  and  robotics,  and  economic  strongholds  such  as  5G/6G 
communications. 

•  Packaging,  assembly,  and  testing,  as  well  as  chip  fabrication  are  located  mostly  in  Asia. 
Advanced  packaging  technologies  are  increasingly  important  to  address  increasing  power 
and energy-efficiency requirements. 

In line with these challenges, several policy actions, at both EU and national level, like IPCEI projects 
and  the  announcement  of  the  EU  Chips  Act,  have  already  played  an  important  role  in  stimulating 
public and private investment in the EU, notably in innovation and manufacturing.  

The EU Chips Act  aims to help in structuring and aligning Member States’ actions to optimise their 
impact  by  supporting  specific  initiatives  such  as the creation  of  design  platforms  to  explore  virtual 
prototypes based on technology that does not yet exist physically; high level pilot lines to facilitate 
development  of  novel  technologies  by  industry  and  validate  their  designs;  investment  in  first-of-a-
kind facilities which will be beneficial for the resilience of the semiconductor ecosystem in Europe; a 
network of competence centres to coordinate efforts across Members States including the provision 
of training and development of the necessary skills and workforce. 

European  end-user  and  vertical  industries  will  require  customised  hardware  solutions  to  increase 
their  competitiveness.  To benefit  from  a  dynamic  ecosystem,  strategic  collaborations  with  EU  chip 
makers and the adoption of the advanced semiconductors developed in the EU will play a key role. 

In addition, other types of action will also contribute positively, factors are likely to  such as:  

thereby 

increasing 

•  National policies to stimulate domestic chip design capabilities and to attract foreign design 
companies, 
technologies  and 
local  competences 
strengthening  engagement  with  the  European  ecosystem  and  creating  demand  for  EU 
semiconductor manufacturing facilities.  
in  public  tenders  (e.g.,  for  communications  networks  and  data 
-  National  policies 
infrastructures)  can 
leverage  trusted  electronics  adhering  to  European  standards 
(certification  and  common  requirements  for  secure  chips)  and  could  create  markets  for 
European semiconductor products.  

in  advanced 

• 

•  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. 
Lastly,  national  policies  to  increase  the  number  of  workers  in  the  sector  (also  addressing 
inclusion and gender equality), and assure the acquired skills meet the job profiles required 
by  industry;  as  well  as  to  support  joint  initiatives  across  Member  States  and  like-minded 
partners to stimulate students and workers mobility. 

• 

There  is  no  digital  future  without  chips.  Only  by  stepping  up  efforts  in  boosting  the  whole 
semiconductor value chain, the EU will continue to be able to master the rapid evolution of digital 
technologies and to ensure its digital sovereignty and achieve the Digital Decade targets. 

2.4  Edge nodes 
The European Data Strategy171 highlighted the need for a change of paradigm in data processing, and 
it  identified  edge  computing  as  the  essential  technology  to  cope  with  the  requirement  for  highly 
distributed  and  decentralised  data  processing.  Edge computing  is  the core  technology to  optimally 
handle  and  extract  value  from  the  ongoing  exponential  data  deluge  triggered  by  the  widespread 

171 COM/2020/66 final 

66 

 
 
 
 
deployment  of  connected  objects  such  as  connected  cars,  home  appliances  and  manufacturing 
robots.  The  European  Data  Strategy  also  recognises  that  edge  computing  represents  a  significant 
opportunity  for  European  leadership,  which  would  unlock  economic  and  sustainability  advantages, 
while enabling enhanced data control for data producers. 

To  access  cutting-edge  data  processing  technologies,  European  industry  is  increasingly  considering 
the  deployment  of  edge  computing  nodes.  Edge  nodes  are  defined  as  the  of  compute  nodes 
providing  latencies  below  20  milliseconds,  such  as  an  individual  server  or  other  set  of  connected 
computing resources, operated as part of an edge computing infrastructure, typically residing within 
an  edge  data  centre  operating  at  the  infrastructure  edge,  and  therefore  physically  closer  to  its 
intended users than a cloud node in a centralised data centre.172 

Total European edge computing spending across all market segments is expected to rise from EUR 34 
billion in 2021 to EUR 68 billion in 2026, representing a five-year compound annual growth rate of 
14.6%173. Nevertheless, data shows that edge deployment is in its infancy and happens primarily as 
part  of  pilots,  which  are  geographically  distributed  unevenly  across  the  EU  with  Italy,  France,  and 
Germany presenting the highest levels of maturity. Logistics/retail, infrastructure (e.g., airport), and 
manufacturing are among the leading sectors, in which more than one in five adopters have moved 
past the pilot stage.174 The European telecoms market also features many early adopters with three 
commercially available edge market offerings as reported by ETNO.175 In this context, it worth noting 
that  there  is  symbiotic  relationship  between  5G  roll-out  and  edge  computing.  The  large-scale 
deployment  of  5G  is  the  right  moment  to  leverage  synergies  with  edge  deployment  so  that  the 
resulting network infrastructure combines network and edge computing technologies. 

Future  commercial  investments  in  edge  deployment  are  expected  to  focus  on  areas  with  high 
commercial  and  industrial  density.  This  could  result  in  unequal  opportunities  for  users  and 
businesses outside of these areas and strengthen the urban-rural digital divide. 
The  IDATE  Edge  computing  report176  identifies  the  following  market  actors  as  able  to  deploy  edge 
nodes  solutions:  device  providers,  chipset  makers,  network  equipment  providers,  IT  hardware 
providers, infrastructure companies, cloud providers, telcos and industrial solution providers. All of 
these  actors  supply  different  types  of  edge  nodes  and  infrastructures  that  range  from  devices  on-
board processing, specific processors, gateways, standalone edge servers, edge micro-modular data 
centres to fully fledged data centres at the edge. The second-largest edge computing market, driven 
by spending on light-edge deployments, is the provision of hardware appliances for edge nodes by 
these providers. Cases of light-edge deployments, representing on-device and on-premises edge, are 
expected to  be  supplemented with  heavy-edge  computing  platforms  for  near  and  far  edge  as  new 
generations of edge-specific hardware reach the market.177 

Edge  computing  security  and  sustainability  are  crucial  aspects  for  the  future  progress  of  the 
technology and there is significant research and innovation carried out in these areas.  

172 SWD(2023) 570 ‘Implementation of the Digital Decade objectives and the Digital Rights and Principles’ 
173 UNLOCK-CEI, Cloud-Edge-IoT Demand Landscape (April 2023), 
https://zenodo.org/record/7821330#.ZD0wTnZByUk  
174 Ibid. 
175 ETNO, The State of Digital Communications 2023 (February 2023), https://etno.eu/library/reports/112-the-
state-of-digital-communications-2023.html  
176 IDATE, https://en.idate.org/product/edge-computing/  
177 UNLOCK-CEI, Cloud-Edge-IoT Demand Landscape (April 2023), 
https://zenodo.org/record/7821330#.ZD0wTnZByUk  

67 

 
 
 
 
2.4.1  Trends towards 2030  

The baseline for 2022 is accounted as 0. The methodology to quantify the deployment of edge nodes 
and  their  location  is  still  being  developed.  Available  information  in  Business  analysis's  reports  is 
limited  and  focuses  only  on  anticipated  spending  on  edge  computing  infrastructure,  software,  and 
services178. These does not allow for direct assimilation to existing Edge nodes deployment in Edge 
computing facilities. According to the European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association 
there are three commercial edge computing services across Europe179 but it does not provide enough 
information for determining the edge deployment's location or size. 

The limited number of available data sources all concur that edge computing continues to be in its 
infancy in Europe in 2023, with the majority of interested organisations still in the awareness-raising 
and  educational  stages,  along  with  some  organisations  implementing  small-scale  pilot  projects.180 
This drives the anticipated relatively small uptake of edge nodes deployment in the years to come, 
between 2023 and 2026 (Figure 39). During the 2025-2027 period, the investments facilitated by the 
IPCEI-CIS  (Important  Project  of  Common  European  Interest  on  IPCEI  on  Next  Generation  Cloud 
Infrastructure  and  Services)  are  expected  to  make  commercially  available  to  the  market  edge 
computing  technologies  and  solutions  which  will  boost  the  adoption  across  Europe,  enabling  the 
exponential expansion of edge nodes deployment to meet the target by 2030181. 

Figure 39 Number of deployed edge nodes (EU projection to 2030)182 

178 UNLOCK-CEI, Cloud-Edge-IoT Demand Landscape (April 2023), 
https://zenodo.org/record/7821330#.ZD0wTnZByUk 
179 ETNO, The State of Digital Communications 2023 (February 2023), https://etno.eu/library/reports/112-the-
state-of-digital-communications-2023.html  
180UNLOCK-CEI, Cloud-Edge-IoT Demand Landscape (April 2023), 
https://zenodo.org/record/7821330#.ZD0wTnZByUk  
181 Subject to completion of the notification process and the assessment of the IPCEI’s compliance with state 
aid rules. Pre-notification by 12 Member States took place in April 2022.  
182 Digital Decade and baseline trajectories are presented in the “Communication from the Commission 
establishing Union-level projected trajectories for the digital targets” C(2023) 7500. 

68 

 
 
 
 
 
 
2.4.2  Actions at EU and national level 

Important  Project  of  Common  European  Interest  on  Next  Generation  Cloud  Infrastructure  and 
Services (IPCEI-CIS)  

As highlighted by the reports  from the  participating Member States (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, 
Latvia, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Belgium, Luxembourg, the  Netherlands, and the Czech Republic), 
the  Important  Project  of  Common  European  Interest  on  Next  Generation  Cloud  Infrastructure  and 
Services  (IPCEI-CIS)  is  expected  to  act  as  a  key  enabler  for  the  development  of  cloud  and  edge 
technologies in Europe.183  

The  initiative  aims  to  make  a  significant  contribution  by  supporting  cutting-edge  R&D&I  on  the 
critical  rebalancing  between  highly  distributed  data  processing  at  the  edge,  closer  to  users,  and 
centralised data infrastructures. This is a brand-new field for digital deployment, in which European 
businesses have the opportunity to lead vis-à-vis their global competitors. Germany and France -as 
coordinators – jointly pre-notified the project in April 2022. 

SIMPL, cloud-to-edge federations and data spaces made simple  

By means of the Simpl project, the Digital Europe Programme is procuring a large-scale open-source 
cloud-to-edge  middleware  platform.  Simpl  will  enable  cloud  and  edge  federation  as  well  as  the 
integration of data infrastructures  and services. By offering interoperability mechanisms, Simpl will 
provide generic common services for the establishment, management, and federation of  cloud and 
data  spaces.  While  Simpl’s  primary  focus  lies  on  software,  cloud  and  edge  deployment  associated 
with Simpl is expected to be funded via a set of large-scale pilots for cloud-to-edge-based services. 
These  pilots  aim  for  the  deployment  at  scale  of  innovative,  sustainable,  secure  and  cross  border 
cloud-to-edge  based  services  applied  in  a  set  of  well-chosen  application  sectors,  all  together 
developing a portfolio of use cases in the public sector or of general public interest. 

Digital Europe, European Reference Deployments of cloud-to-edge infrastructures and services 

Support  for  European  Reference  deployments  of  cloud-edge  services  is  one  of  the  topics  of  the 
Digital  Europe  programme  in  2024  for  Cloud-to-edge  Infrastructure  and  services.  It  intends  to 
provide  financial  support  for  one  or  more  pilots  that  demonstrate  seamless  integration  and 
interoperability among industrial IoT Edge and Telco Edge in key applications and sectors.  

Connecting Europe Facility Digital – 5G Corridors and 5G for smart communities 

With  a  proposed  budget  of  about  EUR  1  billion  for  the  years  2022–2027,  the  Connecting  Europe 
Facility (CEF) Digital initiative will financially support the extensive deployment of 5G corridors across 
Europe. This work programme will support the deployment of 5G systems, including, if appropriate, 
integrated  edge  computing  facilities,  along  major  transport  paths  as  well  as  in  local  communities.  
Tests have been conducted by the project not only within each Member State, but particularly across 
the  borders  from  Italy  to Austria  and  Austria  to  Germany.  Edge  computing  platforms  played  a  key 
role in coordinating 5G service continuity for these cross-border usage scenarios. 

2.5  Quantum computing  
In  2016,  European  quantum  stakeholders  published  the  Quantum  Manifesto,  which  called  on 
researchers  from  academia  and  industry  to  draw  up  a  strategy  for  Europe  to  maintain  a  leading 
global  position  in  quantum  technologies  and  led  in  2018  to the  launch of  the  EU-funded  Quantum 
Technologies Flagship (known as the Quantum Flagship). The objective of this 10-year, EUR 1 billion, 
collaborative  research and innovation initiative  is to consolidate European scientific leadership and 

183 Subject to completion of the notification process and the assessment of the IPCEI’s compliance with state 
aid rules. Pre-notification by 12 Member States took place in April 2022. 

69 

 
 
 
 
research  excellence  in  quantum  technologies,  and  to  transform  the  fruits  of  this  excellence  into 
products and applications that will have a major economic and societal impact. 

In the first three years of its life, the Flagship recorded a number of notable achievements, including 
the  construction  of  a  quantum  computing  system  of  globally  competitive  performance  based  on 
superconducting  circuits,  as  well  as  very  promising  work  on  other  quantum  computing  platforms 
such as trapped ions and silicon qubits.184 The resulting European experimental quantum computing 
platforms are becoming ready for concept validation and trial applications, and as part of the process 
the  European  High  Performance  Computing  Joint  Undertaking  (EuroHPC  JU)185 
is  currently 
completing the installation in two supercomputing centres of quantum simulators that should soon 
be accessible to users.  

In  2022, the  Joint  Undertaking  also  announced  the  selection of  six sites  across  the  EU  to  host  and 
operate the first EuroHPC quantum computers, in Czechia, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, and Poland, 
which will be integrated into high-performance supercomputers: this will ensure that the EU’s Digital 
Decade target of having its first computer with quantum acceleration by 2025 is met.  

The  Commission  Communication  2030  Digital  Compass:  the  European  way  for  the  Digital  Decade, 
sets the EU not just the target of having its first computer with quantum acceleration by 2025, but 
also  the  wider  goal  of  being  at  the  cutting  edge  of  quantum  capabilities  by  2030.  While  the  first 
objective is in sight, in the current highly competitive global context further action will be needed for 
the EU to attain the second. 

2.5.1  Trends towards 2030  

The starting value for 2022 for this KPI is 0. It is expected that at least one quantum computer will be 
deployed by 2024, followed by a second in 2027 and reaching at least 3 by 2030.  

Given  the  specificity  of  this  target,  the  EU  achievements  in  this  area  depend  on  the  successful 
implementation of joint, multi-country commitments and is monitored at the EU level only.  

184 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/eus-quantum-technologies-flagship 
185 https://eurohpc-ju.europa.eu/index_en 

70 

 
 
 
 
Figure 40: Number of quantum computers in the EU. Trajectory towards 2030186 

Note: The quantum computing trajectory is based solely on experts’ assessment 

2.5.2  Actions at EU and national level 

As already described, the pioneering work on quantum computing platforms – as well as much else – 
of  the Quantum  Technologies  Flagship  has  laid  the groundwork  for the  EU  to  achieve  its  quantum 
target  for  2025,  as  the  European  High  Performance  Computing  Joint  Undertaking  is  preparing  to 
install  Europe’s  first  supercomputers  with  quantum  acceleration.  The  newly  launched  framework 
partnership  agreements187  should  also  provide,  towards  the  end  of  the  current  decade,  prototype 
quantum  computers  with  capacities  in  excess  of  1 000  qubits  and  based  on  various  technology 
platforms (trapped ions, superconducting qubits, and semiconducting qubits). 

In addition, to develop the whole quantum computer and simulator stack, and more specifically on 
quantum  software,  Centres  of  Excellence  for  Science  and  Industry  focusing  on  both  academic  and 
industrial use cases for quantum computers and simulators will be established. These centres will be 
a  reference  on  academic  and  industrial  quantum  applications,  providing  services,  support  and 
libraries to organisations in Europe in a similar way to the current HPC Centres of Excellence. These 
actions,  in  cooperation  with  the  quantum  computers  and  simulators  operated  by  EuroHPC,  will 
exploit  the  results  of  the  quantum  software  and  applications  projects  funded  by  the  2021-2022 
Horizon Europe work programme.  

Moreover,  the  European  Commission,  together  with  all  Member  States  and  the  European  Space 
Agency, is developing and deploying a European quantum communication infrastructure (EuroQCI), 
which  will  use  quantum-based  cryptography  to  secure  the  EU’s  public  communication  assets,  in 
particular  its  critical  infrastructure  and  encryption  systems,  against  cyber  threats.  As  of  2023, 
EuroQCI  is  part  of  IRIS²,  the  new  Union  Secure  Connectivity  Programme.188  The  EuroQCI  will 
significantly  boost  Europe’s  capacities  in  quantum  communication,  fostering  the  development  of  a 
European ecosystem in this domain. 

186 Digital Decade and baseline trajectories are presented in the “Communication from the Commission 
establishing Union-level projected trajectories for the digital targets” C(2023) 7500. 
187 See https://opensuperqplus.eu/ and https://www.millenion.eu/  
188 Regulation (EU) 2023/588 

71 

 
 
 
 
 
Alongside  these  EU-level  activities,  many  Member  States  are  also  recognising  the  strategic  and 
economic  importance  of  quantum  technologies.  Some  have  already  established  large  national 
quantum  programmes,  including  Austria,  Denmark,  Germany,  France,  the  Netherlands,  Spain,  and 
others.  These  programmes  have  complementary  objectives,  including  activities  such  as  knowledge 
transfer from research labs to industry, and will make a significant contribution to the emergence of 
a  European  quantum  industry,  including  design  and  production  capabilities  for  quantum  chips.  In 
addition, a number of Member  States are also using their national Recovery and Resilience  Facility 
plans to invest in quantum, where  the overall value of planned investments between now and the 
end of 2026 is estimated to be of at least EUR 1 billion. 

72 

 
 
3  Digitalisation of Businesses 

3.1  Overall  context:  why is  digitalisation  of  businesses  important  and  where  is 

Europe in this regard in 2023 at the outset of the Digital Decade 

Digitalisation  of  businesses  is  one  of  the  most  crucial  elements  currently  for  the  success  and 
growth  of  the  economy.  Digitalisation  is  key  in  changing  the  business  model  of  enterprises,  to 
achieve greater efficiency in production processes, to explore new opportunities and generate new 
revenue  streams.  In  terms  of  competitiveness  digitalisation  can  contribute  to  growth,  create  new 
services, products and increase productivity. This is particularly important for SMEs at a time when 
they are struggling with inflation, energy costs and other challenges. Therefore, digitalisation is also a 
critical  element  in  improving  economic  resilience.  Additionally,  a  digitally  skilled  population  (see 
more  details  on  digital  skills  in  the  Digital  cardinal  points  report  on  Digital  Skills)  increases  the 
development and adoption of digital technologies and leads to productivity gains.189 As highlighted in 
the  EIB  investment  survey  “Digitalisation  in  Europe  2022-2023”190,  the  COVID-19  pandemic  has 
accelerated the digital transformation of European enterprises, and therefore the European Union is 
closing the digitalisation gap with the United States. 53% of firms in the European Union invested in 
digitalisation  in  response  to  the  pandemic.  Nevertheless,  the  share  of  such  firms  is  higher  in  the 
United States than in the European Union. Both external and internal factors are important enablers 
of  digitalisation,  among  them  adequate  digital  infrastructure,  competition-friendly  regulation,  but 
also training employees and developing an innovation-enhancing environment.  

To strengthen digitalisation in Europe, the Digital Decade policy programme, has set ambitious EU 
level  targets  to  be  achieved  by  2030  for  business  digitalisation  i.e.  to  achieve  that  90%  of  SMEs 
reach  a  basic  level  of  digital  intensity,  75%  uptake  of  AI,  big  data  or  cloud  by  businesses  and 
doubling the number of EU Unicorns.  

