Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2021)574 - 2030 Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade” - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2021)574 - 2030 Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade”. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2021)574  |
| date | 15-09-2021 |
1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL
Reasons for and objectives of the proposal
On 9 March 2021, the Commission adopted the Communication “The 2030 Digital Compass: the European way for the Digital Decade” (‘Digital Compass Communication’) 1 . The Communication presented a vision, targets and avenues for a successful digital transformation of the European Union by 2030. This transformation is also critical to achieve the transition towards a climate neutral, circular and resilient economy. The EU's ambition is to be digitally sovereign in an open and interconnected world, and to pursue digital policies that empower people and businesses to seize a human centred, sustainable and more prosperous digital future. This includes addressing vulnerabilities and dependencies as well as accelerating investment. The Communication responded to the www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases">European Council's call for a ‘Digital Compass', and built on the Commission's digital strategy of February 2020 2 . The Communication proposed to agree on a set of digital principles, to launch rapidly important multi-country projects, and to prepare a legislative proposal setting out a robust governance through a monitoring and cooperation mechanism with Member States, to ensure progress – the Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade (‘Policy Programme’)”.
In its conclusions of 25 March 2021, the European Council stressed the importance of the digital transformation for the Union recovery, prosperity, security and competitiveness and for the well-being of our societies. It underlined the need to enhance EU’s digital sovereignty in a self-determined and open manner, by building on its strengths and reducing its weaknesses and through smart and selective action, preserving open markets and global cooperation. It identified the ‘Digital Compass Communication: the European way for the Digital Decade’ as a step towards charting the EU’s digital development for the next decade. It invited a swift review with a view to the preparation of the envisaged Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade”. In addition, it invited the Commission to widen the European Union’s policy toolbox for digital transformation, both at the European Union and national level, and to use all available instruments from industrial, trade and competition policy, skills and education, research and innovation policy and long-term funding instruments to facilitate the digital transformation.
The Digital Compass Communication also announced that the Commission would present a set of digital principles and rights in an interinstitutional solemn declaration between the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council, based on a proposal from the European Commission. The proposal will build on the experience of the European Pillar of Social Rights, and on Member States’ recent initiatives in the area, in particular the “Lisbon Declaration – Digital Democracy with a Purpose” initiated by the Portuguese Presidency of the Council.
The “Path to the Digital Decade” aims to ensure that the European Union achieves its objectives and targets towards a digital transformation of our society and economy in line with the EU´s values, reinforcing our digital leadership and promoting human centred, inclusive and sustainable digital policies empowering citizens and businesses. The objective is to deliver the EU’s digital transformation in line with this vision by establishing a clear, structured and collaborative process to achieve such result.
To this end, the “Path to the Digital Decade” sets out the concrete digital targets which the Union as a whole is expected to achieve by the end of the decade, as first delineated in the Digital Compass Communication. It then sets out a novel form of governance with Member States, through a mechanism of annual cooperation between the Unions institutions and the Member States to ensure that the Union jointly achieves its ambition. The digital targets for 2030 are based on four cardinal points: digital skills, digital infrastructures, digitalisation of businesses and of public services.
In the world of tomorrow, digital skills, basic and advanced, will be essential to reinforce our collective resilience as a society: only digitally empowered and capable citizens and a highly skilled digital workforce can be the masters of their own destiny, confident and assertive in their means, value and choices. While of course aiming at endowing the whole population of the European Union with basic digital skills, following the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, and Digital Education Action Plan 3 , the “Path to the Digital Decade” projects the target for those aged 16-74 with at least basic digital skills to 80% in 2030. Moreover, digital training and education should support a workforce in which people can acquire specialised digital skills to get quality jobs and rewarding careers. In addition, addressing the major shortage of cybersecurity skills in the EU workforce will be essential, as an important component of protecting the EU against cyber threats. Therefore, in addition to the target on basic digital skills established in the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, the EU shall have a target of 20 million employed Information and Communication Technologies specialists in the EU, with convergence between women and men.
If skills are a necessary prerequisite, essential enablers for taking advantage of the benefits of digitisation, for further technological developments and for Europe’s digital leadership is a sustainable digital infrastructure for connectivity, microelectronics and the ability to process vast data. Excellent and secure connectivity for everybody and everywhere in Europe including in rural and remote areas 4 will allow all European citizens and businesses to fully enjoy the opportunities of the Digital Decade. Societal needs for download and upload bandwidth are constantly growing. By 2030, networks with gigabit speeds should be available at accessible conditions for all those who need or wish such capacity, and with all populated areas covered by 5G. The same way, microprocessors are at the start of most of the key, strategic value chains such as connected cars, phones, Internet of Things, high performance computers, edge computers and Artificial Intelligence. Therefore, the production of cutting-edge and sustainable semiconductors in Europe including processors should be by 2030 at least 20% of the world production in value (meaning manufacturing capacities below 5nm nodes, aiming at 2nm, and 10 times more energy efficient than today). In addition, 10,000 climate neutral highly secure edge nodes 5 , should be deployed in the EU by 2030, in a way that guarantees access to data services with low latency wherever businesses are located.
