EN
30.12.2022
Official Journal of the European Union
C 498/39
Opinion of the European Committee of the Regions — Digital Cohesion
(2022/C 498/08)
Rapporteur:
Gaetano ARMAO (IT/EPP), Vice-president and regional minister of the Region of Sicily
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS (CoR),
Introduction 1. reiterates from the outset that economic, social and territorial cohesion is one of the main objectives indicated by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (Article 174) to precisely achieve harmonious and balanced development across the European Union (EU) and its regions;
2. stresses that the ‘digital cohesion’ concept calls for the recognition of the essential role that technology plays in our life, and requires the integration of the Cohesion objectives in the digital rights, principles and policies of the Union, calling for Article 175 TFEU to be reviewed accordingly;
3. recalls that in the 2021 EU Annual Local and Regional Barometer report, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) highlighted digital cohesion as a key anchor in creating inclusive societies in the EU: ‘digital cohesion’ is an important additional dimension of the traditional concept of economic, social and territorial cohesion defined in the EU Treaty (1).
Digitalisation can help to reduce the social and territorial inequalities by reaching out to citizens who would otherwise be excluded from certain services or underserviced;
4. recalls that the concept of digital cohesion (2), and the input needed to concretely lead to its attainment, as outlined in a major recent European Committee of the Regions foresight study (3), entails every citizen in Europe having decent access to the internet and to digital services and that the sovereignty and resilience of the EU's digital infrastructure be enhanced;
5. emphasises that the EU needs to work to make the digital transformation as accessible as possible to all EU citizens and to pay particular attention to help the less developed regions as well as those suffering from permanent natural or demographic disadvantages, such as archipelagos, outermost regions, islands, cross-border and mountain regions, to speed up their digital transformation, given the unique challenges they face while maximising their assets, and the importance of peer to peer collaboration;
6. acknowledges that, while technology is a key tool to help us adapt to challenging situations affecting all spheres of society, the prominent role of digital technology in responding and building resilience to COVID-19 has highlighted shortcomings in digital infrastructure and literacy, and has made the digital divides in the EU even more pronounced;
(1) (2) (3)
EU annual regional and local Barometer, Chapter IV — The digital transition at local and regional levels, page 63.
Opinion of the European Committee of the Regions — Digital Europe for all: delivering smart and inclusive solutions on the ground (OJ C 39, 5.2.2020, p. 83).
Fontana, Susana, Fabio Bisogni (Fondazione FORMIT), Simona Cavallini, Rossella Soldi (Progress Consulting S.r.l.)., Territorial foresight study in addressing the digital divide and promoting digital cohesion, 16 May 2022 (draft).