Helping Europe’s digital economy take off: an agenda for the next Commission

Summary:

The EU had huge potential to unlock a thriving digital economy. After the pandemic, the number of successful European start-ups grew rapidly, European businesses were increasingly adopting new technologies, and Europe was catching up with the US in deploying digital infrastructure. But there remained significant weaknesses that needed to be urgently addressed to capitalise on these promising signs. European start-ups were growing in number – but they still struggled to scale up in Europe. Smaller businesses were falling behind in digitalisation. The EU’s efforts to build a data economy were not delivering results. And there remained large gaps in Europe’s digital infrastructure. As the EU headed to the polls in June 2024, the next European Commission needed to tackle these challenges to help Europe’s digital economy take off. Some of the solutions, like building digital skills in Europe and developing an EU-wide capital market, will take time to achieve results. But the Commission should take several steps to accelerate digital growth.

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ESO Records

CEPS Policy Briefs: 2022-07: Enablers and challenges of the digital transition in the EU https://www.europeansources.info/record/enablers-and-challenges-of-the-digital-transition-in-the-eu/

OJ L 323, Pages 4-26: 19/12/2022: Decision (EU) 2022/2481 establishing the Digital Decade Policy Programme 2030 https://www.europeansources.info/record/proposal-for-a-decision-establishing-the-2030-policy-programme-path-to-the-digital-decade/

European Commission: COM (2023) 570: Report on the state of the Digital Decade 2023 https://www.europeansources.info/record/report-on-the-state-of-the-digital-decade-2023/

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