Significant EU funds have been mobilised to support the achievement of these targets. In particular, 
the  new  Digital  Europe  programme  (DIGITAL),  the  first  EU  programme  specifically  dedicated  to 
supporting  the  roll  out  of  digital  technologies  across  the  economy,  foresees  EUR  7.5  billion  for 
projects in 5 key capacity areas: HPC, AI, cybersecurity, advanced digital skills and Digital Innovation 
Hubs.  Digitalisation  is  also  being  supported  through  a  number  of  other  programmes  including  the 
Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), ERDF and Horizon Europe. Indeed, 26%, i.e. EUR 130 billion of 
RRF  funds  are  targeted  towards  digital.  19%,  i.e.  EUR  24  billion  of  the  RRF  funds  allocated  to  the 
digital  transformation  is  dedicated  to  the  digitalisation of  businesses.  Furthermore,  out  of  the  EUR 
117  billion  in  EU  funds  expected  to  contribute  to  the  Digital  Decade  targets,  EUR  5  billion  is 
considered relevant for cloud services, EUR 3.9 billion for big data, EUR 4.4 for AI, EUR 11.6 billion to 
unicorns  and  EUR  11.6  billion  for  SMEs  with  at  least  basic  digital  intensity191.  As  part  of  its  digital 
strategy  the  European  Commission  attaches  great  importance  to  the  digitalisation  of  industry  and 
industrial  ecosystems.  There  are  several  initiatives  in  this  context.  They  include  the  KDT  Joint 

189  See  for  example  OECD  (2019):  OECD  Economic  Outlook,  Digitalisation  and  productivity:  A  story  of 
complementarities, OECD Economic Outlook, Volume 2019 Issue 1 | OECD iLibrary (oecd-ilibrary.org). 
190 Digitalisation in Europe 2022-2023: Evidence from the EIB Investment Survey 
191  Each  Recovery  and  Resilience  Plan  has  to  dedicate  at  least  20%  of  the  plan’s  total  allocation  to  digital 
objectives.  To  this  end,  the  plans  had  to  specify  and  justify  to  what  extent  each  measure  contributes  fully 
(100%),  partly  (40%)  or  has  no  impact  (0%)  on  digital  objectives,  using  Annex  VII  of  the  RRF  Regulation. 
Combining the coefficients with the cost estimates of each measure allows assessing to what degree the plan 
contributes  to  digital  objectives  and  whether  it  meets  the  20%  target.  Furthermore,  a  further  qualitative 
assessment of the data took place to allow for an estimation of the possible contribution of RRF measures to 
the Digital Decade targets. 

73 

 
 
 
technology  Initiative  and  the  Made  in  Europe  public  private  partnership,  as  well  as  several  multi-
country  projects,  such  as  network  of  European  Digital  Innovation  Hubs  (EDIHs)  under  the  Digital 
Europe Programme and the Important Project of Common European Interest Next Generation Cloud 
Infrastructure and Services (IPCEI-CIS). 

AI research and innovation for the digitalisation of businesses. 

Supporting  the  development  and  adoption  of  trustworthy  AI  solutions  plays  a  key  role  in  the 
promotion  of  a  values-driven  approach  to  Europe’s  digital  economy.  Thus,  in  parallel  to  the  EU’s 
proposed  Regulation  on  Artificial  Intelligence,  the  Commission  has  proposed  to  make  the  EU  the 
place where AI excellence thrives from the lab to the market, joining efforts at EU level to ensure its 
sovereignty  in  AI.  Together  with  Member  States,  the  Commission  is  co-funding  the  AI  Testing  and 
Experimentation  Facilities  in  several  sectors/  domains  to  strengthen  capacities  to  test  and  validate 
this technology, improve its uptake and contribute to more trustworthy AI made in Europe.  

Nevertheless,  only 8%  (value  refers  to 2021,  the  latest  available year with  comparable  data  across 
the EU), so not even one in ten enterprises in the European Union have adopted an AI technology. 
The uptake rate varies widely across Member States from 1% to 24%. The difference between SMEs 
and large enterprises is also striking: there are four times more large enterprises (28.5%) than SMEs 
(7.3%)  that  adopt  AI  technologies.  Additionally,  double  as  much  medium  sized  enterprises  (12.8%) 
have taken up AI than small ones (6.4%).192 

The full engagement of Member States in promoting and contributing to these European initiatives is 
key  to  sustaining  Europe’s  digital  economy  and  to  the  success  of  Europe  on  the  global  scenario. 
Leveraging  the  Commission’s  work  on  data  and  chips,  the  European  approach  to  AI  has  the  twin 
objective of creating ecosystems of excellence and trust, to promote the development and uptake of 
AI while addressing the risks associated with certain of its uses. To make the EU the place where AI 
excellence  thrives  from  the  lab  to  the  market,  the  European  Commission  takes  a  full  lifecycle 
approach  to  AI.  It  focuses  not  only  on  basic  and  applied  AI  research,  but  also  on  boosting 
deployment.  

The 2021 Coordinated Plan on Artificial Intelligence Review builds on the collaboration established 
between  the  Commission  encouraging  all  Member  States  to  develop  their  national  AI  strategies 
and Member States and is the next step in creating EU global leadership in trustworthy AI. 

The Coordinated Plan describes, how all Member States have made substantial efforts in developing 
national AI strategies or including AI dimensions in existing strategies and programmes. 

It sets out the strategy to:  

•  accelerate investments in AI technologies to drive resilient economic and social recovery 

aided by the uptake of new digital solutions; 

•  act  on AI  strategies and programmes  by fully and timely implementing them to ensure 

that the EU fully benefits from first-mover adopter advantages; 

•  align AI policy to remove fragmentation and address global challenges. 

It does so by:  

• 

setting enabling conditions for AI development and uptake in the EU; 

•  making the EU the place where excellence thrives from the lab to market; 

•  ensuring that AI works for people and is a force for good in society; 

•  building strategic leadership in high-impact sectors. 

192 Source: Eurostat, data from 2021. 

74 

 
 
 
 
The Coordinated Plan goes hand in hand with the Proposal for a Regulation on Artificial Intelligence. 
Member  States  are  setting  up  a  wide  range  of  policy  measures  to  foster  the  development  of  AI 
technologies from the lab to the market, including participation in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), 
setting  up  research  excellence  centres  and  experimentation  and  testing  facilities.  All  national  AI 
strategies  set  out  policy  actions  to  support  start-ups  and  the  scaling-up  of  firms  and  innovation 
ecosystems. 

Cloud 

Cloud  computing  is  a  key  enabler  for  emerging  technologies  like  AI,  big  data  and  digital  ledger 
technologies  and  for  many  industrial  and  entertainment  applications.  In  many  sectors  of  the  EU 
economy,  cloud  computing  already  supports  daily  business  operations  and  the  provision  of 
innovative goods and services which ultimately fosters their industrial competitiveness.  

Yet  on  average  one  in  two  companies  still  does  not  use  cloud  computing  services  across  the 
European Union. The enterprise cloud uptake is at 41% (value refers to 2021, the latest available year 
with  comparable  data  across  the  EU).  When  it  comes  to  the  enterprise’s  use  of  medium  and 
sophisticated cloud services, measured under the Digital Decade, the situation is similar. On average, 
only one in three enterprises (34%) uses them across the EU.   

There are also significant discrepancies in cloud uptake between enterprises of different sizes (large 
(72%);  medium  (53%)  and  small  (38%)  enterprises),  across  Member  States  (up  to  62  percentage 
points), and between the different types of cloud services used (79% for email services and only 21% 
for platforms for application development, testing or deployment).193 

Regarding market shares, although the absolute value of the European cloud market increased, the 
market  share  of  European  cloud  providers  decreased  over  the  last  years,  given  the  quality  and 
breadth  of  services  provided  but  also  the  fragmentation  of  the  offers.  In  2020,  the  value  of  the 
European  cloud  market  was  estimated  to  be  worth  EUR  5.9  billion,  three  times  the  value  of  the 
market in 2017.194 Even in this context of significant growth, European cloud providers’ market share 
has  decreased  from  26%  in  2017  to  16%  in  2020.  The  three  global  cloud  providers  Amazon  Web 
Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud (often referred to as cloud “hyperscalers”) accounted for 
the 66% of the European cloud market in 2020. The European industrial technology roadmap for the 
next  generation  cloud-edge  prepared  by  a  group  of  CEOs  of  European  companies  explains  that 
“While  taken  as  a  whole,  European  cloud  offerings  cover  a  wide  spectrum  of  services,  in  practice, 
customers must work with many providers to achieve the quality and breadth of services provided by 
leading  global  cloud  providers.  End-users  seek  simplicity  and  efficiency  and  have  become 
accustomed  to  ‘one-stop-shop’  offers  that  provide  access  to  a  suite  of  best-in-class  cloud 
functionalities and tools they require and on a global scale”.195 

193 Source: Eurostat, data from 2021. 
194  European  Cloud  Providers  Struggle  to  Reverse  Market  Share  Losses  |  Synergy  Research  Group 
(srgresearch.com) 
195 European industrial technology roadmap for the next generation cloud-edge offering, 2021 
(EU  strategic  dependencies  and  capacities:  second  stage  of  in-depth  reviews  –  Commission  Staff  Working 
Document, 22.2.2022, page 60, DocsRoom - European Commission (europa.eu) 

75 

 
 
 
 
Figure 441 Cloud Infrastructure Services Market196 

Figure 442 European Cloud provider Share of Local Market197 

196  Q1  Cloud  Spending  Grows  by  Over  $10  Billion  from  2022;  the  Big  Three  Account  for  65%  of  the  Total  | 
Synergy Research Group (srgresearch.com) 
197  European  Cloud  Providers  Continue  to  Grow  but  Still  Lose  Market  Share  |  Synergy  Research  Group 
(srgresearch.com) 

76 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
To fully reap the economic benefits of the data economy, cloud has the potential to act as a game 
changer.  This  is  why  at  least  twice  more  European  enterprises  should  start  using  advanced  cloud 
computing until 2030 in line with the Digital Decade target. This is of particular importance among 
SMEs,  which  constitutes  the  backbone  of  our  European  economy.  Advanced  cloud  services  will 
ultimately  enable  our  businesses  to  build  a  truly  sustainable  and  competitive  advantage  in  this 
technology by the end of the decade.  

This  will  however  also  require  significant  and  joint  efforts  from  European  governments  and 
businesses, investments and digital skills taking into account gender balance to successfully double 
the enterprise cloud uptake for medium and sophisticated cloud services by 2030. 

Big data 

Continuing supply chain constraints, IT skills shortages and severe energy shortages are expected to 
have an impact on the growth path of the EU data economy in the short and medium term.  

In  2022,  the  EU  data  economy  reached  the  threshold  of  EUR  500  billion,  with  an  annual  growth 
rate  of  8.7%  in  2021.  Despite  the  economic  turmoil,  enterprises  are  increasingly  recognising  that 
business  transformation  and  business  performance  is  dependent  on  improved  use  of  data.  The 
estimated share of the data economy impacts on GDP in the EU27 increased from 3.7% in 2021 to 
3.9% in 2022. According to the most recent estimates198, the data economy for the EU27 is expected 
to remain slightly below the EUR 1 trillion threshold in 2023, with a 5.5% compound annual growth 
rate  (CAGR)  in  2025–2030.  In  fact,  the  share  of  the  EU27  data  economy  as  a  part  of  GDP  will 
increase from 4.8% in 2025 to 5.7% in 2030. 

There  were  190 796  data  supplier  companies  in  the  EU27  in  2021  and  this  figure  increased  to 
216 209  in  2022  representing  a  year-on-year  growth  rate  of  13.3  %.  Data  supplier  companies  are 
expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.5 % in the period 2025-2030 period 
increasing to a total of 312 961 units in 2030. 

As a consequence of the positive trends in the EU data economy at large, the number of data user 
companies  in  the  EU27  increased  to  more  than  579 000  companies  by  2022  with  a  year-on-year 
growth rate of 3.3%. By 2030, data user companies will account for more than 905 000 companies in 
the  EU27,  growing  at  an  annual  rate  of  6.9%  between  2025  and  2030.  Small  and  medium-sized 
companies  account  for  98%  of  all  data  user  companies  in  the  European  Union.  While  larger 
companies show slightly higher growth between 2025 and 2030, 98% of the growth in the number of 
data  user  companies  comes  from  the  small  and  medium-sized  sector:  companies  with  fewer  than 
250 employees. 199 

Take-up  of  big  data  analysis is  at  14%  among  enterprises in  the  European  Union  (value  refers  to 
2020, the latest available year with comparable data across the EU). Adoption rate ranges on a large 
scale between 5% and 31% among Member States. There are also significant differences in take-up 
of big data analysis by size class of enterprises. While 34% of large enterprise have taken up big data 
analysis, only 21% medium and 13% small sized enterprises carry out big data analysis.200  

SMEs 

Digitalisation  of  businesses  and  the  economy  is  crucial  to  successfully  meeting  the  present 
challenges; and for overall economic growth. Digitalisation will increase businesses’ competitiveness 

198 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/results-new-european-data-market-study-2021-2023 
199 Results of the new European Data Market study 2021-2023 | Shaping Europe’s digital future (europa.eu) 
200 Source: Eurostat, data from 2020.  

77 

 
 
 
 
 
as it increases productivity, contributes to the creation of new products and services, consequently 
to the growth of the economy and resilience.  

Yet  digitalisation in Europe  is sub-optimal.  There were  an estimated 1.35 million small firms in the 
European  Union  in  2022  with  between  10  and  49  employees  and  approximately  206,592  were 
medium-sized  firms  that  had  50  to  249  employers.201  Businesses,  especially  SMEs’,  rates  of 
digitalisation  remain  below  the  levels  needed  to  enable  the  full  potential  of  digitalisation  for  the 
economy more widely. While languishing at an average rate of around 56% over the last few years, in 
2022 the percentage of SMEs recording at least a basic level of digital intensity jumped to 69% at EU 
level. This is a positive development which could mark the beginning of an upward change in trend. 
Indeed, it could be the first sign that the intensified policy efforts at national and EU level that have 
been made to support the digitalisation of businesses over the past few years are starting to pay off. 
However,  it  is  important  to  note  in  this  context  that  the  digital  intensity  indicator  fluctuates  from 
year  to  year  as  components  of  the  indicator  (the  questions  asked  to  businesses)  alternate  on  a 
biennial  basis.  Furthermore,  we  are  still  far  from  reaching  the  desired  target  of  achieving  90%  of 
SMEs with a basic level of Digital Intensity by 2030; only a handful of countries currently have rates 
near this level, and several are making insufficient progress. Further observations will be needed to 
confirm  the  change  in  trend,  and  it  will  be  necessary  to  ensure  that  recent  policy  efforts  are 
continued going forward so that business digitalisation continues to expand. 

Unicorns 

In  the  last  two  decades  unicorns  (start-ups  that  have  passed  the  threshold  of  a  $1  billion  market 
valuation)  have  been  a  key  source  of  innovation,  new  products  and  services,  employment  and 
economic growth. The EU however has lagged other key regions  – especially the US and China - in 
the numbers of unicorns that have been generated from its ‘pipeline’ of start-ups. This is reflected in 
the  list  of 10  top  companies  in  the  world, ranked  by  market  capitalisation:  none  in the top  10  has 
emerged from the EU.  

Encouragingly  there  has  been  a  growth  in  the  number  of  EU27  unicorns  over  the  last  20  years, 
especially in the last decade. The set target – a doubling of the number of EU unicorns from a 2022 
baseline of 249 - would represent a major increase. It would be a powerful and reassuring indicator 
that the EU delivers a better growth ecosystem for innovative start-ups, who can go on to deliver a 
new  generation  of  European  corporations  that  compete  globally  in  key  markets  and  business 
verticals. 

There  are,  however,  considerable  challenges.  Recent  macro-economic  trends,  especially  since  Q1 
2022, present a risk that growth levels of recent ‘EU27 unicorn creation’ may not be sustained. This 
new  reality  was  already  evident  in  the  last  2  quarters  of  2022  that  saw  investments  in  start-ups 
decrease and most leading tech companies (large caps and unicorns) laid off a significant percentage 
of their workforce. High inflation, rising interest rates, and profound geopolitical crises, such as the 
war in Ukraine are possible contributors to the recent decline in the unicorn ‘birth rate’.  

Given the above it would be prudent to assume that the high growth of unicorn numbers observed in 
the EU in recent years may not be replicable in the medium term.  The scale of the jump seen in 2022 
(a total of 249 unicorns in the EU27 in 2022, an increase of 38 compared to the 2021 total) is unlikely 
to be repeated in the near or medium term.  

Nevertheless, there are reassuring developments underway and achievement of the goal of doubling 
the number of EU27 unicorns by 2030 remains achievable. 

201 SMEs in the EU 2022, by size | Statista 

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Consensus  has  emerged  in  recent  years  among  key  stakeholders  in  the  EU  -  founders,  investors, 
incubators - on the need for a stable, predictable, and supportive regulatory environment that allows 
companies to start up, scale, innovate, and compete across – and beyond - Europe. Moreover, since 
2021 a total of 26 EU Member States have agreed on best policy practices that can deliver growth 
friendly environment for start-ups. They also committed to facilitate the exchange of best practices 
across Member States.  

The  initiative  that  catalysed  this  pan-European  commitment  was  the  EU  Startup  Nations  Standard 
(EU  SNS)  launched  by  the  European  Commission  and  the  Portuguese  Presidency  of  the  European 
Council  in  March  2021.  The  EU  SNS  mobilises  Member  States  to  take  action  under  their  national 
competencies  to  improve  the  framework  conditions for  start-ups  in  their  country  in  8  policy  areas 
(such as access to finance, treatment of stock options, procurement from start-ups of innovations by 
public  authorities,  and  access  to  talent).  This  political  aspiration  is  now  being  operationalised  with 
the  establishment,  by  the  participating  countries,  of  the  Europe  Startup  Nations  Alliance  (ESNA). 
ESNA is a first-of-a-kind entity that has as its mission to identify and share with its member countries 
best policy practices that benefit start-ups. ESNA also has as its mission to support member countries 
in implementing such policies while also measuring progress.  

There are also initiatives from member states to use the public funding to crowd in private capital for 
late-stage  investments  in high  potential  EU  start-ups  (such  as  European  Tech Champions  Initiative, 
which is being implemented in cooperation with the EIB). Initiatives of this nature are key to ensure 
EU  start-ups  have  access  to  the  capital  necessary  to  scale  up  towards  –  and  beyond  -  the  unicorn 
milestone of a $1 billion valuation. 

Flanking such possibilities at the national level are EU legislative initiatives. A notable example is the 
Digital Markets Act that which will open up new, unprecedented opportunities in the data economy 
for nimble start-ups. These new opportunities will start in March 2024, when obligations kick in for 
large  platforms  (“Gatekeepers”)  to  allow  users  in  the  EU  to  easily  port  their  data  to  competing 
platforms.  

The  cumulative  effect  of  these  policy  efforts  –  when  coupled  with  the  ambitious  and  innovative 
nature of EU start-ups - can play a positive and measurable contribution to the growth of start-ups in 
the EU and the number who go on to become a unicorn. 

3.2  Overall outlook based on DESI digitalisation of businesses indicators 
The  Digitalisation  of  businesses  indicators  that  are  part  of  DESI  2023202  are  grouped  into  three 
classes:  ,  3a.  the  first  one  measures  the  digital  intensity  level  of  SMEs,  3b.  the  second  the 
digitalisation of businesses and 3c. the third e-commerce. The indicators which make up the targets 
of the Digital Decade are: SMEs with at least a basic level of digital intensity, and the percentages of 
enterprises using big data, cloud and artificial intelligence.  

