The European Commission has published its second State of the Digital Decade report, highlighting that the EU is on track to fall short of digital transformation targets.
The report provides a detailed analysis of the EU’s progress in achieving digital transformation objectives and targets set for 2030 under the Digital Decade Policy Programme (DDPP).
This year’s report included an analysis of the national Digital Decade strategic roadmaps for each Member State.
The analysis highlighted that, on the current trajectory, the collective action of the Member States will not achieve the EU’s digital transformation goals.
Key gaps in the EU’s digital landscape include:
- Digital skills
- High-quality connectivity
- Uptake of AI
- Data analytics by enterprises
- Semiconductor manufacturing
- Startup ecosystems
The report is calling for strengthened action between Member States to get Europe’s digital transformation on track.
Enhancing connectivity
The report shows the EU is lagging in DDPP connectivity goals. Fibre networks reach only 64% of households, and high-quality 5G covers just 50% of the territory with inadequate performance.
To resolve this, Member States and the Commission will collaborate to create an effective Digital Single Market.
Improving AI adoption
In 2023, European companies fell short of the 75% target for adopting AI, cloud, and big data. By 2030, only 64% of the population is expected to use the cloud, 50% of big data, and 17% of AI.
To boost digitalisation, the EU will aim to incentivise SMEs to adopt these technologies and increase private investment in startups, which is crucial for Europe’s competitiveness in innovation, efficiency, and growth.
Increasing access to digital technologies
The report highlighted that a key challenge in the EU’s digital transformation is the limited reach of digital technologies outside large cities.
It stated that addressing this digital divide requires cross-border and local cooperation through initiatives like Multi-Country Projects, European Digital Innovation Hubs, and European Digital Infrastructure Consortia.
Addressing the digital skills gap
The EU is far from meeting its Digital Decade skills targets, with only 55.6% of the population possessing basic digital skills.
By 2030, ICT specialists are projected to number 12 million, but gender imbalance remains an issue.
The report calls on Member States to adopt a comprehensive approach to enhance digital skills at all educational levels and encourage youth, especially girls, to pursue STEM disciplines.
Digitalising public services
Member States are advancing towards making all key public services and e-health records accessible online and providing secure electronic IDs (eID).
Currently, eID is available to 93% of the EU population, with the EU Digital Identity Wallet expected to boost usage. However, reaching 100% digital public services by 2030 remains challenging.
Commenting on the report, Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age: “Today’s report clearly shows that we are not on track to reach our targets on the digital transformation in Europe.
“But it also indicates a clear way forward: we need additional investments in digital skills, high-quality connectivity, and uptake of AI.
“We need to incentivise the use of digital tools. We need many more people to get digital skills – both basic and expert level – to leverage our strengths. And we need to foster cooperation and better integrate our single market to really enable the digital transformation across Europe.”
Member States must align their national roadmaps with the Digital Decade Policy Programme by 2 December 2024. The Commission will monitor progress and report in the 2025 State of the Digital Decade report.