202 See Annex VI Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2023 Methodological Note for more information.  

79 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 7 DESI 2023 digitalisation of businesses indicators grouped into three classes: 3a digital intensity of SMEs; 
digitalisation of businesses; and e-commerce 

DESI 2023 

2030 target 

3a1 SMEs with at least a basic level of digital intensity 

% SMEs 

3b1 Electronic information sharing 

% enterprises 

3b2 Social media 

% enterprises 

3b3 Big data 

% enterprises 

3b4 Cloud 

% enterprises 

3b5 AI 

% enterprises 

3b6 e-Invoices 

% enterprises 

3c1 SMEs selling online 

% SMEs 

3c2 e-Commerce turnover 

% SME turnover 

3c3 Selling online cross-border 

% SMEs 

90% 

75% 

75% 

75% 

69% 

2022 

38% 

2021 

29% 

2021 

14% 

2020 

34% 

2021 

8% 

2021 

32% 

2020 

19% 

2022 

11% 

2022 

9% 

2021 

Source: DESI 2023, European Commission. Indicators’ description and details in 2023 DESI methodological note. Indicators 
and 2030 of the Digital Decade Policy Programme are highlighted. By 2030, 90% of SMEs are expected to reach at least a 
basic level of digital intensity and 75% of enterprises have taken up big data, cloud or AI. 

3.4 Take-up of technologies by businesses 

3.4.1  Artificial intelligence 
Overview 

Member  States  and  the  Commission  have  agreed  to  ensure  that  more  than  75%  of  EU  companies 
adopt AI technologies, big data or cloud by 2030. 

The adoption of AI technologies was very low among the Member States, at 8% in 2021, the last 
year for which data was available to the Commission. No more recent data is available in this area 
where technology uptake is accelerating and many measures already undertaken by Member States 
are  therefore  not  reflected  in  available  data.  As  reported  in  the  2022  DESI  exercise,  nevertheless, 
there  were  countries  with  a  much  higher  uptake  than  others  already  in  2021.  Denmark  had  the 
highest  adoption  rate  with  24%,  followed  by  Portugal  (17%)  and  Finland  (16%).  There  were  seven 
countries with an uptake of 10% to 13% (the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Germany, Belgium, 
Malta and Sweden) and another seven countries with an uptake rate between 5% and 10%, Austria, 
Croatia,  Ireland,  Spain203,  France,  Italy  and  Slovakia.  Another  10  countries  had  a very  low  adoption 
rate,  and  did  not  reach  5%  (such  as  Czechia,  Lithuania,  Latvia,  Bulgaria,  Hungary,  Poland,  Estonia, 

203  2022  data  shows  substantial  progress  as  12.3%  of  enterprises  use  AI  in  Spain,  the  only  country  for  which 
ESTAT data is available for 2022.  

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Greece204, Cyprus and Romania). With 1%, Romania had the lowest uptake in the EU. This was in line 
with the very low level of overall digitisation of enterprises in Romania. Even basic technologies were 
not widely used by enterprises (the share of SMEs with at least a basic level of digital intensity was 
the lowest in the EU), consequently more advanced technologies were not widespread either. 

As  with  most  advanced  technologies,  the  uptake  of  AI  technologies  was  much  higher  in  large 
enterprises compared to SMEs. In 2021 the share of large enterprises adopting AI was three times 
higher than those of SMEs (29% versus 7%). 

Figure 443 Use of AI technology by enterprise size (% of enterprises), 2021 

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

When  looking  at  a  sectoral  overview,  the  ICT  sector  was  clearly  much  ahead  in  the  use  of  AI 
technologies with 25% of enterprises adopting AI, followed by publishing activities at 18%. Other 
sectors, such as real estate activities and manufacturing were much further behind with only 7% of 
enterprises using AI. The transportation and storage and the construction sector were the least likely 
to use AI technologies, with an uptake of about 5%. 

Figure 444 Use of AI technology by sector (% of enterprises), 2021 

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

204 Please note that the 2021 data  on AI for Greece was revised backward by the Greek  authorities after the 
publication of DESI 2022. Eurostat database was revised accordingly. 

81 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Trends towards 2030 

The lack of time series data for AI adoption does not allow for the construction of a DD trajectory 
based  on  historical  data205.  The  technology  adoption  literature  suggests  that  an  S-shaped  curve 
should  be  used  as  the  appropriate  functional  form  for  the  diffusion  this  indicator.  AI  adoption  is 
usually a process complementing big data adoption because, for example, AI methodologies are very 
much  suited  to  exploit  the  full  potential  of  big  data.  To  overcome  the  lack  of  AI  data  points,  the 
baseline trajectory for AI uses the same speed of diffusion parameter as the one estimated for the 
Big  Data  baseline  trajectory  (see  section  on  Big  Data).  Figure  445  shows  the  Digital  Decade  and 
baseline trajectories for the share of firms using AI. Also in this case, the estimated 2030 value is far 
below the 2030 target. 

Figure 445 Share of enterprises using AI in the EU. Historical data, Digital Decade (DD) trajectory and baseline 
trajectory towards 2030 (same speed of diffusion parameter as in the Big Data baseline trajectory) 

The  adoption  of  digital  technologies  by  enterprises  remains  uneven,  varying  depending  on  the 
technology  considered  and  with  sharp  differences  among  Member  States  and  economic  sectors. 
The use of cloud computing services experienced a major growth over the last years, reaching 34% of 
EU enterprises in 2021 (60% among large companies and 33% among SMEs). The uptake of big data 
analytics and AI technologies remains substantially more limited, used – respectively – by only 14% 
and 8% of enterprises. Reaching the Digital Decade targets will require substantial efforts by Member 
States, through comprehensive and integrated policies aimed to boost uptake and address obstacles 
hindering progress (including the lack of specialised skills and technical expertise, obstacles to use of 
data). Without additional targeted actions, especially the update of big data and AI will significantly 
fall short of the set targets.  

205  Digital  Decade  and  baseline  trajectories  are  presented  in  the  “Communication  from  the  Commission 
establishing Union-level projected trajectories for the digital targets” C(2023) 7500. 

82 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Actions at EU and national level 

European Ecosystem of Excellence in Trustworthy AI 

The 2021 review of the Coordinated Plan on AI proposed seven policy areas for joint actions between 
Commission and Member States, including chapters focusing on AI for the Green Deal and concrete 
actions and funding possibilities to support the AI ecosystem of excellence, through the Horizon 
Europe and Digital Europe Programmes. 

Under Horizon Europe, the Commission is:  

•  Funding  basic  and  applied  research  covering  a  variety  of  domains,  aiming  to  develop 
Trustworthy AI and robotics which is, robust, safe and secure, unbiased and energy efficient. 

•  Setting  up  AI  research  networks  of  excellence  to  increase  cooperation  among  the  best 
research teams in Europe, to join forces to expand the research frontiers including large AI 
models and tackle major scientific and technological challenges that hamper the deployment 
of AI. 

•  Establishing  a  European  public-private  partnership  on  AI,  data  and  robotics,  to  bring 
stakeholders from those three communities, from research to deployment, together with the 
public  sector,  to  define  a  European  strategy  and  leveraging  funding  to  boost  the 
development and deployment of these technologies. 

Through  the  Digital  Europe  Programme,  which  has  an  emphasis  on  deployment  and  uptake,  the 
Commission has initiated or given continuity to a set of important measures:  

•  To bridge the gap between AI research and deployment, together with Member States, co-
funding  AI Testing  and  Experimentation  Facilities  in  several sectors,  where  companies will 
be  able to test  their latest AI-based technologies  in real-world environments, an important 
step before bringing AI solutions to the market.  

•  Scaling  up  the  AI-on-demand  platform,  a  European  marketplace  for  trustworthy  AI 
solutions,  connecting  resources  and  services  to  support  innovators  in  developing  and 
deploying trustworthy AI solutions. 

•  To reach even the small low-tech SMEs across the EU, setting up the network of  European 
Digital Innovation Hubs. These will help SMEs and public sector organisations to use AI and 
other  digital  technologies.  The  goal  is  to  increase  the  digital  maturity  of  the  organisations 
supported by the hubs and to contribute the digital decade goals on businesses including to 
reach 75% of all EU companies using  AI, big data and cloud by 2030. 

Other  measures,  such  as  increasing  equity  financing  for  innovative  start-ups  in  AI  through           
InvestEU  and  launching  a  new  programme  (‘Adopt  AI’)  to  support  public  procurement  of  AI 
systems, are: 

•  The  Commission  has  proposed  to  invest  at  least  EUR  1  billion  per  year  in  AI  in  the 
programming  period  2021–2027,  from  the  Horizon  Europe  and  the  Digital  Europe 
programmes. The objective is to gradually increase public and private investment in AI to a 
total of EUR 20 billion per year over the course of this decade. 

•  As  26%  of  RRF  investments  are  in  the  digital  sphere,  the  Facility  has  the  potential  to  be  a 
game changer by enabling further investments in AI and accelerating the development and 
uptake of human-centric, trustworthy, and sustainable AI technologies.  

•  One of the key actions in the 2018 Coordinated Plan was the encouragement for all Member 
States to develop their national AI strategies. The Coordinated Plan 2021 Review describes, 

83 

 
 
how all Member States have made substantial efforts in developing national AI strategies or 
including AI dimensions in existing strategies and programmes.206 

•  Member States are setting up a wide range of policy measures to foster the development of 
AI  technologies  from  the  lab  to  the  market,  including  Public-Private  Partnerships  (PPPs), 
setting up research excellence centres and experimentation and testing facilities. All national 
AI  strategies  set  out  policy  actions  to  support  start-ups  and  the  scaling-up  of  firms  and 
innovation ecosystems. 

The institutionalised European Partnership KDT develops technologies enabling the migration of 
many AI applications from power-hungry platforms to more sustainable solutions at the edge of 
the  network,  including  the  next  generation  of  low-power  processors  for  AI  applications,  thus 
contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions; 

Artificial  intelligence  (AI)  has  the  potential  not  just  to  promote  economic  growth  and  social 
well-being,  but  also  to  help  achieve  global  sustainability  goals.  AI  applications  can  have  a 
beneficial  environmental  impact  on  different  levels,  such  as  optimising  existing  processing, 
enable new sustainable business models, support citizens in their green transition, and improve 
our  understanding  of  environmental  and  climate  risks  and  support  mitigation  and  adaptation 
efforts.  

A group of Member States on AI and Digitalisation of Businesses has been set up to continue to 
strive  for  coordinated  action  at  EU  level.  The  group  aims  to  develop  efficient  mechanisms  to 
ensure  continuous  and  strategic  monitoring  of  the  Coordinated  Plan  on  AI;  develop  concrete 
links between national AI actions; and identify new policy areas and actions for cooperation.  

3.4.2  Cloud  
Overview 

Cloud  computing  gives  businesses  access  to  a  scalable,  shareable  and  elastic  pool  of  computing 
resources.  As  these  can  be  hosted  remotely,  businesses  are  no  longer  required  to  invest  as  much 
capital in their own IT infrastructure as with on premise data storage and processing.  

The enabling potential of cloud computing far exceeds file storage and email, which today remain the 
most  common  application  scenarios  for  cloud  in  European  companies.  Cloud  computing  is  a  key 
enabler for emerging technologies like AI, big data and digital ledger technologies. As a core enabling 
technology,  cloud  computing  lies  at  the  heart  of  the  European  data  economy  and  is  an  essential 
underpinning for the continued competitiveness of European businesses vis-à-vis their international 
competitors. In fact, the continued uptake of advanced cloud solutions by EU businesses is essential 
for  Europe’s  ability  to  continue  adopting  data-driven  technologies  and  capitalise  on the  associated 
economic opportunities. This is particularly important for SMEs, which represent the majority of the 
EU’s  industrial  basis  and  are  today  mostly  employing  basic  cloud  services.  Cloud  computing 
underpins  the  future  competitiveness  of  EU  businesses  in  the  digital  economy.  That  is  why  secure 
and  sustainable  cloud  capacities  are  considered  a  key  pillar  of  Europe’s  digital  sovereignty  in  the 
Digital Decade.  

The Path to the Digital Decade proposal requires that more than 75% of EU companies adopt cloud 
computing services, AI or big data by 2030. No recent data is available in this area where technology 

206 The AI Watch. National strategies on Artificial Intelligence: A European perspective. 2022 edition. 
report provides an in-depth analysis of the national strategies structured along the categories and priorities 
agreed between EC and Member States in the Coordinated Plan on AI review 2021. Further information is 
available on: AI Watch (europa.eu). 

84 

 
 
 
 
 
uptake is accelerating and many measures already undertaken by Member States are therefore not 
reflected in available data. As reported in the 2022 DESI exercise, which contains the latest available 
data,  in  2021,  34%  of  EU  enterprises  purchased  sophisticated  or  intermediate  cloud  computing 
services  (i.e.  at  least  one  of  the  following:  finance  or  accounting  software  applications;  enterprise 
resource  planning  (ERP)  software  applications;  customer relationship management  (CRM)  software 
applications;  security  software  applications;  hosting  the  enterprise’s  database(s);  computing 
platform providing a hosted environment for application development, testing or deployment) and 
incorporated cloud technologies to improve their operations while reducing costs. The cloud uptake 
of large companies (60%) is almost double that of SMEs (33%) in 2021. 

 Figure 446 Cloud computing services of sophisticated or intermediate level (% of enterprises), 2021 

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

Enterprises in Nordic countries were leading in the adoption of sophisticated or intermediate cloud 
services.  More  than  60%  of  enterprises  in  Sweden,  Finland,  Denmark  and  the  Netherlands  were 
buying such services. Italy and Estonia followed at more than 50%. However, the  gap between top 
and low performers remained large, with Bulgaria and Romania scoring below 15%. 

When looking at cloud usage by sector, two out of three enterprises in the ICT sector (66%) used 
cloud computing services of sophisticated or intermediate level,  followed by publishing activities 
with 60%. The sectors with the least cloud usage were the construction sector (26% of enterprises) 
and the transport and storage sector (29% of enterprises). These were followed by manufacturing at 
32% of enterprises. This sectoral distribution is coherent with the general digitisation of sectors, as 
construction and transport displayed the lowest level of overall digitisation. This was partly inherent 
to the characteristics of these sectors that rely less on digital technologies. 

85 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 447: Cloud computing services of sophisticated or intermediate level per sector (% of enterprises), 2021 

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

Trends towards 2030 

According to the relevant literature, an S-shaped adoption curve is the most appropriate approach 
to  estimate the  evolution  of  enterprise  cloud  computing intermediate  and sophisticated  services 
take-up.  The  adoption  of  this  technology  might  still  present  some  economic  (e.g.,  limited  choice), 
security  and  technical  challenges  (e.g.,  vendor  lock-in)  associated  to  lack  of  advanced  skills  across 
enterprises  in  particular  amongst  Small  and  Medium  Enterprises  (SMEs),  which  might  delay  a  full 
adoption  in  particular  of  sophisticated  cloud  services  leading  to  a  flatter  growth  rate  near  to  the 
saturation point of the curve. The functional form adopted for this KPI is therefore the S-shaped one, 
typical for describing this type of technological diffusion process. The market saturation point is set 
at 80% for both the Digital Decade and the baseline trajectories207. The saturation point is assumed 
to be slightly above the 2030 target of 75%, to allow for further increasing of the cloud technology 
adoption levels after the target is reached. The speed of diffusion parameter of the Digital Decade 
trajectory  is  set  so  that  the  75%  target  is  reached  by  2030,  while  the  speed  of  diffusion  of  the 
baseline  trajectory  is  based  on  the  interpolation  of  pre-break-in-series  data  (2014-2020).  As  for  all 
the  other  S-shaped  functional  forms,  the  timing  of  diffusion  is  computed  to  make  the  baseline 
trajectory start at the last observed data point (the 2021 value for cloud. Figure 448 shows the Digital 
Decade  and  baseline  trajectories  for  the  share  of  firms  using  sophisticate  or  intermediate  cloud 
services. The estimated 2030 value falls short of approximately ten percentage points from the 2030 
target value if no additional investments are implemented (expected value in 2030 = 66%). 

207  Digital  Decade  and  baseline  trajectories  are  presented  in  the  “Communication  from  the  Commission 
establishing Union-level projected trajectories for the digital targets” C(2023) 7500. 

86 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 448: Share of enterprises using Cloud services in the EU. Historical data, Digital Decade (DD) trajectory 
and baseline trajectory towards 2030 208 

Actions at EU and national level 

Data Act  

The Data Act, which  was adopted by the College on 23 February 2022, will fundamentally reshape 
the  EU  cloud  regulatory  landscape  and  enable  European  businesses  to  benefit  from  a  more  open 
cloud market. The proposed Regulation aims to make switching between different providers of data 
processing services free of charge by gradually withdrawing related fees. It also aims to ensure that 
switching can happen quickly and does not result in reduced functionalities for the user. By obliging 
providers across the stack to remove obstacles to switching, the proposed Data Act tackles vendor 
lock-in  practices,  which  nowadays  constitute  a  major  obstacle  to  cloud  adoption  by  European 
businesses. The possibility of free and fast switching will allow customers of data processing services 
to benefit from the vast opportunities offered by the European cloud market, where providers of all 
sizes will compete on performance, innovation and price.  

Free Flow of Non-Personal Data Regulation 

Adopted in 2018, the Free Flow of Non-Personal Data Regulation has led Member States to largely 
remove  data  localisation  requirements,  which  have  in  the  past  hampered  the  free  flow  of  data  in 
Europe and impeded the emergence of a true single market for data to the detriment of European 
businesses.  In  fact,  past  research  suggests  that  professional  users  of  cloud  computing  services 
identified  data  location  requirements  as  a  high-impact  barrier  limiting  their  adoption  of  such 
services.209 First results of the European Cloud Data Flow Monitoring suggests that the total volume 
of  data  flows  across  the  EU  has  increased  over  the  years  bringing  along  significant  economic 

208 
Eurostat’s  indicator  “Enterprises  purchasing  at  least  one  of  the  following  CC  services:  hosting  of  the 
enterprise's  database,  accounting  software  applications,  customer  relationship  management  software, 
computing power” (code E_CC_GE_ME) is used for the period 2014-2020. A break in series occurred in 2021 
when  the  indicator  “Enterprises  buying  sophisticated  or  intermediate  CC  Services”  is  used.  This  indicator 
includes  different  CC  services:  Accounting  software  (CC_PFACC);  ERP  Software  (CC_PERP);  CRM  Software 
(CC_PCRM); Security Software (CC_PSEC); Database hosting (CC_PDB) and Hosting environment for application 
development (CC_PDEV). 
209 Wauter, P. et al (2016), Measuring the economic impact of cloud computing in Europe.  

87 

 
 
 
 
 
opportunities.  However, these flows  are not equally distributed among Member States despite the 
applicability of the principle of free movement of data established by this Regulation and the General 
Data Protection Regulation. 

Furthermore,  data  flows  seem  to  continue  to  be  negatively  impacted  by  the  commercial  lock-in 
practices that the Data Act seeks to address. Taken together, the Data Act and the Free Flow of Non-
Personal Data Regulation will set the framework conditions for an open and fair EU cloud market for 
European businesses users to tap into.    

A.  Cloud Market Monitoring & Oversight Instruments 

European Cloud Data Flow Monitoring 
The European Cloud Data Flow Monitoring210 measures and forecasts the volume and the economic 
value of cloud data flows within the European Union (EU), the UK and EFTA countries from 2016 to 
2030. In 2022, the volume of cloud data flows within the EU was estimated to be 11.2 Exabytes with 
an associated economic value of EUR 2.05 billion.  The volume of cloud data flows is forecasted to 
increase  8-fold  from  the  2022  level  to  92.1  Exabytes/year  in  2030.    The  map  and  graph  below 
provide comparative country data flow and outflow forecasts for 2030, where data is available. 

Figure 449: Enterprise data flowing from the selected country to cloud facilities by country, 2030211 

210 Economic value of data flows | Shaping Europe’s digital future (europa.eu) 
211 The European Data Flow Monitoring | Shaping Europe’s digital future (europa.eu) 

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Figure 50: Enterprise data flowing from the selected country to cloud facilities by country, 2030212 

212 The European Data Flow Monitoring | Shaping Europe’s digital future (europa.eu) 

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Figure 51: Data flows geography: Net inflow/outflow map for data flowing to cloud and edge data centres for 
the 31 countries examined in the study (TB/month) in 2020213 

In 2022, enterprises with over 250 employees have higher cloud data flows (6.3 Exabytes/year) than 
all other sizes of enterprise combined in 2022. Highest growth is predicted for EU27 enterprises with 
10  to  49  employees,  they  are  forecasted  to  have  9.6-fold  cloud  data  flow  growth  to  16.5 
Exabytes/year in 2030. Lowest growth rates are predicted for the largest companies with over 250 
employees. These EU27 enterprises are forecasted to have 7.5-fold cloud data flow growth to 46.9 
Exabytes/year. 

Cloud Rulebook 

Over  the  past  decade  at  EU  level,  a  largely  self-regulatory  approach  to  cloud  has  resulted  in  a 
multitude  of  self-regulatory  codes  of  conducts  and  standards  for  the  cloud  market.  This  vast 
landscape is becoming increasingly  difficult to navigate for business  users. The  upcoming EU  Cloud 

213 Study on mapping data flows | Shaping Europe’s digital future (europa.eu) 

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Rulebook  will  provide  a  single  point  of  reference  for  understanding  the  applicable  rules  stemming 
from  EU  legislation,  self-regulatory  initiatives,  certification  mechanisms  and  standards.  By  assisting 
European  businesses  in  understanding  the  regulatory  picture,  the  Rulebook  will  strengthen  the 
regulatory  expertise  and  confidence  of  European  businesses  as  they  move  to  the  cloud.  A  first 
version will be published in summer 2023 and will be updated regularly thereafter.  

Cloud Marketplace 

To  complement  the  Rulebook,  the  Commission  has  awarded  a  grant  for  a  cloud  marketplace  to 
create a single point of access for trusted data processing services. It will comprise both cloud and 
edge  services  and  make  it  easier  for  European  businesses  to  navigate  the  multitude  of  offerings 
available  on  the  European  cloud  market  and  to  identify  and  evaluate  their  specific  features.  By 
helping  businesses  understand  and  compare  different  offers,  the  marketplace  will  contribute  to 
reducing the time that businesses have to invest before being able to choose the most viable cloud 
solution for their needs.   

B.  Cloud Industrial Initiatives  

Pre-Notified IPCEI on Next Generation Cloud Infrastructure and Services  

One of the key actions of the European Strategy for Data is the set-up of a High Impact Project on 
next generation federated cloud infrastructures and services. To realise the ambition of this Strategy, 
in  April  2022,  12  Member  States  and  more  than  hundreds  of  European  companies,  research  and 
technological organisations pre-notified an Important Project of Common European Interest on Next 
Generation  Cloud  Infrastructure  and  Services  (IPCEI-CIS)  which  forms  part  of  the  Multi-Country 
Project  on  a  Common  Data  Infrastructure  and  Services  and  will  benefit  from  funding  under  the 
Recovery and Resilience Facility.  

The  IPCEI-CIS  aims  at  equipping  the  European  Union  with  the  next  generation  of  advanced, 
distributed, secure, sustainable and innovative cloud-to-edge capabilities that citizens and businesses 
are  in  need  for.    It  will  thus  support  the  achievement  of  the  Digital  Decade’s  cloud  uptake  among 
European enterprises. 

European Alliance for Industrial Data, Edge and Cloud   

Since  2021,  the  European  Alliance  for  Industrial  Data,  Edge  and  Cloud  brings  together  European 
providers  of  highly  innovative  and  secure  edge  and  cloud  technologies  to  cooperate  on  an 
investment  roadmap  and  its  deployment.  The  Alliance  also  involves  Member  State  experts.  By 
mobilising both industry and Member States, it contributes to overcoming the fragmentation in the 
European cloud market and helps forge a common approach to developing and deploying the next 
generation of cloud and edge capabilities for the benefit of European businesses.  

3.4.3  Big data  
Overview 

Big  data  are  characterised  by  volume,  variety  and  velocity,  i.e.,  vast  amounts  of  data,  which  are 
complex in nature,  in different  formats and frequently generated.  Big data analytics refers to the 
use of technologies, techniques or software tools such as data or text mining and machine learning, 
for analysing big data extracted from the enterprise's own data sources or other data sources. 

Enterprises  all  over  the  EU  and  across  sectors  are  constantly  adapting  to  new  technologies  for 
collecting,  storing  and  analysing  data.  No  recent  data  is  available  in  this  area  where  technology 

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uptake is accelerating and many measures already undertaken by Member States are therefore not 
reflected in available data. As reported in the 2022 DESI exercise, which contains the latest available 
data,  in  2020, 14%  of companies  carried  out  big  data  analytics.  This  helped  them  to  produce  near 
time  or  real  time  results  from  data  that  come  in  different  format  types.  Large  companies  had  the 
lion’s share in big data processing (with 34% of them using big data), while SMEs had still room for 
improvement to take advantage of all the benefits of big data (14% use big data). 

In  Malta,  almost  a  third  of  enterprises  analysed  big  data.  The  Netherlands  and  Denmark  followed 
closely  behind,  with  27%.  At  the  other  end  of  the  spectrum  only  5-6%  of  enterprises  in  Romania, 
Slovakia, Cyprus and Bulgaria analysed big data.214 

When  looking  at  a  sectoral  breakdown,  enterprises  were  more  likely  to  analyse  big  data  in  the 
travel  agency;  tour  operator  reservation  service  and  related  activities  and  in  the  publishing 
activities215  sectors  (both  at  28%),  followed  by  the  ICT  sector  at  25%.  Only  15%  of  enterprises 
carried out big data analytics in the wholesale and retail trade216 sector, 13% in construction and in 
real estate activities, and 10% in the manufacturing sector. 

Figure 52: Enterprises analysing big data per sector (% of enterprises), 2020 

Trends towards 2030 

The technology adoption rationale described by an S-shaped curve applies equally for Big Data. Big 
Data  usage  take-up  is  expected to  be  slow  in the  beginning,  to  accelerate  after  a  while  to  reach  a 
slower final uptake, probably driven by very small firms, which may have less incentive to adopt big 
data  technologies.  Also  in this  case,  the market  saturation  point  is  set  at  80%,  above  the  target  of 
75%, to allow for further increase after the target is reached. The speed of diffusion parameter is set 
so  that  the  75%  target  is  reached  by  2030  in  the Digital  Decade  trajectory217.  Figure  53  shows  the 
Digital  Decade  and  baseline  trajectories  for  the  share  of  firms  using  Big  Data.  The  estimated  2030 
value in the business-as-usual scenario is far below the 2030 target. 

214 2022 data shows substantial progress as 14.3% of enterprises use big data for internal analysis in Spain, the 
only country for which ESTAT data are available for 2022. 
215  Publishing  activities;  motion  picture,  video  &  television  programme  production,  sound  recording  &  music 
publishing; programming & broadcasting  
216 Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles 
217  Digital  Decade  and  baseline  trajectories  are  presented  in  the  “Communication  from  the  Commission 
establishing Union-level projected trajectories for the digital targets” C(2023) 7500. 

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Figure  53:  Share  of  enterprises  using  Big  Data  in  the  EU.  Historical  data,  Digital  Decade  (DD)  trajectory  and 
baseline trajectory towards 2030 

Actions at EU and national level 

The  European  Data  Strategy  of  February  2020  clearly  described  the  vision  of  a  European  single 
market for data in which data can flow freely across borders and sectors while in full compliance 
with  the  respective  European  rules  and  values.  The  strategy  also  laid  down  the  foundations  of 
common European data spaces in a set of vertical sectors of strategic importance for the European 
Union at large.  

The European Data Strategy also announced two proposals for legislative instruments that are meant 
to facilitate data sharing to benefit society and economy, with a special focus on businesses across 
Europe.  The  first  instrument,  the  Data  Governance  Act218    will  increase  trust  in  voluntary  data 
sharing, strengthen mechanisms to increase data availability and overcome technical obstacles to the 
reuse of data. The Regulation is a key building block for the establishment of common European data 
spaces  in  strategic  domains,  involving  both  private  and  public  players.  The  Data  Governance  Act 
entered into force on 23 June 2022 and will be applicable from September 2023. 

The  Data  Act,  which  is  the  second  key  proposal  announced  in  the  European  Data  Strategy,  will 
complement the Data Governance Act by clarifying access and use rights on data with the objective 
of ensuring fairness in the data economy.  

National actors will play a key role in making this EU-level regulatory toolbox work on the ground and 
benefit the largest possible range and number of beneficiaries in the Member States. They will also 
be instrumental in making the common European data spaces work in each Member State and with 
the involvement of all key players so that the European single market for data foreseen in the Data 
Strategy becomes a reality in the medium term. 

Policy  actions  are  underpinned  –  among  others  -  by  investments  in  data  research,  innovation  and 
data  infrastructures,  via  the  Horizon  Europe  and  Digital  Europe  Programmes.  With  the  launch  of 
Horizon Europe, the European Commission has  notably  established a partnership with the AI, Data 

218 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32022R0868 

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and  Robotics  Association  (ADRA),  raising  2.6  billion  EUR  of  public  and  private  investments  for 
technological development. The association brings together major industrial stakeholders in the field 
of  AI,  data  and  robotics.  Within  the  programme,  the  European  Union  has  already  provided 
approximately 200 million EUR. The 25 funded projects focus on data mining, analytics, secure and 
privacy-compliant data management, as well as technologies supporting the data economy such as 
models for data marketplaces and data monetisation. These build on the success of several projects 
funded  in  the  previous  programme,  Horizon  2020.  Other  projects  address  topics  as  diverse  as 
networks of excellence in Safe AI, AI for the Green Deal, or tackling biases in AI. 

Within  the  Digital  Europe  Programme,  the  focus  is  on  the  deployment  of  data  spaces  and  the 
successful  exploitation  of  High  Value  Datasets,  fostering  data  sharing  and  the  development  of  a 
European  Data  Infrastructure.  Among  Digital  Europe  activities,  we  can  highlight  the  various 
coordination  and  support  actions  setting  the  basis  for  domain-specific  data  spaces  and  building 
stakeholders  engagement,  and  the  Data  Spaces  Support  Centre.  The  latter  has  an  essential 
coordination role, creating a network of stakeholder, ensuring inter-operability across all data spaces 
and maximising their industrial and societal impact. 

3.5  SMEs  
3.5.1  Overview 

Digital intensity 

The  Digital  Intensity  Index  (DII)  measures  the  use  of  different  digital  technologies  at  enterprise 
level. The DII score of an enterprise is based on counting how many out of 12 selected technologies 
are used.  
Figure  54  shows  the  composition of the  DII  in 2022219. It  also  shows the  degree of  penetration  and 
speed of adoption of the different technologies monitored by the DII. Large companies in the EU are 
more  digitised  than  SMEs.  While  some  aspects  seem  to  be  reaching  saturation,  at  least  for  large 
companies, there is still room for improvement for most indicators. 

Figure 54: Digital Intensity Index indicators tracking digitisation processes (% enterprises), 2022220  

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

219 Please note that DII in 2022 is not comparable with DII in 2021, as different technologies were considered.  
220 ERP stands for enterprise resource planning. CRM stands for customer relationship management. CC stands 
for cloud computing. IoT stands for Internet of Things. 

94 

The maximum contracted download speed of the fastest fixed line internet connection is at least 30 Mb/s96%84%Use at least 3 ICT security measures97%73%Enterprises make persons employed aware of their obligations in ICT security related issues91%57%Any of the persons employed having remote access to any of the following: e-mail, documents, business apps91%56%Enterprises where more than  50% of the persons employed had access to the internet for business purposes60%51%Enterprises which conducted remote meetings (via e.g. Skype, Zoom, MS Teams, WebEx, etc.)93%49%Enterprise with document(s) on measures, practices or procedures on ICT security80%36%Any type of training provided to develop ICT related skills of the persons employed, during 202170%21%Employ ICT specialists78%19%Enterprises with e-commerce sales of at least 1% turnover 39%19%Enterprises where web sales are more than 1% of the total turnover and B2C web sales more than 10% of the web sales13%11%Use industrial or service robots26%6%Large SMEs 
 
 
 
 
 
According to the target of the Path to the Digital Decade proposal, by 2030 more than 90% of SMEs 
should reach at  least  a basic level of digital intensity.  Basic DII level requires usage  of at least  four 
technologies and comprises SMEs with very high, high and low DII. 

There are only five countries (Denmark Sweden, Finland, Belgium and Malta) in the EU where the 
share  of  SMEs  with  a  very  high  DII  (i.e.,  possessing  at  least  10  out  of  the  12  monitored  digital 
technologies)  is  above  7%,  followed  by  Ireland,  the  Netherlands,  Croatia,  Slovenia  and  Portugal 
with  above  4%.  By  contrast,  in  countries  such  as  Greece,  Bulgaria,  Hungary,  Latvia  and  Romania, 
more than 45% of SMEs have made only a small investment in digital technologies (i.e., have a very 
low DII). 

Figure 55: Digital Intensity Index by level (% of SMEs), 2022 

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

Figure  56  shows  the  share  of  SMEs  with  a  basic  DII  score.  At  least  80%  of  SMEs  in  four  Nordic 
countries (Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Ireland) reached at least a basic level of digital intensity, 
while in Greece and Bulgaria this level is below 50%. 

Figure 56: SMEs with at least basic level of digital intensity, 2022 

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

Overall, the level of digitalisation of SMEs remains uneven across MSs and economic sectors. A key 
barrier to be overcome is the lack of awareness of the potential of digital technologies and the lack of 

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skills  and  technical  expertise  among  the  employees  to  integrate  basic  or  advanced  digital 
technologies in the business operations.  

Adoption of digital technologies by enterprises 

Large  enterprises  are more  likely  to  adopt  new technologies.  For  example,  electronic  information 
sharing  through  enterprise  resource  planning  (ERP)  software  is  much  more  common  in  large 
enterprises (81%) than in SMEs (37%). On social media221, more than twice as many large enterprises 
(61%) make use of it if compared to SMEs (28%). SMEs exploit e-commerce opportunities only to a 
limited  extent,  with  only  19%  selling  online  (versus  39%  of  large  enterprises)  and  only  9%  selling 
cross  border  online  (versus  24%  of  large  enterprises).  There  are  many  other  technological 
opportunities yet to be exploited by SMEs such as cloud services222, AI and big data. The possibility of 
extracting information from data through advanced data analytics techniques will be essential for the 
competitiveness  of  the  EU'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  AI,  natural 
language processing and extended reality technologies. 

There  are  common  factors  that  play  a  critical  role  in  enabling  and  boosting  the  uptake  of  cloud 
services, big data and AI, such as the availability of staff with advanced digital skills. Additionally, 
ensuring legal certainty and addressing data protection and liability issues is very important to enable 
the use of data and minimise the risks of breaches in security and data protection.  

Figure 57: Adoption of digital technologies (% enterprises), 2020, 2021, 2022223 

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

• 

e-Commerce 

221 For social media the Eurostat indicator ‘Use two or more social media’ (code: E_SM1_GE2) is used. See DESI 
methodological note. 
222 For cloud the Eurostat indicator ‘Enterprises buying sophisticated or intermediate cloud computing services’ 
(code:  E_CC1_SI)  is  used.  See  SWD(2023)  574  ‘Digital  Decade  Digital  Economy  and  Society  Index  (DESI)  2023 
Methodological Note’ 
223  These  are  the  DESI  2022  indicators  under  the  sub-dimension  3b  and  3c  of  the  Integration  of  digital 
technology dimension. For exact definitions, please see the DESI methodological note. 

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The European Commission  put  forward  two legislative  proposals to upgrade  rules  governing digital 
services  in  the  EU:  the  Digital  Services  Act  (DSA)  and  the  Digital  Markets  Act  (DMA). They  form  a 
single set of new rules applicable across the whole EU to create a safer and more open digital space. 
The DSA and DMA have two main goals: (i) to create a safer digital space in which the fundamental 
rights of all users of digital services are protected; and (ii) to establish a level playing field to foster 
innovation, growth and competitiveness, both in the single market and globally.224 

According  to  the  2022  survey,  around  one  in  five  EU  small  and  medium  sized  enterprises  (SMEs) 
made online sales, amounting to 11% of total turnover. Between 2015 and 2022, the percentage of 
SMEs  selling  online  increased  by  3.5 percentage  points  and  the  turnover  of  these  companies 
achieved from online sales increased by 1.7 percentage points. 

Figure 58: Trends in e-commerce (% of SMEs, % of SME turnover), 2015-2022225 - 

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

Enterprises  benefit  from  cross-border  e-commerce  by  exploiting  economies  of  scale.  This  helps  to 
reduce  costs,  increase  efficiency,  promote competitiveness  and  improve  productivity.  Cross-border 
e-commerce is even more important for enterprises and especially SMEs that are confined to a small 
home  market.  However,  only  9%  of  SMEs  made  web  sales  to  customers  in  other  EU  countries  in 
2020. SMEs  in Sweden, Ireland, Denmark  and Lithuania have  the largest  proportion of online  sales 
(30% or more). Austria leads in cross-border online sales226 (16% of Austrian enterprises have online 
sales across borders to other EU countries), followed by Belgium, Denmark, Malta and Slovenia (all 
above 13%). 

224 The Digital Services Act package | Shaping Europe’s digital future (europa.eu)  
225  Data  for  e-commerce  refer  to  the  calendar  year  prior  to  the  survey,  e.g.  2022  data  refer  to  2021  e-
commerce.  
226 Cross-border refers to other EU countries only. 

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Figure 59: SMEs selling online (2022) and selling online cross-border (2021) (% of SMEs) 

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

A majority (56%) of SMEs with web sales to other EU countries have no difficulties when selling to 
customers in other EU countries. On the other hand, 43% report at least one obstacle that is mainly 
related to economic factors (e.g., high costs of delivering or returning products, a problem reported 
by 28% of SMEs). The problems related to resolving complaints and disputes (13%) and the lack of 
knowledge of foreign languages (10%) are also highlighted as difficulties by the SMEs selling online to 
other EU countries. 

3.5.2  Trends towards 2030 
The digital intensity227 target implies a wide uptake of digital technologies by EU small and medium 
enterprises (SMEs) - those having between 10 and 249 employees and self-employed persons - in the 
EU. In 2022, 97% of the 1.47 million enterprises in the EU were SMEs.  

227 Methodology: Digital Intensity is measured via the Digital Intensity Index (DII) that counts how many of 
twelve selected technologies are used by the enterprise. Every year, the DII covers a broad range of 
technologies, from basic to more sophisticated ones, and aims at measuring the level of digitalisation of EU 
SMEs. The 2022 survey includes the twelve following technologies and/or criteria:  
1. Enterprises where more than 50% of the persons employed had access to the internet for business purposes; 
2. Employ ICT specialists;  
3.The maximum contracted download speed of the fastest fixed line internet connection is at least 30 Mb/s; 4. 
Enterprises which conducted remote meetings;  
5. Enterprises make persons employed aware of their obligations in ICT security related issues;  
6. Any type of training provided to develop ICT related skills of the persons employed, during 2021;  
7. Use at least three ICT security measures;  
8. Enterprise with document(s) on measures, practices or procedures on ICT security;  
9. Any of the persons employed having remote access to any of the following: e-mail, documents, business 
apps;  
10. Use industrial or service robots;  
11. Used any computer networks for sales (at least 1%);  
12. Enterprises where web sales are more than 1% of the total turnover and Business-to-Customer (B2C) web 
sales more than 10% of the web sales . 
The Enterprise survey questions used for the definition of the Digital Intensity Index vary every year. The list 
used by year is provided by Eurostat at this link. 

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A  basic  level of  digital  intensity means that  an  enterprise  uses  at  least  four  of  the  twelve  selected 
digital technologies. 
The Digital Decade trajectory228 is based on a linear functional form as the assumption is that the KPI 
will follow an increasing trend, although with fluctuations year on year, reaching the target in 2030. 

Figure 60: Digital Intensity Index. Historical data and the Digital Decade (DD) trajectory towards 2030 

Due to the change in the composition of the indicator to include more recent technologies, over the 
last years the indicator has shown little progress and even dropped in some years. Having a moving 
target enables adapting the indicator to technological change and progress, as skills or technologies 
that  are  considered  advanced  today  might  become  basic  in  the  future.  The  limitation  is  the 
unavailability of comparable historical data at present. To enable better monitoring, the Commission 
has worked to establish a consistent definition every two years starting from 2021. As a result, the 
2021 figures will be comparable with those of 2023, 2025, 2027, and 2029, while the 2022 figures will 
be comparable with those of 2024, 2026, 2028, and 2030. 

3.5.3  Actions at EU and national level 

The adoption and integration of digital technologies into European SMEs’ daily life is of fundamental 
importance  for  these  companies’  chances  to  stay  competitive  and  to  reach  a  state  of   stable  long 
term sustainable growth. The  importance  of digital skills, the uptake  of digital solutions that  is the 
integration of a digital perspective in all different parts of SMEs’ life is therefore also clearly pointed 
out as one of the main  priorities in the European Commission’s Communication on the SME Relief 
Package229.  

Together  with  Member  States,  the  Commission  is  investing  one  and  a  half  billion  euros,  over  a 
period of 7 years, in a network of European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) to provide tailor-made 

228  Digital  Decade  and  baseline  trajectories  are  presented  in  the  “Communication  from  the  Commission 
establishing Union-level projected trajectories for the digital targets” C(2023) 7500. 
229 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_4409 

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digitalisation support to SMEs and public sector organisations (PSOs) in all regions and sectors of 
the  EU.  Digital  Innovation  Hubs  are  one-stop-shops  where  SMEs  and  PSOs  can  get  advice  and 
support to digitalise their organisations. The funding received by the hubs will be fully passed on in 
the form of digitalisation services to their customers, who will either receive those services for free 
or  at  a  reduced  rate.  Services  include  “test  before  investing”, expert  advice,  training,  support  with 
access  to  finance,  Digital  Maturity  Assessment  and  ecosystem  building.  Hubs  often  have  a  specific 
technological and/or sectoral focus, fitting to the needs of their region. Indeed, each Member State 
has  at  least  one  hub  specialised  in  AI.  However,  through  their  networking  it  is  hoped  that  the 
digitalisation needs of any businesses, in any sector and region can get the support they need. 

The selection procedures for the setup of the initial network of hubs was completed at the beginning 
of the year and 151 hubs were selected to receive  the  first three years of funding from the Digital 
Europe Programme (DIGITAL). These hubs have now started their work. The network shows a good 
coverage  of  sectors  and  technologies.  The  most  important  technologies  covered  are  Artificial 
Intelligence,  Cybersecurity,  High-powered computing,  Audio-visual,  Internet  of things  and  big  data. 
The most important sectors are Manufacturing, Health care, Public Administration, Agri-food, Energy 
and  Transport.  The  funding  from  DIGITAL  covers  50%  of  eligible  costs  and  Member  States  have 
committed  to  fund  the  other  50%  through  national  funds,  EU  synergy  funds  (ERDF  or  RRF)  and/or 
contributions from the private sector. 

As a result of the selection procedure for the hubs, an additional 89 hubs were awarded a “Seal of 
Excellence”;  as  they  were  of  good  quality,  even  though  they  could  not  be  funded  under  DIGITAL. 
Most of these hubs will also be funded, as Member States have taken up the opportunity to fund the 
“Seal  of  Excellence”  hubs  either  through  national  funding  sources  or  through  synergy  funding 
opportunities which allow them to make  use of Recovery and Resilience  Facility (RRF) or European 
Regional  Development  Funds  (ERDF).  “Seal  of  Excellence”  hubs  will  be  able  to  join  the  network  as 
equal participants. So that, by the end of the year, the network will comprise around 230 hubs and 
cover all EU regions, Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway. 

In  addition  to  supporting  Digital  Innovation  Hubs,  Member  States  are  also  making  use  of  the 
Recovery and Resilience Facility  for implementing a number of other types of actions to support 
the  digitalisation  of  businesses  of  different  types  (e.g.,  SMEs,  start-ups  and  large  enterprises)  in 
their countries. Indeed, 26% of RRF investments are targeted towards digital, and out of this 19% is 
dedicated to digitalisation of businesses. An  analysis of the National Recovery and Resilience Plans 
shows  that  they  contain  101  measures  (10  reforms  and  91  investments)  specifically  aimed  at 
digitalising businesses.230 Some investments offer grants or vouchers to companies to support their 
digitalisation projects (e.g., Portugal and Croatia). Others target the creation of testing facilities (e.g., 
Czechia,  Finland  and  Slovakia)  and  digital  infrastructures  (e.g.,  Sweden).  Some  also  have  a  specific 
sectoral  focus  (e.g.,  manufacturing,  tourism,  cultural  and  creative  industry  etc.)  or  are  specific  to 
certain  types  of  businesses.  As  already  mentioned,  several  investments  are  directed  at  reinforcing 
existing  or  creating  new  digital  innovation  hubs  or  providing  advice  and  training  support  for 
businesses, in particular SMEs. 

Reforms propose the introduction of specific laws to foster the thriving of start-ups in their countries, 
others  take  the  form  of  tax  incentives  to  facilitate  the  uptake  of  technologies  (e.g.  Denmark  and 
Italy).  Several  reforms  aim  at  introducing  the  right  governance  structure,  environment,  or  strategy 
for  the  digitalisation  of  the  economy  and  society.  Finally,  some  reforms  address  the  gap  in  digital 

230 Number of measures from 27 Recovery and Resilience Plans. Note that some plans are currently undergoing 
revisions, and that the figures may change. 

100 

 
 
 
 
business  skills  (e.g.  Luxemburg  and  Ireland),  propose  regulatory  sandboxes  (e.g.  Czechia),  and  the 
creation of funds (e.g. Croatia). 

These  actions  provide  an  important  boost  to  the  support  for  the  digitalisation  of  businesses, 
including SMEs,  across Europe and should make a substantial contribution to achieving the 2030 
targets.  However,  the  targets  are  ambitious  (i.e.  that  90%  of  SMEs  reach  a  basic  level  of  digital 
intensity)  and  a  sustained  effort  will  be  needed  to  enable  their  achievement.  It  will  be  important 
going forward, that the level of ambition is not eroded, that the actions are fully implemented and 
that new actions are launched replicating and building on existing success stories and good practices 
for the benefit of SMEs everywhere. 

3.6  Unicorns  
3.6.1  Overview 
A unicorn is defined in  the  KPI Implementing Act231  as  a  privately  held start-up company valued at 
over USD 1 billion. This is a stage of the start-up financial development which proves its maturity and 
success  on  the  global  market.  For  the  current  analysis,  we  include  tech  companies  founded  since 
1990 that are currently valued at over USD 1 billion, while companies that passed USD 1 billion as a 
subsidiary  are  excluded.  Companies  that  may  now  be  worth  less  than  USD  1  billion  but  exited  at 
more than USD 1 billion are also included. 

The  proposed  Digital  Decade  sets  the  target  of  doubling  the  current  number  of  EU27  unicorns  by 
2030. 

Figure 61: The definition of unicorns included in the analysis 

Source: Dealroom 

In 2023, the EU need to make further progress with regard to the Digital Decade target to double 
the number of unicorns. At the start of 2023 249232 unicorns are based in the EU233 as compared to 

231 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv%3AOJ.L_.2023.168.01.0048.01.ENG&toc=OJ%3AL%3A2023%3A168%3ATOC 
232 Data downloaded from Dealroom on 9 January 2023. 
233 EU unicorn numbers stated are for EU-founded companies that continue to have their HQ in the EU. 

101 

 
 
 
 
 
1 444  in  the  US  and  330  in  China.  According  to  Dealroom,  as  of  January  2023  there  were  2609 
unicorns in the world. The numbers for key regions are: 

•  EU: 249 unicorns (increase from 222 in March 2022) 

•  USA: 1 444 (increase from 1 243)  

•  Asia 585 (increase from 530)  

•  China: 330 (increase from 306)  

•  UK: 149 (increase from 119)  

There  remains  substantial  room  for  improvement.  Leading  EU  countries  at  the  start  of  2023  are 
Germany 62 (up from 56 end of 2021), Sweden 38 (31), France 36 (29) and the Netherlands 29 (24). 
There  are  six  EU  Member  States  without  a  single  unicorn  (although  three  countries  of  these  – 
Romania, Latvia and Bulgaria – were the founding location for a unicorn that is now headquartered 
outside of the EU). A few countries made significant progress: Ireland increased its unicorn from in 
2022 to 9, from 5 in 2021; Croatia now has now two unicorns having had zero in 2021.  

Figure 62: Number of unicorns per EU Member State 

Source: Dealroom, total per country, Jan 2023 

The current level of performance has a strong link to relatively immature start-up ecosystems. In 
order to be  considered a unicorn, a company has to steadily and dynamically grow  through all the 
development  phases supported by the start-up ecosystem.  According to Startup Genome, the  best 
global start-up ecosystems in 2022 were Silicon Valley (1st), followed by New York City and London 
(tied at 2nd), Los Angeles (4th), and Tel Aviv (5th). There are no EU start-up ecosystems in the top 10 
globally. The best EU ecosystem – Berlin – was ranked 13th worldwide followed by Amsterdam (14th) 
and Paris (18th). While nine of the best 20 ecosystems are located in North America, only 3 of them 
are in the EU. Asia is catching up with 7 ecosystems in the top 20. 234 

In the EU there are 369 start-ups that are already showing potential of reaching unicorn status, they 
have  already  secured  a  valuation  of  between  EUR  100m  and  EUR  1 000m.  The  distribution  of  the 

234 The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2023 (https://startupgenome.com/report/gser2023) 

102 

 
 
 
 
 
 
potential  unicorns  across  EU  Member  States  is  outlined  in  Figure  63:  Distribution  of  the  ‘potential 
future  unicorns’  by EU  member  state  (two  EU member  states  (Slovenia  and  Slovakia)  did  not  have 
any start-up falling into this category). These numbers show an in imbalance in the distribution of the 
‘potential future unicorns’ with over half of them located (189) in two EU Member States (France and 
Germany). 

Figure 63: Distribution of the ‘potential future unicorns’ by EU member state  

Source: Dealroom, March 2023 

3.6.2  Trends towards 2030 

The 2030 target for this KPI requires the definition of the reference data point. This document takes 
the number of unicorns recorded in 2022 in the EU (249) as reference point and considers 500 as the 
2030 target. As noted by the experts (source: CBINSIGHTS’ Research Brief & the 2022 Atomico State 
of the EU Tech report) unstable macro-economic trends of the last year suggest that growth levels of 
recent years are not likely to be sustained in the near term, and possibly longer. This new reality was 
already evident in the last two quarters of 2022 that saw investments in start-ups go down and most 
leading tech companies (large caps and unicorns) lay off staff. High inflation, rising interest rates, and 
geopolitical crises, such as the war in Ukraine, all contributed to the recent decline in unicorn births. 
This suggests that the high growth levels observed in the EU in recent years may not be replicable in 
the medium term.   

Newly released data from Dealroom indicates that the number of newly established unicorns in the 
EU was relatively low in the first quarter of 2023, with only three recorded, compared to around 20 
in  the  corresponding  period  in  2021  and  2022  (22  and  20,  respectively).  Four  new  unicorns  were 
established in Q1 2020. The 'births rate' of unicorns in the EU seems to have gone back to the pre-
covid situation. 

Even with its recent upward trend, the EU remains behind other regions, such as the US, China and 
the UK, where most of these companies are concentrated, either because they are founded there or 
are moved to after their foundation. Creating strong and supportive ecosystems, exploiting the full 
potential  of  the  EU  internal  market  and  overcoming  the  persisting  legal  and  economic  barriers 
between  EU  Member  States  are  all  important  factors  to  foster  unicorns’  creation  or  attract  them 
from all over the world.   

103 

 
 
  
 
 
The baseline trajectory235 relies on the historical data of unicorns covering the period from 2008 to 
2022. The functional form chosen in this case is the exponential one  (linear in the logarithms) that 
fits  well  the  historical  data  (see  figure  below).  No  Digital  Decade  trajectory  is  shown  due  to  the 
recent/current instability of trends.  

Figure 64: Number of Unicorns in the EU. Historical data and baseline trajectory 

3.6.3  Actions at EU and national level 

EU Startup Nations Standard, mobilising action under national competencies:  

• 

In March 2021 the European Commission launched the EU Startup Nations Standard (EU SNS) 
to  mobilise  and  support  Member  States  to  deliver  optimised  framework  conditions  and 
regulatory environment for start-ups.  

•  The  EU  SNS  political  declaration  outlined  best  practices  in  8  policy  areas  that  fall  under 
national  competencies  (areas  such  including:  Fiscal  Treatment  of  Stock  Options;  Tech 
Transfer policy; Attraction and Retention of Talent; and Access to Growth Finance). Ministers 
from  27  countries  (26  EU  Member  States  and  Iceland  from  the  EEA)  confirmed  their 
commitment to the EU SNS and its goals.  

•  EU  SNS  is  now  actively  progressing  beyond  the  “aspirations”  of  the  political  declaration  to 
real world “operations” following launch in December 2021 of the ‘Europe Startup Nations 
Alliance’ (ESNA), implementation body of the EU SNS.  

•  ESNA is supporting signatory countries by identifying and implementing best practices in the 
8 policy areas, providing technical support and measuring progress of countries in reaching 
the ‘EU Startup Nations Standard’. 

235  Digital  Decade  and  baseline  trajectories  are  presented  in  the  “Communication  from  the  Commission 
establishing Union-level projected trajectories for the digital targets” C(2023) 7500. 

104 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Digital Markets Act: 

• 

The Digital Markets Act, which entered into force in May 2023, introduces new obligations for 
large platforms (“Gatekeepers”) in the digital world.  

•  Not  only  are  start-ups  and  SMEs  exempt  from  new obligations  in  the  DMA,  but  it  is  also  they 
who are expected to mostly  benefit from the DMA  - be  they SMEs  that already compete with 
the gatekeepers, or new entrants. 

• 

• 

For example, new data portability obligations introduced by the DMA for gatekeepers will open 
up unprecedented possibilities for smaller players in the EU.  

These data portability obligations – which gatekeepers will need to comply with by March 2024 
– will facilitate user switching and multi-homing and thereby increase potential user base. This 
new  reality  can  empower  innovative  and  nimble  start-ups  to  bring  innovative  solutions  to the 
market.  It  provides  competitors  and  new  entrants  a  real  chance  to  grow  by  capturing  a  new 
stream of demand and / or proposing competitive offers. This in turn can facilitate start-ups to 
attract more growth capital from investors for them to scale-up. 

105 

 
 
 
 
 
4  Digital Public Services 

4.1   Overall context: why are digital public services critical and where is Europe 

in this regard in 2023 at the outset of the Digital Decade 

Every  citizen  and  business  should  be  able  to  interact  digitally  with  public  administrations.  Recent 
data  shows  that  being  able  to  interact  with  public  authorities  online,  matters  to  the  citizens  in 
Europe. Improving online access to public services is among the top four actions that Europeans think 
their country should prioritise by 2030 236.   

Providing digital public services has become an important tool for public authorities to increase their 
efficiency and to improve their relationship with the public. The term e-Government refers to the use 
of  technology  to  improve  and  facilitate  government  services.  It  allows  citizens,  for  example,  to 
request birth certificates or submit tax declarations online. Wider and easier access to public services 
ultimately  increases  transparency  and  accountability  and  reduces  administrative  burden  and 
corruption.   It  also  supports  access  to  public  services  in  rural  areas  and  remote  regions  like  the 
outermost regions. The Digital Decade policy programme237 sets clear targets for the digitalisation of 
public  services  to  be  achieved  by  2030  in  order  to  boost  the  Member  States’  efforts  to  overcome 
these barriers and to make public services accessible online:  

i.there is 100 % online accessible provision of key public services and, where relevant, it is 
possible  for  citizens  and  businesses  in  the  Union  to  interact  online  with  public 
administrations;   

ii.100% of citizens have access to medical records online; and   

iii.100  %  of  Union  citizens  have  access  to  a  secure  electronic  identification  (eID)  means 
recognised throughout the Union, enabling users’ full control over identity transactions 
and shared personal data.   

Overall, the online availability of public services has been growing steadily over the last decade and 
the EU’s performance is strong for this cardinal point of the Digital Decade. The COVID-19 pandemic 
accelerated  the  digitalisation  of  public  services.  However,  progress  is  uneven  across  and  within 
Member States. As a general principle, services for citizens are less likely to be available online than 
services  for  businesses.  A  lack  of  interoperability,  trust  and  digital  skills  have  been  identified  as 
barriers to digitalisation.   

Human-centricity  and  transparency  are  key  principles  when  designing  and  implementing  digital 
solutions  for  public  services.  Digital  tools  to  be  used  for  accessing  public  services  online  should  be 
easy-to-use,  efficient,  trustworthy,  and  allow  for  personalised  services.   They  should  comply  with 
high  security,  privacy  and  data  protection  requirements  and  standards.  Digital  provision  of  public 
services can be linked to life events e.g., losing or finding a job, studying, owning or driving a car, or 
starting an own business.  Offline  accessibility of services  shall be maintained while  transitioning to 
digital tools.  

236 Special Eurobarometer survey 532 
237 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 

106 

 
 
 
The digital transformation has the potential to contribute to achieving broader societal outcomes238. 
It  should  therefore  go  hand-in-hand  with  fostering  democracy,  good  governance,  social  inclusion, 
and increasing the efficiency of public services.    
The European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles239 signed in December 2022 provides that 
everyone  should  have  online  access  to  key  public  services  in  the  EU,  building  on  the  Berlin 
declaration  on  Digital  Society  and  Value-based  Digital  Government  (2020).  Specifically,  the  EU  and 
Member States committed to facilitating and supporting seamless, secure and interoperable access 
across the EU to digital public services designed to meet people’s needs in an effective manner. This 
includes,  in  particular,  digital  health  and  care  services,  and  notably  access  to  electronic  health 
records. Importantly, the EU and Member States also agreed as part of the Declaration to ensure that 
people living in the EU are offered the possibility to use an accessible, voluntary, secure and trusted 
digital  identity  that  gives  access  to  a  broad  range  of online  services. This  Report  also  provides  first 
indications on  the  progress  made  in  the  implementation of  the  Declaration.  More  insights  on  how 
Member  States’  public  administrations  are  considering  fundamental  rights 
in  their  digital 
transformation can be found in the Berlin declaration progress report. 

The importance of digitalising public services and introducing or improving e-government solutions is 
also reflected in the allocation of funds under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). 26% of the 
funds under the RRF, i.e., EUR 130 billion, are targeted towards the digital transformation in general. 
EUR 48 billion of these funds are allocated to digitalising public services, which is the policy area with 
the  highest  investment  within  the  digital  envelope  and  therefore  with  an  important  potential  for 
advancement.  

Access to digital identification 

The  Digital  Decade  target  requires  that  by  2030  100  %  of  Union  citizens  have  access  to  a  secure 
electronic  identification  (eID)  means  recognised  throughout  the  Union,  enabling  users’  full  control 
over identity transactions and shared personal data.  

Cross-border recognition of national electronic identification schemes 

 for  electronic 
Regulation  (EU)  No  910/2014  on  electronic 
transactions  in  the  internal  market  (eIDAS Regulation) created  a  basis  for  cross-border  electronic 
identification  within  the  EU.  Based  on  the  eIDAS  Regulation,  EU  Member  States  may  notify  and 
recognise,  on  a  voluntary  basis,  national  electronic  identification  schemes.  The  cross-border 
recognition of notified electronic identification schemes became mandatory in 2018. 

identification and  trust  services 

Data collected as part of  an evaluation pursuant to Art. 49 of the eIDAS Regulation shows that, in 
early 2021, about 60% of the EU population in 14 Member States were able to use their national eID 
cross-border.  14% of  key  public  service  providers  across  all  Member  States  allowed  cross-border 
authentication  with  an  e-ID  system. 
In  addition,  the  number  of  successful  cross-border 
authentications per year, though on the rise, was very small. As there is no requirement for Member 
States  to  issue  and  notify  a  national  electronic  identification  scheme  and  to  make  it  interoperable 
with  those  in  other  Member  States,  there  are  discrepancies  between  countries.  Moreover,  the 
landscape for Digital Identity has changed substantially over the last years. Today our digital identity 
includes a variety of attributes and credentials like age, gender, or professional or personal interests. 

European Digital Identity Wallet 

238 See for example Millard, J., Impact of digital transformation on public governance, Manzoni, M. and Schade, 
S.  editor(s),  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg,  2023,  doi:10.2760/204686, 
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC133975. 
239 European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles for the Digital Decade COM/2022/28 final 

107 

 
 
 
 
To address these shortcomings, in June 2021, the European Commission proposed a framework for a 
European Digital Identity, available for all EU citizens, residents and businesses via a European Digital 
Identity  Wallet.  The  key  aspect  of  the  proposed  framework,  which  would  amend  the  eIDAS 
Regulation, is a personal digital wallet to allow citizens to prove their identity, and to share identity-
related  attributes  and  electronic  documents  in  a  secure  and  convenient  way.  This  proposed 
European  Digital  Identity  wallet  is  intended  to  enable  people  to  choose  which  aspects  of  their 
identity  and  which  part  of  their  data  and  certificates  they  want  to  share  with  third  parties.  The 
proposed  solution  would  also  keep  track  of  any  data  sharing  activities.  The  proposal  includes  an 
obligation for Member States to issue a digital wallet under a notified eID scheme, built on common 
technical standards (as laid out in the Architecture and Reference Framework (ARF)), and following 
compulsory  certification.  To  set  up  the  necessary  technical  architecture,  speed  up  the 
implementation,  and to provide guidelines to Member States to avoid fragmentation, the proposal 
was  accompanied  by  a  Recommendation  for  the  development  of  a  Union  toolbox  defining 
harmonized  technical  specifications  for the  wallet.  A  prototype  wallet  is  currently  being  developed 
under  a  Framework  Contract  under  the  Digital  Europe  Programme.  Following  a  call  for  large-scale 
pilot  projects  launched in 2022, four pilot  projects  co-funded under the Digital Europe  Programme 
and launched in April 2023, have started to test the wallet in a number of everyday use cases and to 
test its integration in national eID system in 26 Member States and Norway, Iceland, and Ukraine.  

Digital Travel Documents 

In  its  Communication  of  24  July  2020  on  an  EU  Security  Union  Strategy,  the  Commission  made  a 
pledge  to  continue  and  to  extend  the  scope  of  its  ongoing  work  on  EU  travel  and  residence 
documents,  including  through  further  digitalisation  in  order  to  improve  the  tools  for  combating 
document fraud, as well as promoting seamless cross-border travel and passenger clearance. 

In  the  Communication  ‘A  strategy  towards  a  fully  functioning  and  resilient  Schengen  area’  of  June 
2023, the Commission announced that, following an in-depth impact assessment and the necessary 
consultations,  it  would  present  legislative  proposals  on  digitalisation  of  travel  documents  and 
facilitation  of  travel.  The  digitalisation  of  travel  documents  (passports  and  identity  cards)  aims  to 
achieve a safer Schengen Area and facilitate the exercise of the right to free movement within the 
EU. The Commission’s preparatory work is currently ongoing. 

Access to medical records online 

The  Digital  Decade  target  that  100%  of  citizens  shall  have  access  to  their  medical  records  online 
builds on the following initiatives and legislative acts.  

Enabling citizens to access to their health data online empowers them to be actively involved in their 
own  health  journey.  Access  to  health  data  is  essential  to  be  able  to  seek  a  second  opinion  or  to 
receive treatment from a different healthcare provider.  

Citizens’ access to health data still varies greatly between EU Member States. However, the Member 
States  and  private  institutions  are  increasing  their  efforts  to  accelerate  and  advance  secure  and 
interoperable electronic health data infrastructures that enable health data access and use.  

The concept of access to electronic health data is complex and multi-dimensional. National readiness 
to  enable  citizen  access  to  health  data  can  be  measured  along  three  broad  lines  of  progress:  (1) 
nationwide availability of secure and easy to use data access service, (2) the scope of health data that 
is accessible to citizens (3) equity of access and availability of support.   

108 

 
 
 
In  2018,  the  European  Commission  published  a  Communication  on  the  digital  transformation  of 
health and care240. With the aim of empowering citizens and improving health across the society, the 
Commission proposed to take action in the following three areas: – (1) secure access to health data 
for citizens and sharing of health data across borders, (2) better data to advance  research, disease 
prevention,  and  personalised  health  and  care,  (3)  digital  tools  to  empower  citizens  to  be  actively 
involved in their own health journey and to allow for person-centred care.  

In  2019,  the  Commission  published  interoperability  recommendations  for  common  technical 
specifications  for  exchange  format  of  Electronic  Health  Records  (EEHRxF)241  in  order  to  facilitate 
secure data sharing across the EU. 
On 3 May 2022, a legislative proposal for a Regulation on the European Health Data Space (EHDS)242 
was  published.  The  proposed  EHDS  is  one  of  nine  data  spaces  announced  in  the  2020  EU  Data 
Strategy. The EHDS is intended to promote better exchange and access to different types of health 
data  (including  electronic  health  records),  to  empower  citizens  to  control  their  health  data,  to 
support  healthcare  delivery  (so-called  primary  use  of  data),  and  to  improve  the  quality  and 
accessibility of health data for research, innovation and policymaking.  

The  Commission  is  exploring  the  potential  of  using  the  digital  identity  wallet  in  the  health  sector, 
building on the recent experience with the EU Digital COVID Certificate which provided secure health 
data access via smartphones.  

Online accessibility of key public services  

The  Digital  Decade  target  that  100%  of  citizens  shall  have  access  to  key  public  services  online  is 
strongly related to the following initiatives and legislative acts.  

Online setting up of companies and branches  

A major step in providing digital public services for companies was taken in 2019, when the Company 
Law Digitalisation Directive243 ensured that company law procedures, such as the setup of a company 
or branch, can be performed fully online; and the Company Law Mobility Directive244 allowed public 
administrations  to  exchange 
including  pre-operation  certificates,  on  mergers, 
information, 
conversions and divisions of companies taking place in different Member States.  

As a second step in the digitalisation of company law procedures, the Commission recently adopted a 
proposal to further expand the use of digital tools and processes in EU company law245. The proposal 
aims  at  contributing  to  the  further  digitalisation  of  the  single  market  and  helping  companies,  and 
especially  small  and  medium-sized  ones,  to  do  business  in  the  EU,  increasing  the  availability  of 

240  COMMUNICATION  FROM  THE  COMMISSION  TO  THE  EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT,  THE  COUNCIL,  THE 
EUROPEAN  ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL  COMMITTEE  AND  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  REGIONS  on  enabling  the 
digital  transformation  of  health  and  care  in  the  Digital  Single  Market;  empowering  citizens  and  building  a 
healthier society COM(2018) 233 final 
241 Commission Recommendation (EU) 2019/243 of 6 February 2019 on a  European Electronic Health Record 
exchange format 
242 Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the European Health 
Data Space COM/2022/197 final 
243 Directive (EU) 2019/2121 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 amending 
Directive (EU) 2017/1132 as regards cross-border conversions, mergers and divisions 
244 Directive (EU) 2019/1151 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 amending Directive 
(EU) 2017/1132 as regards the use of digital tools and processes in company law. 
245 Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directives 2009/102/EC 
and (EU) 2017/1132 as regards further expanding and upgrading the use of digital tools and processes in 
company law. 

109 

 
 
 
 
company  information  at  EU  level  and  removing  administrative  barriers  when  companies  and 
authorities use company information in cross-border situations. Companies are estimated to benefit 
from savings of EUR 437 million of administrative burden per year, thanks to measures like the EU 
Company Certificate or the application of the “once-only principle” while registering a subsidiary or a 
branch. Overall, the proposal promotes “digital by default” solutions. The proposal is also emphasing 
the  importance  of  trust  services  use  and  aims  at  ensuring  that  shou  solutions  such  as  the  EU 
Company Certificate are compatible with the forthcoming European Digital Identity Wallet.  

Similarly to the 2019 Digitalisation Directive and Mobility Directive, the proposal builds on the use of 
the system of interconnection of business registers (BRIS)246. BRIS interconnects all Member States’ 
and  EEA  countries’  business  registers  and  provides  the  public  with  access  to  information  about  20 
million companies and their cross-border branches, and information about mergers, conversions and 
divisions of EU companies. BRIS is operational since 2017 and relies on the use of a European Unique 
Identification  Number  for  companies  –  EUID  –  which  makes  it  possible  to  unequivocally  identity 
companies in the internal market. 

Single Digital Gateway 
The  Single  Digital  Gateway247  (SDG)  is  one  of  the  most  ambitious  EU  eGovernment  initiatives  to 
digitalise  public  administration.  It  is  key  to  enhance  the  EU’s  competitiveness  and  achieve  a  level-
playing field in the Single Market. 
Through  the  Your  Europe248  web  portal,  the  SDG  is  setting  up  a  cross-sectoral  one-stop  shop  that 
provides businesses and citizens with: 

-  Reliable and up-to-date information about rules and procedures in the Single Market, at all levels 

of government; 

-  Direct, centralised, and guided access to assistance and problem-solving services; 
-  Direct access to a wide range of  fully digitised administrative procedures, for which the Once-
Only Technical System (OOTS) allows an  automated exchange of evidence between authorities 
across the EU, except for those procedures concerning the on-line setting up of companies and 
branches and or any subsequent filing by companies, which are covered instead by the rules of 
the Company Law Digitalisation Directive including the BRIS system; 

- 

Feedback tools to report on the quality of services and single market obstacles. 

The  SDG  is  improving  the  European  business  environment  by  cutting  red  tape  and  helping 
companies, notably SMEs, to better understand and use their rights and the opportunities offered by 
the Single Market. It also simplifies the daily life of citizens. Therefore, the SDG is a major lever for a 
better Single Market.  

The  SDG  is  implemented  in  stages  as  a  joint  effort  from  both  the  Member  States  and  the 
Commission.  It  was  launched  in  2020,  making  information  on  rights  and  procedures  at  EU  and 
national  levels  available  on  Your  Europe  together  with  seven  assistance  services,  data  compilation 
systems  and  user  feedback  mechanisms.  In  December  2022,  the  same  information  was  made 
available on Your Europe for the municipal level (where applicable). 

Finally, by December 2023, the Member States should: 

a.  Ensure that where a procedure249 can be accessed and completed online by national users it 

can also be so by cross-border users in a non-discriminatory way. 

246 https://e-justice.europa.eu/489/EN/business_registers__search_for_a_company_in_the_eu 
247  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1724  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. 
248 https://europa.eu/youreurope/ 

110 

 
 
 
b.  Provide online access, for national and cross-border users, to procedures in 21 areas250 that 

are crucial to the business cycle and citizens’ formalities. 

These  procedures  are  to  be  offered  fully  online.  This  means  that  users  will  be  able  to  identify 
themselves and to authenticate, to complete and sign applications online.  They will subsequently be 
notified electronically when the relevant process is completed. By December 2023, the Commission 
and the Member States shall deploy a so-called Once-Only Technical System which will enable the 
automated  and  secure  exchange  of  evidence  between  EU  public  authorities  –  in  the  form  of 
documents  or  structured  data  -  without  having  to  request  the  same  data  or  documents  from  the 
applicant twice. 

Many of these procedures defined in the SDG Regulation correspond to administrative steps in life 
events  for  which  the  provision  of  online  public  services  is  monitored  via  the  eGovernment 
Benchmark, which feeds into the Digital Economy and Society Index.  

Interoperability 

While working towards the digital transformation of public services and their availability online, the 
Union  needs  to  ensure  that  these  services  are  also  accessible  to  citizens  of  any  Member  State 
without discrimination. These services should also be fully aligned with EU values and principles, such 
as the once-only principle and human-centricity251, striving for personalised and eventually pro-active 
public  services  that  work  seamlessly  across  borders252.  Interoperability  is  a  key  enabler  in  this 
endeavour.  Interoperability  facilitates  legal,  organisational,  semantic,  and  technical  alignment,  as 
recommended by the European Interoperability Framework (EIF)253  to facilitate cross-border data 
exchange. Interoperability is also essential to remove barriers to the Single Market and to deliver 
human-centric,  interconnected  digital  public  services.  The  Commission  therefore  proposed  the 
Interoperable Europe Act254 in November 2022.  

The  Interoperable  Europe  Act  is  intended  to  help  the  EU  and  its  Member  States  to  deliver  better 
public  services  online.  It  provides  for  a  structured  cooperation  framework  on  interoperability 
between the Member States’ public administrations and European Institutions, bodies and agencies 
and to create common reusable interoperability solutions that will enable administrations at all levels 
to  provide  cross-border  public  services. Importantly,  the  proposed  Act  paves  the  way  towards  an 
interoperable-by-design approach to policy making and implementation in the Union, by introducing 
‘interoperability  assessments’255.  It  should  help  public  administrations  and  sectoral  initiatives  to 
explore, and where appropriate address, cross-border and cross-domain interoperability aspects, as 
well as help increase  the reuse of common interoperability solutions ‘interoperability assessments’ 
when  designing  online  tools  to  access  digital  public  services.  It  is  expected  that  cross-border 
interoperability can lead to cost-savings of between EUR 5.5 and EUR 6.3 million per year for citizens 

249 Annex I of the SDGR list the procedure types covered by the SDG. See also Article 2(2)(b) SDGR. 
250 Annex II of the SDGR list the procedure types covered by the SDG. 
251 Ministerial Declaration on eGovernment - Tallinn declaration. 
252 The Berlin Declaration on Digital Society and Value-based Digital Government. 
253 The European Interoperability Framework. 
254  The  proposal  was  adopted  by  the  Commission  on  18  November  2022  and  is  currently  under  inter-
institutional negotiations. 
255 Article 3 of the proposed Act. 

111 

 
 
 
 
and  between  EUR  5.7  and  EUR  19.2  billion  per  year  for  businesses  dealing  with  public 
administrations256. 

The  uptake  of  interoperability  in  Europe  is  monitored  through  the  National  Interoperability 
Framework Observatory (NIFO)257, and more specifically via the EIF monitoring mechanism258 and the 
Digital Public Administration factsheets259. 

4.2  Overall outlook based on DESI digital public services indicators 

Table 8 Digital public services indicators grouped in two classes 

Source: DESI 2023, European Commission. Indicators’ description and details in 2023 DESI methodological note. Key 
Performance Indicators for the Digital Decade targets for 2030 of the Digital Decade Policy Programme are highlighted in 
green. 

4.3  Overview on digitalisation of public services 
4.3.1 

e-Government users 

This indicator measures the share of all internet users (aged 16-74) that interacted via a website or 
an app with public authorities in the last 12 months.260  
In Denmark, Cyprus, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Estonia and Luxembourg more than 90% of 
internet users interacted with the public authorities via websites and apps in the last 12 months. On 
average, 3 out of 4 internet users within the EU interacted online via websites and apps with public 

256  COMMISSION  STAFF  WORKING  DOCUMENT  IMPACT  ASSESSMENT  REPORT  Accompanying  the  document 
Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL laying down measures for a 
high level of public sector interoperability across the Union (Interoperable Europe Act) - SWD(2022)721, pg. 54. 
257 More information on the National Interoperability Framework Observatory (NIFO). 
258 More information on the EIF monitoring mechanism. 
259 More information on the Digital Public Administration factsheets. 
260 Due to a change in the survey methodology, the indicator I_IUGOV12 collected via the EU survey on the use 
of  ICT  in  households  and  by  individuals  until  2021  was  discontinued.  I_IGOVANYS  is  collected  via  the  same 
survey  since  2022,  but  represents  a  wider  range  of  e-government  activities,  with  online  interactions  via 
websites and apps.  

112 

EUEUDESI 2021DESI 2022DESI 2023DESI 20232030 target4a1 e-Government usersNANA74%74%% internet users202220224a2 Digital public services for citizensNA757777100Score (0 to 100)2021202220224a3 Digital public services for businessesNA828484100Score (0 to 100)2021202220224a4 Pre-filled formsNA646868Score (0 to 100)2021202220224a5 Transparency of service delivery, design and personal dataNA636565Score (0 to 100)2021202220224a6 User supportNA828484Score (0 to 100)2021202220224a7 Mobile friendlinessNA929393Score (0 to 100)2021202220224b1 Access to e-health recordsNANA7272100Score (0 to 100)20232023#N/A 
 
 
 
 
 
 
authorities. In Bulgaria, however, only 32% of internet users interacted online with public authorities 
in the last 12 months, in Romania only 24%.  

Figure 64: e-Government users interacting with public authorities via websites or apps in the last 12 months (% 
of internet users), 2022 

100

80

60

40

20

0

DK CY

FI NL SE EE LU FR IE BE CZ ES

LT MT SK

SI HU PT EL AT LV IT HR PL DE BG RO

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

4.3.2 

Digital public services for citizens  

The target under the Digital Decade Policy Programme is full online availability of key public services 
for citizens by 2030261. The Implementing Act on the Key Performance Indicator defines the indicator 
on online availability of public services for citizens as the key performance indicator for measuring 
the progress on the Digital Decade target.   
This  key  performance  indicator262  measures  the  extent  to  which  a  service  or  information  on  a 
service for citizens is provided online, and/or via a government portal. Services can be offered fully 
online,  partially  online,  or  offline  only,  and  are  classified  accordingly.  The  indicator  measures  the 
share of administrative steps in a life event that can be done online for major life events for citizens. 
A life event is a package of governmental or public services, usually provided by multiple agencies, 
that  support  citizens  through  key  points  of  their  lives,  such  as  the  birth  of  a  child.  The  indicator 
considers  7  major  life  events,  Career,  Studying  and  Family,  Health,  Moving,  Transport,  Starting  a 

261 Art 4 of the Decision on the Digital Decade Policy Programme sets amongst others the following target: 1. 
(4)  the  digitalisation  of  public  services,  where:  (a)  there  is  100  %  online  accessible  provision  of  key  public 
services and, where relevant, it is possible for citizens and businesses in the Union to interact online with public 
administrations; 
262 In 2020, the indicator replaced the Online service completion indicator that measured the online availability 
of all (business and citizen) national services, of which some were already covered by the Digital public services 
for businesses indicator. The input for this indicator is the national online availability indicator and the cross-
border online availability indicator of the citizen-related life events from the e-Government Benchmark study. 
The number of services assessed in 2020,2021 and 2022 was 69. Out of these 69 services, 66 were measured at 
national level and 35 at cross border level. Of course, some services were measured for both the national and 
the cross-border dimensions. The data for this indicator is gathered biannually. 

113 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Small Claims Procedure. The indicator is calculated as the average of the national and cross-border 
online availability for informational and transactional services263.  

Malta, Luxembourg, Estonia and Finland performed the best on this measure, scoring more than 90. 
Malta  as  the  top-scoring  country  achieved  the  Digital  Decade  target  for  2030  already.  Finland 
reached the milestone of a score of at least 90 for the first time in 2022. 12 countries in total (Malta, 
Luxembourg, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Lithuania, Belgium 
and Ireland) scored above 80. Belgium joined this group for the first time.  

While in 2021 still 5 countries (Romania, Greece, Cyprus, Poland and Bulgaria) scored less than 60, in 
2022 only Romania is performing below a score of 60 with a score of 48.  

Despite this narrowing in the gap in the performance of frontrunners and laggards and also the EU 
average  increased  from  75  in  2021  to  77  in  2022,  overall  distance  to  the  Digital  Decade  target  is 
significant. This shows that there remains ample room for improvement. Based on the actual data, 
15 countries score below 80 and are therefore still far from the Digital Decade target to be achieved 
by  2030.  In  these  countries  major  steps  are  necessary  to  be  able  to  achieve  the  digital  decade 
target in 2030.  

Figure 65: Digital public services for citizens (score 0 to 100), 2022 

Source: eGovernment Benchmark, Capgemini. 

The  indicator  for  online  accessibility  of  public  services  has  two  components:  national  and  cross-
border264  online  availability of public  services for citizens.,  The cross-border element  appears to be  
the main driver for low performance as it is the weak point in many Member States. Targeted action 
to  improve  cross-border  online  availability  is  therefore  most  needed  to  improve  the  overall 
performance.  In particular, this holds true for the lowest performing countries with scores below 50 
(Romania, Poland, Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria, Italy and Slovakia).  Countries with scores between 50 
and 70, namely Slovenia, France, Croatia, Portugal, Cyprus, Austria, Germany, Denmark, and Czechia, 

263 Informational services: services and procedures that provide users with adequate and personalised insight 
into his/her situation. Transactional services: services and procedures needed to fulfil the essential 
requirements of a life event through online interaction. 
264 Cross-border online availability is the extent to which informational and transactional services and 
information concerning these services are provided online for users from other European countries. 

114 

 
 
 
 
 
 
should also take adequate steps to improve the cross-border online availability of public services 
for citizens. 

Figure 66: Cross-border online availability of public services for citizens (score 0 to 100), 2022 

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

MT LU EE FI LV SE LT NL ES IE BE CZ DK DE AT CY PT HR FR SI SK IT BG HU EL PL RO

4.3.3 

Digital public services for businesses 

The Digital Decade Policy Programme sets the target of full online availability of key public services 
for businesses in 2030. The Implementing Act on the Key Performance Indicator defines the indicator 
on online availability of public services for businesses as the key performance indicator for measuring 
the progress on the Digital Decade target.   
This  key  performance  indicator265  measures  the  extent  to  which  a  service  or  information  on  a 
service for businesses is provided online, and/or via a government portal. Services may be offered 
fully, partially online or offline only. The indicator measures the share of administrative steps in a life 
event that can be done online for the two major life events for businesses, namely when starting a 
business and conducting regular business operations. It is calculated as the average of the national 
and cross-border online availability for informational and transactional services264. Services provided 
through  a  portal  receive  a  higher  score,  while  services  that  only  provide  information  online,  but 
require  operations  to  be  carried  out  offline  receive  a  lower  score.  Therefore,  this  indicator  also 
measures  the  degree  to  which  public  services  for  businesses  are  interoperable  and  work  cross-
border.266  

Based  on  the  2022  data,  Ireland,  Finland,  Estonia,  Malta,  Luxembourg,  Lithuania  and  Spain  have  a 
score  above  90  (out  of  100).  Ireland  and  Finland  already  reached  the  score  of  100  in  2022,  i.e., 
achieved the 2030 Digital Decade target.  

265 The input for this indicator is the national online availability indicator and the cross-border online availability 
indicator of the business-related life events from the e-Government Benchmark. 
266 In 2020, the indicator was updated to align with policy advancements and goals in the field (e.g. alignment 
with the Single Digital Gateway Regulation). The eGovernment Benchmark method was updated, and the total 
number of services assessed was reduced. The number of services assessed in 2020, 2021 and 2022 was 26. All 
26 were measured at national level and 18 at cross-border level. Of course, some services were measured for 
both the national and the cross-border dimensions. 

115 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Two countries have a score below 70, only half of the number of countries that scored below 70 in 
2021.  In  2022  it  is  only  Croatia  with  a  score  of  67  and  Romania  with  a  score  of  45  who  are 
significantly lagging behind. 

The EU average score is 84 in 2022 compared to 82 in 2021. Only 8 countries have a score below 80. 
This  shows  that  most  of  the  Member  States  are  relatively  on  track  to  achieve  the  digital  decade 
target  of  a  score  of  100  by  2030.  However,  in  countries  with  a  score  below  80,  in  particular,  in 
Romania  and  Croatia,  significant  improvements  are  necessary  to  be  able  to  achieve  the  2030 
Digital Decade target for online availability of public services for businesses. 

Figure 67: Digital public services for businesses (Score 0 to 100), 2022 

Source: eGovernment Benchmark, Capgemini. 

As  the  graph  below  shows,  there  is  a  wider  gap  between  Member  States  if  looking  at  the 
subcomponent on cross-border online availability of public services for businesses. The majority of 
Member States scores lower on this subcomponent in comparison to their overall score (if looking 
at  both  national  and  cross-border  users).  Romania  reaches a  score  of  only 6  for  this  sub-indicator. 
This  means  that  basically  almost  no  public  services  for  businesses  are  available  online  for  cross-
border users. 14 Member States in total reach scores below 70 on this sub-indicator and therefore 
need to improve significantly in order to achieve the 2030 Digital Decade targets.  

116 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 69: Cross-border availability of public services for businesses (Score 0 to 100), 2022 

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

FI

IE EE MT LU LT ES SE NL CY BE DK LV SI AT BG CZ DE PT SK FR IT HU EL PL HR RO

Source: eGovernment Benchmark, Capgemini. 

 Pre-filled forms 

4.3.4 
This indicator267 measures the extent to which data that is already known to public administrations 
is  pre-filled  in  forms  presented  to  the  user.  The  maximum  overall  score  is  100.  The  use  of  inter-
connected registers is key to ensure that users do not have to resubmit the same data to the public 
administration (Once Only Principle).268 In the context of the Single Digital Gateway, direct access to a 
wide  range  of  fully  digitised  administrative  procedures  is  envisaged.  The  Once-Only  Technical 
System (OOTS) allows an automated exchange of evidence between authorities across the EU. 

The  best  performing  countries  in  2022  were  The  Netherlands,  Lithuania,  Finland,  Malta,  Estonia 
Denmark, and Sweden, all of which attained scores above 85. Compared to 2021, the top performers 
remained the same countries.  

On the other hand, some of the worst performers made significant improvements compared to 2021. 
Notably,  Romania  more  than  doubled  its  score  to  41,  and  Cyprus  jumped  from  36  to  49.  The 
countries  with  scores  below  50  are  Cyprus,  France,  Italy,  Germany,  Czechia,  Romania,  and  Croatia 
(lowest score of 38).  

Despite the progress some countries have made, the  gap between the best and worst performing 
countries remains significant. Also, the EU average increased from 64 in 2021 to 68 in 2022, but with 
an EU average score of 68 overall this is an area where substantial room for improvement persists.  

267 The input for this indicator is the authentic sources indicator of the eGovernment benchmark. The indicator 
has been recently renamed to pre-filled forms in the eGovernment Benchmark study 2023, in order to ensure 
better  consistency  between  the  eGovernment  Benchmark  study  collecting  this  data  and  the  reporting  under 
DESI. The number of services assessed in 2020, 2021 and 2022 was 95 (69 for citizens and 26 for businesses). 
The data for this indicator is gathered biannually. 
268 In 2020, the methodology for the indicator was updated to align with policy advancements and goals in the 
field (e.g., by updating the set of national services). 

117 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 68: Pre-filled forms (Score 0 to 100), 2022 

Source: eGovernment Benchmark, Capgemini. 

4.3.5 

Transparency 

Transparency assesses the extent to which service processes are transparent, services are designed 
with  user  involvement  and  users  can  manage  their  personal  data.269  This  aggregate  indicator 
includes the following three key elements: 

1.  Transparency  of  service  delivery:  the extent to which  the  service  process  and expectations 

are clear. 

2.  Transparency of personal data270: the extent to which users can manage their personal data 

held by government organisations. 

3.  Transparency of service  design: the  extent  to which  users  are  informed on  and  involved  in 

policy and service design processes. 

269 Similarly, to the other indicators for which data is gathered with the eGovernment Benchmark study, in 
2020, these indicators were updated to align with policy advancements and goals in the field by reducing the 
total number of services assessed. 
270 The Transparency of personal data indicator analyses the availability and degree of digitalisation regarding 
online modalities of exercising data subject rights. Importantly, it does not provide a GDPR compliance review 
(reserved to competent data protection authorities) and does not form any restriction that could be provided 
by Member State law. 

118 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 69: Transparency status in Member States (Score 0 to 100), 2022 

For the aggregated indicator on transparency, Member States’ scores range from 32 (Cyprus) to 98 
(Malta).  Overall, 12 countries are performing well with scores above 70 (Malta, Luxemburg, Estonia, 
The  Netherlands, Denmark,  Lithuania,  Spain,  Finland,  Latvia,  Austria,  Portugal, and  Ireland)  The  EU 
average score is 65 in 2022.  

5 countries, namely Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Romania, and Cyprus, score below 50. 

In relation to transparency, given the wide range in performance, Member States could learn from 
each  other  and  adopt  best  practises,  in  order  to  narrow  the  gap  in  performance  and  to  overall 
achieve better transparency of digital public services in Europe.  

It  is  worthwhile  to  explore  how  the  Member  States  perform  in  relation  to  the  different  sub-
indicators, to better understand where the weaknesses and strengths of the different Member States 
are in terms transparency of digital public services. 

119 

Source: eGovernment Benchmark, Capgemini.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 70: Transparency of service delivery (Score 0 to 100), 2022 

Next  to  Malta  and  Estonia,  Latvia  is  a  frontrunner  on  the  performance  on  the  sub-indicator 
transparency of service delivery, with a score of above 80.  In these countries service process and 
expectations are relatively clear.  

Romania  and  Cyprus  are  the  laggards  (with  a  score  of  20).  11  Member  States  (Sweden,  Poland, 
Croatia,  Germany,  Czechia,  Slovakia,  Bulgaria,  Italy,  Greece,  Romania  and  Cyprus)  score  below  50.  
The average score is 56. This represents the weakest performance among the 3 sub-components.  It 
is  therefore  recommended  that  the  Member  States  take  action  towards  improving  the 
transparency of the service delivery for public services online.   

Figure 71: Transparency of personal data (Score 0 to 100), 2022 

On  transparency  of  personal  data,  11 Member  States  reach scores  above  80;  with  Malta,  Estonia, 
Luxembourg and Latvia in the lead with a score above 90. This means that in these Member States 
users can manage their personal data held by government organisations rather well. 

120 

Source: eGovernment Benchmark, Capgemini. Source: eGovernment Benchmark, Capgemini.  
 
 
 
 
 
On the other hand, 5 Member States perform below a score of 60 (Croatia, Ireland, Poland, Cyprus 
and Slovakia). Slovakia scores 36, which is less than half of the EU average score of 75. Especially in 
Slovakia,  but  also  in  other  less  performing  Member  States  with  a  score  below  of  60,  there  is  a 
pressing  need  to  improve  the  possibility  for  users  to  manage  their  personal  data  held  by 
government organisations. 

Figure 72: Transparency of service design (Score 0 to 100), 2022 

The difference in performance between the highest- and lowest-scoring countries is particularly large 
in the transparency of design delivery. The EU average score is 64. 

In  2022,  The  Netherlands,  Malta,  Luxembourg,  and  Ireland  reached  the  maximum  score  of  100. 
Finland is also a top performer with a score above 90. In these countries, users are fully informed on 
and are involved in policy and service design processes.  

At  the  lower  end  of  the  range,  there  are  9  countries  (Greece,  Romania,  Bulgaria,  Latvia,  Hungary, 
Czechia, Germany Italy and Cyprus) with scores below 50.  The lowest-scoring country is Cyprus with 
a score of 22, which is 14 points below the second-lowest score of 36 (Germany and Italy). The low 
scores indicate that, in these countries, users are little informed on or scarcely involved in policy and 
service design processes. 

Except for the top performers, there is ample room for improvement in informing users on policy 
and service design processes and in involving users in these processes. 

4.3.6 

 User support 

The  indicator  on  user  support  is  the  aggregate  indicator  measuring  the  extent  to  which  online 
support, help features, and feedback mechanisms are available for users from within the country 
and from other European countries. User support is an essential element of user centricity.  

On average, the Member States score 82. The lowest-scoring countries are Hungary (score of 67), the 
Czech Republic (64), Bulgaria (63), and Cyprus (score of 58). The top performer Malta reaches the full 
score.   

The  indicator  consists  of  2  sub-indicators  measuring  the  user  support  to  national  users  and  cross-
border  users.  The  figures  below  show  a  significant  difference  in  performance  between  the  2  sub-
indicators. 

121 

Source: eGovernment Benchmark, Capgemini.  
 
 
 
 
border users. The figures below show a significant difference in performance in the 2 sub-indicators. 

Figure 73: User support (national) (Score 0 to 100), 2022 

Italy, Spain, Malta, Greece and Finland provide full user support to users based within their country. 
the EU average score is with 93 also very high. The lowest performing country  is Cyprus with a score 
of 71.  

The  sub-indicator  cross-border  user  support  measures  the  extent  to  which  online  support,  help 
features,  and  feedback  mechanisms  are  available  for  users  accessing  public  services  from  other 
European countries. 

Figure 74: User support (cross-border) (Score 0 to 100), 2022 

In relation to cross-border user support, there is a very wide range in performance within the EU. The 
average score is 74. 4 countries, namely Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Malta, and Estonia, attain the 
maximum  scores.  4  countries  do  not  even  reach  a  score  of  50,  with  Greece  scoring  48,  Romania, 
France and Poland scoring 44.  

122 

Source: eGovernment Benchmark, Capgemini. Source: eGovernment Benchmark, Capgemini.  
 
 
 
 
 
Moreover, Cyprus is the only country that performs far better for cross-border user support than for 
national user support. This is against the trend in other Member States.  

The most significant gap in performance between national and cross-border user support exists in 
Poland, France, Romania, Greece, Hungary and Italy, where scores for cross-border user support are 
only approximately half of the scores for national user support.  

In  many  Member  States  closing  this  substantial  gap  and  providing  user  support  to  cross-border 
users would require substantial efforts.  

4.3.7 

 Mobile friendliness 

The newly added indicator on mobile friendliness assesses the extent to which services are provided 
through a mobile-friendly interface, i.e., an interface that is responsive to the mobile device. The 
compatibility  with  mobile  devices  is  an  aspect  of  user-centricity,  which  becomes  more  and  more 
important.   

Figure 75: Mobile friendliness (Score 0 to 100), 2022 

Overall,  the  Member  States  perform  well  on  this  indicator,  with  an  EU  average  score  of  93.  Only 
Romania scores with 77 below 80. The highest-scoring countries with scores above 99 are Sweden, 
Finland,  Belgium,  and  Austria.  15  countries  in  total  have  a  score  above  95.  Nonetheless,  strongly 
linked  to  the  target  on  online  availability  for  digital  public  services  for  citizens  and  businesses, 
digital public services should ideally become fully available to users regardless of which interface 
they use.  

4.4  Trends towards 2030 for digitalisation of public services 
The Digital Decade target aims at ensuring wide and easy access to public services online, measured 
through  the  online  availability  of  key  public  services  be  it  for  citizens,  for  example  to  fix  and 
reschedule  an  appointment  at  the  hospital  or  appeal  against  court  decision,  or  for  businesses,  for 
example when starting a business or conducting regular business operations.   

The evolution of the provision of digital public services  is generally assumed  to follow an S-shaped 
curve.  There  are  two  main  reasons  why  the  growth  rate  becomes  smaller  once  a  certain  level  of 
digitisation has been reached. First, some services will be more  costly to digitalise. Therefore, they 

123 

Source: eGovernment Benchmark, Capgemini.  
 
 
 
 
 
will be left for the end of the digitalisation process. Second, services in rural or remote areas where 
the digital infrastructure is less advanced will be more difficult to digitalise.  

The methodology used by the eGovernment benchmark was revised in 2020, leading to a break-in -
series  for  both  key  performance  indicators.  The  methodology  used  to  estimate  the  eGovernment 
KPIs trajectories and adapt them to the break in series is explained in the  Communication from the 
Commission establishing Union-level projected trajectories for the digital targets271.   

Historical data, the Digital Decade trajectory and the baseline trajectory are shown in Figure 76 (a) for 
the citizens’ KPI and  Figure  76  (b) for the businesses’ KPI. The 2030 expected value  with no further 
investments is 94% for the citizens’ indicator and 97% for the businesses’ indicator.   

Figure 76: Online service provision for citizens (top chart) and businesses (bottom chart). Historical data, Digital 
Decade (DD) trajectory and baseline trajectory towards 2030  

(a)  Share of administrative steps that can be done online for major life events for citizens, national and foreigners 
(0 = no steps can be done online; 100 = the whole process can be done online). Historical data, Digital Decade 
and baseline trajectory  

271  Digital  Decade  and  baseline  trajectories  are  presented  in  the  “Communication  from  the  Commission 
establishing Union-level projected trajectories for the digital targets” C(2023) 7500. 

124 

 
 
 
 
 
(b)  Share of public services needed for starting a business and for conducting regular business operations that 
are  available  online  for  domestics  as  well  as  for  foreign  users  (0  =  no  steps  can  be  done  online;  1  =  the 
whole process can be done online). Historical data, Digital Decade and baseline trajectory 

In  2022,  the  availability of  digital  public  services  for citizens  and  businesses  achieved, respectively, 
the score 77 and 84 out of the maximum value of 100. Some Member States are already close to or 
have  achieved  the  100  points  target.  Nevertheless,  progress  is  uneven  across  and  within  Member 
States. In particular, there is ample room of improvement as regards the availability of cross-border 
services.  
4.5  Overview on Electronic identification (eID) 
The Digital Decade target on electronic identification requires that, by 2030, 100 % of Union citizens 
have  access  to  secure  electronic  identification  (eID)  means  that  are  recognised  throughout  the 
Union, enabling them to have full control over identity transactions and shared personal data. Access 
to eID is measured by two KPIs:   

(1)  as  the  number  of  Member  States  that  have  notified  at  least  one  national  eID  scheme  in 
accordance with Regulation (EU) No 910/201410 and  

(2) as the number of Member States that have provided access to secure privacy-enhancing and data 
protection compliant eID via the European Digital Identity Wallet in accordance with the 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.11 

By  the  time  of  the  publication  of  this  document,  a  total  of  21  EU  countries  are  expected  to  have 
notified at least one eID scheme. Four of the remaining countries are currently involved in at least 
one  large-scale  pilot  project  funded  by  the  Digital  Europe  Programme.  The  goal  of  these  pilot 
projects 
is  to  test  the  wallet  around  a  diverse  range  of  every-day  use-cases  such  as 
identification/authentication, signing documents electronically, making payments and storing mobile 
driving  licenses,  ePrescriptions,  digital  travel  credentials,  diplomas,  and  social  security  documents. 
The feedback from these pilots will allow improving and completing the wallet architecture. 

125 

 
 
 
 
 
4.6  Trends towards 2030 on eID 
The  legislative  discussions of  the  European Digital  Identity  proposal  are  still  in progress.  In  parallel 
with  the  legislative  discussions,  several  steps  are  being  undertaken  to  facilitate  the  deployment of 
the  European  Digital  Identity  Wallet  among  the  wallet  ecosystem  once  the  legal  obligation  for 
Member States to provide wallets will become binding.  

- 

- 

- 

- 

The proposal is planned to be adopted in the course of 2023. 

The Commission proposed for Member States to issue digital wallets within 12 months from 
the entry into force, but this deadline is still subject to discussion among the co-legislators. 

The indicative timeframe for availability of the digital wallets currently is within the course of 
2025 (subject to agreement by the co-legislators). 

100 % of EU citizens would thus have access to the digital wallet as of that timeframe. 

4.7  Overview on e-health 
The  digitalization  of  health  has  the  potential  to  deeply  transform  the  healthcare  landscape, 
improving access to care, enhancing patient  engagement, and ultimately leading to better  health 
outcomes  for  individuals  and  communities.  Facilitating  and  supporting  seamless,  secure  and 
interoperable access across the EU to digital public services designed to meet people’s needs in an 
effective manner, including in particular digital health and care services, notably access to electronic 
health  records,  has  been  explicitly  included  in  the  European  Declaration  on  Digital  Rights  and 
Principles for the Digital Decade. 

The  key  performance  indicator  for  monitoring the  progress  towards  the  target  which  is  defined  as 
the  digitalisation  of  public  services  where  100  %  of  Union  citizens  have  access  to  their  electronic 
health records is set as follows:  

The access to e-health records is measured as: (i) the nationwide availability of online access services 
for citizens to their electronic health records data (via a patient portal, or a patient mobile app) with 
additional  measures  in  place  that  enable  certain  categories  of  people  (e.g.  guardians  for  children, 
people with disabilities, elderly) to also access their data, and (ii) the  percentage of individuals that 
have ability to obtain or make use of their own minimum set of health-related data currently stored 
in public and private electronic health-record (EHR) systems. 

The  indicator  is  an  aggregate  indicator  with  12  sub-indicators  measuring  key  aspects  of  the 
availability of online access to electronic health record data, at the country level: 

1. the nationwide availability of online access to electronic health data; 

2. the categories of accessible health data; 

3. the availability of authentication schemes, type of front-end solutions and coverage and 

4. the accessibility for certain categories of people (like vulnerable groups).  

Overall, the EU performs reasonably well on this indicator, with an EU average score of 72 and 12 
countries above it, with the countries in the lead such as: Denmark (96), Lithuania (92), Finland (90), 
Estonia (89), Austria (88), Poland (86), Croatia (86), Belgium (85) and Spain (83). In these countries, 
sufficiently  comprehensive  electronic  health  records  are  accessible  by  a  large  proportion  of  the 
national  population,  with  secure  means  of  authentication  and  measures  to  facilitate  equitable 
access opportunities for citizens. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  6 countries currently lagging  behind  in  their  degree of  citizens’  access  to 
electronic health records are Portugal (63), Greece (61), Romania (57), Czechia (47), Slovakia (45). In 
Ireland with score 0, such an access is not enabled for citizens. 

126 

 
 
 
As  all  Member  States  except  Ireland  reported  to  have  implemented  electronic  access  services  for 
citizens  through  national or  regional  level  or  through  systems  offered  by  healthcare  providers,  the 
gaps  to  be  addressed  remain  in  other  components  of  the  indicator:  There  is  notably  a  need  to 
improve the range of data that is accessible, increase the population coverage to at least 80%, ensure 
eIDAS compliant identification, have at least 60% of potential providers being technically connected 
and  consistently  supplying  health  data,  and  enable  access  opportunities  for  informal  carers  and 
facilitate web accessibility272. 

4.8  Trends towards 2030 on e-health, electronic health record 
Given that the target is defined as the digitalisation of public services where 100 % of Union citizens 
have  access  to  their  electronic  health  records,  the  e-Health  indicator  measures  the  availability  of 
electronic  medical  data  for  the  European  citizens  and  does  not  measure  citizens’  actual  usage  of 
online health services.  

In absence of historical data, it is assumed that the ideal path towards 100% of Union citizens having 
online access to health data will follow a linear trajectory273 from the value of 72 in 2023 to 100 at 
the end of the decade (Figure 77: eHealth composite indicator. Historical data and DD trajectory). 

Figure 77: eHealth composite indicator. Historical data and DD trajectory 

4.9  Actions at Member States and EU level 
Many important initiatives and policies exist in the Member States as well as at EU level contributing 
to achieving the common goals of the Digital Decade.  

Measures  aimed  at  digitalising  public  services  and  at  introducing  or  improving  e-government 
solutions figure prominently across the Recovery and Resilience Plans. 26%, i.e., EUR 130 billion of 
Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) funds are targeted towards digital. EUR 48 billion of the RRF 
funds allocated to the digital transformation is dedicated to digital public services. Furthermore, out 

272  Current  assessment  of  maturity  of  Member  States  concerning  citizens’  access  to  their  electronic  health 
records data was informed by recent studies published by the Commission: Interoperability of Electronic Health 
Records (EHR) in the EU study and study for Digital Decade eHealth Indicators Development 
273  Digital  Decade  and  baseline  trajectories  are  presented  in  the  “Communication  from  the  Commission 
establishing Union-level projected trajectories for the digital targets” C(2023) 7500. 

127 

 
 
 
 
 
 
of  the  EUR  117  billion  expected  to  contribute  to  the  Digital  Decade  targets,  EUR  23.8  billion  is 
considered relevant for the availability of digital public services, EUR 13.1 billion for e-health and EUR 
0.4 billion for eID.274 Some Member States are devoting more than half of their digital budget for the 
digitalisation of public services (e.g., Malta, Lithuania, Finland and Croatia). Overall, Member States 
seek  to modernise  and  improve  public  administration  processes  to  make them  more  user-friendly, 
citizen-oriented and interoperable. The aim is to boost access to and uptake of digital public services 
by individuals and businesses.  Key reforms supported under the RRF include  the  integration of  eID 
solutions  in  all  government  processes  and  the  implementation  of  the  ’Once  Only  Principle’.  The 
implementation of the RRF is ongoing and in many Member States milestones and targets are being 
achieved, thereby triggering payments from the Facility. 

In  several  Member  States  the  programmes  under  the  European  Regional  Development  Fund  for 
2021-27 also include significant EU funding for digitalisation of public services, for example in Poland 
and  Hungary.  Cohesion  policy  plays  a  key  role  in  tackling  social  and  territorial  inequalities  by 
supporting the modernisation of public services, digital skills and infrastructure, digitisation of public 
services and the digital transformation of businesses. Across all policy objectives, EUR 36.6 billion275 
will  support  the  digital  transition  in  the  period  2021-27  (in  addition  to  the  EUR  16  billion  already 
invested  in  the  digital economy  in  2014-2020276).  More  than  EUR  11  billion of  that  amount  will  be 
used to improve digital services and digitalise businesses and 22 500 public administrations.  

The Digital Europe Programme is also providing funding related to eID in the Work Programme 2021-
2022: 

-  Via procurement: 15 MEUR for a framework contract for support in developing a reference 
implementation  (RI)  of  the  European  Digital  Identity  Wallet  based  on  the  technical 
architecture (ARF) under development by member states and input by the Large-Scale Pilots 

-  Via  grants  (50%  co-funding):  Initially,  37  MEUR  for  testing  the  wallet  and  contributing  to 
enhancing the ARF/RI, topped up to 46 MEUR with leftover budget from other DEP calls to 
fund also the reserve-listed project.  

Public procurement is the main tool that the public sector has at its disposal to adopt new solutions. 
However,  benchmarking  conducted  in  a  study  in  2020277  suggests  that  on  average  across  Europe 
investments in public procurement of innovative digital solutions still need to almost triple in order 
to reach full speed adoption of innovative digital solutions in public services. According to this study 
there is a need for significant increased investment in all domains of public sector activity (e.g. public 
transport,  security,  education  and  culture,  construction,  energy, 
administration,  health, 
environment,  water  etc).  The  study  also  reveals  that  differences  between  EU  countries  are  large. 

274 Each Recovery and Resilience Plan has to dedicate at least 20% of the plan’s total allocation to 
digital objectives. To this end, the plans had to specify and justify to what extent each measure contributes 
fully (100%), partly (40%) or has no impact (0%) on digital objectives, using Annex VII of the RRF Regulation. 
Combining the coefficients with the cost estimates of each measure allows assessing to what degree the plan 
contributes to digital objectives and whether it meets the 20% target. Furthermore, a further qualitative 
assessment of the data took place to allow for an estimation of the possible contribution of RRF measures to 
the Digital Decade targets.  
275 According to the Staff Working Document on Cohesion Policy 2021-27: forging an even stronger Union, 
Report on the outcome of 2021-27 cohesion policy programming: Under the ERDF and Cohesion Fund EUR 30.3 
billion of EU financing is planned linked to the digital transition while under ESF+ EUR 6.3 billion is planned 
linked to developing digital skills and jobs. Explore the planned investments in the digital transition in this 
cohesion open data story. 
276 See DG REGIO’s Annual Activity Report 2021, page 20. 
277 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/benchmarking-innovation-procurement-investments-and-
policy-frameworks-across-europe 

128 

 
 
 
Member States that  are leading in the  digital transformation of public services are already well on 
the way to invest 10% of the country’s total public procurement expenditure in deploying innovative 
digital  solutions.  However,  Member  States  that  are  lagging  in  the  digital  transformation  of  public 
services  are  still  investing  less  than  1%  of  the  country’s  total  public  procurement  expenditure  in 
deploying  innovative  digital  solutions.  The  conducted  benchmarking  also  suggests  synergies  with 
green investments: typically, countries that lead in procuring innovative digital solutions also lead in 
green procurement. In those countries, more than 60% of all innovation procurements relied on ICT 
based solutions to achieve the desired public services transformation. ICTs are thus a key driver for 
realising the digital, green twin modernisation of public services. As innovation procurement is not 
only  improving  the  quality  and  sustainability  of  public  services  but  also  strengthening  the 
competitiveness  of  Europe’s  ICT  industry,  innovation  procurement  is  also  key  to  strengthen  EU 
strategic autonomy. The study therefore concludes that it is important to boost public procurement 
investments in the development, testing and adoption of innovative digital solutions.  

The Digital Decade country reports highlight the following good practise cases on actions at Member 
States level: 

Table 9 Good practices mentioned in Digital Decade Country reports  

Coun-
try  

AT 

Short description of good practice  

Target or 
indicator 
covered   

Doing business abroad simplified between Austria and Germany following 
the once-only principle - The Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance is 
cooperating with the German public administration in the Doing Business 
Abroad (DBA) use case that lays important basis for implementing the Single 
Digital Gateway Regulation (SDG), specifically the cross-border exchange of 
evidence according to the once-only principle (SDG OO).  

Cross-border 
online 
availability of 
digital public 
services for 
businesses 

BE 

Connectoo is a free online training course that is accessible to anyone 
working in a federal, regional or municipal administration, regardless of their 
job.  The aim of the programme is to train and certify 10,000 public 
employees in Belgium by 2030. The main targets of such training are public 
service employees in direct contact with citizens and also public service 
employees involved in the design of digital public services.   

BG  A first metaverse Ministry - In April 2022, Bulgaria has established a meta-

Ministry of Climate Transition and Green Transformation. The ministry 
resembles a private project organised by a local social tech start-up in the 
form of a think tank platform for innovative solutions and participatory 
leadership. The motivation is to help the creation of separate departments 
at local ministries and to establish an actual official ministry that will be 
energy-efficient by working almost entirely in the Metaverse. 

Digitals skills of 
public 
administrations,  

User support 
and online 
availability of 
digital public 
services for 
citizens 

Applying cloud 
services in 
public 
administrations 

CY 

The Childbirth Grant service allows mothers of new-borns to apply 
electronically for a grant in a simple, fast and easy way. The service was 
released in June 2022.  

The eligibility requirement for a mother to receive the grant is to have given 

Online 
availability of 
digital public 
services for 

129 

 
 
 
 
Target or 
indicator 
covered   

citizen,  

Transparency, 

Pre-filled forms 

Short description of good practice  

Coun-
try  

birth within 12 months prior to her request and have paid social insurance 
contributions. The service has a high transactional volume (around 10.000 
applications annually) and applies the Once-Only principle.   

The Childbirth Grant service was developed by the DSF following an agile 
approach to understand the users’ needs, to rapidly test assumptions and to 
react to changing requirements in order to meet these needs. For the design 
and development of the service, a multidisciplinary service team was 
created having members participating in different roles. The User-centred 
design (UCD) approach was followed aiming to release a service that would 
meet citizens’ needs and expectations. Clear, concise, simple and accessible 
content was used to ensure that users could understand how to use the 
service. A number of prototypes of how the service could look were also 
created to ensure that the service delivered was accessible and intuitive.  

CZ 

Incentives to adopt eID 

From the beginning of 2023, data mailboxes are being set up automatically 
for natural persons doing business, since their use is now mandatory. This 
legislative change will contribute to a rapid growth of a number of the eID 
users. To attract more users, in November 2022, a digital voter's card 
application for the presidential election was made available on the Citizen's 
Portal. The logged-in user only needs his data mailbox to make the 
submission and then to choose how he wants to receive his voter's card. All 
other information is being pre-filled for him. Almost 70,000 citizens set up a 
data mailbox in order to apply for a voter's card, which significantly 
increased the number of newly established data mailboxes for natural 
persons. 

eID, 

online 
availability of 
digital public 
services for 
businesses,  
pre-filled forms 

DE 

The digitalization of two online services in particular, namely, the “State 
Blindness Benefit” and “State Fund for the Blind” focused specifically on 
accessibility for citizens with impairments of their vision. These services, 
piloted as a Minimal Viable Product in September 2021 in the state of Lower 
Saxony, cantered on user-friendliness, ease of operation and application, 
and relied heavily on user testing with the target group 

Online 
availability of 
digital public 
services for 
citizens, 

Transparency 

DK  Denmark participates in the Nordic-Baltic eID Project (NOBID). NOBID 

eID 

monitors and facilitates the regional implementation of the eIDAS 
interoperability network, which enables citizens in the Nordic and Baltic 
countries to have access to secure electronic identification (eID) means that 
are recognised throughout the Union. Together with the Nordic and Baltic 
countries (Iceland, Norway, Latvia, Germany, Italy), Denmark participates in 
the NOBID-consortium, which focuses on payments. The focus is on 
authentication, enrolment with eID and identity matching.  

EL  MITOS: National Register of Administrative Procedures 

The launch of the National Register of Procedures MITOS in 2022 represents 
a good practice in online accessible provision of key public services which 
allow citizens and businesses to interact with public administrations.  

For the first time, every procedure of the Greek State has been gradually 

130 

 
 
 
Short description of good practice  

Coun-
try  

Target or 
indicator 
covered   

recorded in the National Register, providing people and end users with all 
the necessary information about the applicable administrative procedures 
and legislation, as well as the competent services and processing time. Up 
today: 2.524 services have been published in the Greek language, and 337 in 
English. This project will improve the interaction between the citizens and 
the state, as they will know in advance what exactly is required to be served.  

HR  Artificial Intelligence for Smart Healthcare and Medicine (AI4Health.Cro) 

e-health 

project was rated excellent by the European Commission as part of the 
Digital Europe program. AI4Health.Cro is a non-profit public-private 
consortium that sees artificial intelligence as key to the advancement of 
healthcare and as a catalyst for leading Europe to a healthier future. 
AI4Health.Cro will offer a comprehensive support to businesses and public 
entities with advanced AI-based services and technologies, addressing the 
current needs of the healthcare and public health systems for digital 
transformation. 

HU  Automated issuance of driving licenses - In case all legal conditions are met, 
driving licenses (such as the first driving license and the exchange of a 
driving license due to expiry or category expansion) are immediately 
registered in the road traffic registry, and the new licenses are issued and 
sent to citizens automatically.   

Online 
availability of 
digital public 
services for 
citizens, 

During the process, citizens only have to make a declaration for the issuance 
of documents online via the Magyarorszag.hu national single point of 
contact portal, and take the required tests (first aid, category test and 
medical aptitude test). Further on, the issuing bodies send the certificates of 
the necessary tests electronically to the specific sectoral information system 
that manages the driving license register, after which the process is fully 
automatic.  

In addition, since January 2023 data on driving licenses can be accessed by 
the controlling authorities via a standard interface directly from the 
Hungarian registry real-time online, therefore the drivers do not have to 
have the documents with them anymore when driving within the country. 

gov.ie The single public service portal, gov.ie, is designed to create a much 
better user experience by thematically presenting and simplifying 
information about public services to ensure that they are not only easy to 
find, but also easy to follow and navigate. User centricity, inclusivity and 
accessibility are of key importance. Design principles for government in 
Ireland (published in October 2022) and digital user experience (UX) 
checklist support the provision of a quality service. Most government 
departments are on gov.ie with the final two in the process of transitioning 
shortly. The gov.ie service continues to be the trusted platform for the 
government communications, handling over 70 m page views during 2022.  

IE 

Pre-filled forms 

Online 
availability of 
digital public 
services for 
citizens and 
businesses 

LT 

GovTech sandbox The GovTech sandbox focuses on finding digital solutions 
for better policy making. During 2022, a structured experimentation 
program designed to solve public sector challenges and foster the creation 

Online 
availability of 
digital public 

131 

 
 
Short description of good practice  

Coun-
try  

of digital solutions in cooperation with SMEs and start-ups was launched. 
Already 29 successful prototypes responded to the challenges of public 
sector: e.g., using satellite images and AI to measure damage done to 
farmers by cows, mobile app for people with mental disability assisting in 
purchasing goods, using the AI to model policing of road, virtual reality 
solution visualizing spaces of industrial enterprises and factories.  

Target or 
indicator 
covered   

services for 
citizens and 
businesses 

MT  Using ICT tools to diagnose diseases more efficiently - As part of the ITAMA 

e-health 

project, partly funded by ERDF, public and private project partners from 
Malta and Italy collected data,  built a database, and fed it to a Decision 
Support System using AI to help medical professionals diagnose Coeliac 
Disease. In this way, the project aimed to show that data collected through 
medical tests, blood samples and questionnaires can be sufficient to 
formulate a diagnosis without the need for invasive endoscopies, enabling 
the screening of larger populations for the disease. The project concluded in 
2022 but investments into the follow-up project ITAMA CAP have started in 
2023. This is a good example of using AI to identify more efficient diagnostic 
methods, benefitting individual patients and the health of the population at 
large.   

PT  MOSAICO is a common model for designing and development of digital 

RO 

public services. It consists of essential principles for the evolution of public 
services, promoting coherence and consistency of citizens’ and businesses’ 
relationship with the state. The dedicated web portal offers information and 
documentation of technical architectures of the public administration 
platforms  e.g. digital identity (authentication, signature, certification of 
attributes), open data portal, interoperability platform, catalogue of entities 
and services, electronic notifications system, ePortugal (single digital 
gateway for public services), etc.  

Several ongoing projects are gaining traction and are illustrating the benefits 
of e-government services to citizens and businesses in terms of 
simplification and limiting administrative burden. "Ghiseul.ro" is a national-
wide payment platform, as well as an online app, implemented by the ADR 
and the Romanian Electronic Payments Association, allowing citizens to view 
and pay fees, taxes, fines, etc. online. 400 types of payments can be done 
using it, and so far, 1.8 million citizens and businesses used the platform. In 
the first 3 months of 2023, 75 public institutions have become started using 
the platform to receive payments, and 250.000 end users have registered, 
indicating an increasing success of the platform.  

Transparency, 
eID, 

Online 
availability of 
digital public 
services for 
citizens and 
businesses 

Online 
availability of 
digital public 
services for 
citizens and 
businesses 

SE  Mina ombud - handling of digital powers of attorneys- Sweden has 

implemented a national infrastructure for a standardized and secure 
handling of digital powers of attorneys called Mina ombud. This provides for 
the option to give representation via powers of attorney, and in Sweden 
there are different juridical ways to represent via for example, roles of 
caregivers or trustees. Mina ombud gives the option of representation of 
juridical and natural persons by digital powers of attorney. The value-
proposition here is that Mina ombud makes it possible for someone to 

Online 
availability of 
digital public 
services for 
citizens and 
businesses, e-
justice 

132 

 
 
Short description of good practice  

Coun-
try  

Target or 
indicator 
covered   

represent companies and natural persons in digital services. This includes a 
national webservice for digital powers of attorneys where you can manage 
via e.g., creating new powers (via signatories), show all parties on a power of 
attorney, as well as the option to revoke all parties on a power of attorney. 
Mina ombud also stores powers of attorneys, as well as offering services for 
third parties to administrate templates and permissions for powers of 
attorneys. 

Further good practises are collected in the Background report of eGovernment Benchmark study for 
2023.278 Moreover, studies from 2022 investigated dynamics and practices of the emerging GovTech 
scene in the EU in the context of the current state of public procurement for innovation279,280. Here 
the  term  GovTech  refers  to  the  use  of  emerging  technologies  and  digital  products  and  services  by 
government  from  start-ups  and  SMEs  -  instead  of  relying  on  large  system  integrators.  The  studies 
provide  an  overview  of  GovTech  programmes   at  national  level.  They  also  share  lessons  learnt  for 
setting up government-run GovTech programmes, which can be  applied to all levels of government. 
The findings are now informing EU-wide innitiatives, such as the GovTech Incubator281 and GovTech 
Connect282. 

278 The study is published together with this report. 
279 Kuziemski, M., Mergel, I., Ulrich, P. and Martinez, A., GovTech Practices in the EU, EUR 30985 EN, 
Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2022, ISBN 978-92-76-47234-6, doi:10.2760/74735, 
JRC128247. 
280 Mergel, I., Ulrich, P., Kuziemski, M. and Martinez, A., Scoping GovTech dynamics in the EU, EUR 30979 EN, 
Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2022, ISBN 978-92-76-47059-5, doi:10.2760/700544, 
JRC128093.  
281 https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/interoperable-europe/news/govtech-incubator-launched-2023-digital-
government-summit  
282 https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/govtechconnect/about  

133