Beyond enablers, all the mentioned technology will be at the core of new products, new manufacturing processes and new business models based on fair sharing of data 6 in the data economy. In this context no businesses can be left behind. The transformation of businesses will depend on their ability to adopt new digital technologies rapidly and across the board, including in industrial and services ecosystems that are currently lagging behind. This is particularly important for the small business which constitute the backbone of the European economy. This is why by 2030 at least 75% of European enterprises should have taken up cloud computing services, big data and Artificial Intelligence; and more than 90% of European SMEs should have reached at least a basic level of digital intensity. Specific attention should be given to cutting-edge and disruptive innovation aiming at doubling the number of unicorns in Europe by 2030, through growing the pipeline of EU’s innovative scale ups and improving their access to finance.
Last, but not least, democratic life and public services online by 2030 must be fully accessible for everyone, and everyone must benefit from a best–in-class digital environment providing for easy-to-use, efficient and personalised services and tools with high security and privacy standards. Government as a Platform is the new way of building digital public services 7 . The ambition is that by 2030 all online provision of key public services are available for European citizens and businesses, that all European citizens have access to their medical records (e-records) and that 80% of citizens will use a digital ID solution 8 .
Achieving these targets requires a joint effort by all Member States and at the Union level, with, where necessary, joined up investments. It will only happen in a harmonious, inclusive and sustainable way, through a purposely coordinated convergence at Union level. This is the objective of the novel governance system established in the “Path to the Digital Decade”.
It entails the monitoring and reporting on digital progress which will be presented in an annual report on the “State of the Digital Decade”, to be submitted to the Parliament and Council. On that occasion, the Commission would share its strategic assessment of the EU’s digital transformation with Council and Parliament, and would provide recommended actions and measures to Member States or discuss joint commitments undertaken between the Commission and the Member States.
To deliver the European vision for the Digital Decade, digital capacities are needed in the four areas of the Digital Compass, which can only be delivered if Member States and the EU pool resources. Investment in Multi-Country projects that have the necessary scale, and critical mass is essential to enable the industry to be at the cutting edge of innovation and compete globally, and for the Union to enhance its digital sovereignty. The challenge is however to facilitate coordination and provide efficient and speedy processes, including “through appropriate vehicles to support multi-country projects” as called for by the European Council, to create incentives for Member States to pool their strengths together. While a number of instruments exist, there is a gap in the EU’s toolbox to combine funding from Member States, the EU budget and private investment for the purposes of deploying and operating infrastructures and services of common interest, outside the research area.
To this end, the “Path to the Digital Decade” aims to support and coordinate deploying and operating Multi-Country Projects. It provides for a legal structure enabling the swift and flexible set-up and implementation of projects co-funded by several Member States, the Commission, EIB Group, public and private investors, and other private parties, in particular for the deployment across countries of large-scale digital infrastructures and/or services, while ensuring that they remain open to all interested Member States and parties.
Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area
The present Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade” complements, fulfils and implements the vision, targets and actions envisaged in the Digital Compass Communication and aims to consolidate and ensure that the actions defined in the 2019 Strategy for Shaping Europe’s digital future 9 are effectively implemented. This proposal is also consistent with the Commission’s Communication updating the 2020 new industrial strategy 10 , which identifies areas of strategic dependencies that could lead to vulnerabilities such as supply shortages or cybersecurity risks. This proposal is also consistent with the objectives of the Observatory for Critical Technologies, which aims to help identify the Union’s current and possible future digital strategic dependencies and contribute to strengthening its digital sovereignty.
Consistency with other Union policies
This Decision also builds on existing policy proposals (e.g. the Data Governance Act 11 , the Digital Services Act 12 , the Digital Markets Act 13 and those under the Cybersecurity Strategy 14 ), and Union budget instruments (e.g. Cohesion programmes, the Technical Support Instrument, the Digital Europe Programme 15 , Horizon Europe 16 and InvestEU 17 ) and on the minimum 20% earmarking for digital transition of the Recovery and Resilience Facility 18 . This proposal is also consistent with the Security Union Strategy 19 , the Skills Agenda of the EU, the Digital Education Action Plan 20 , and builds on the 2021 Strategic Foresight Report 21 , which underpins EU’s global leadership on the path towards 2050.
This proposal is also consistent with the initiatives presented by the Commission under the Green deal package 22 .
While the Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade” concerns only EU Member States, cooperation with third countries will continue in parallel, also as set out in the Digital Compass Communication. In particular, cooperation with the EU neighbourhood and enlargement partners will also address relevant aspects of the Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade” and be informed by it, paving the way for full integration, where relevant.
2. LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY
Legal basis
The legal basis for this decision is Article 173(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
Article 173(3) TFEU provides that the Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and after consulting the European Economic and Social Committee, may decide on specific measures in support of action taken in the Member States to ensure that the conditions necessary for the competitiveness of the Union’s industry are in place. This legal basis is appropriate given that this decision aims to accelerate the digital transformation of EU industry, reinforce digital sovereignty, boost industrial capacities, facilitate the development of innovative start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and encourage new investments in innovation, research and technological development.
In this context, it is particularly relevant that the Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation provides for reforms and investments in digital technologies, infrastructure, skills and processes to improve the Union’s global competitiveness and help make it more resilient, more innovative and less dependent by diversifying key supply chains. In particular, reforms and investments should promote the digitalisation of services and the development of digital and data infrastructure, clusters and digital innovation hubs, and open digital solutions. The digital transition should also incentivise the digitalisation of SMEs. Investments in digital technologies should respect the principle of interoperability, energy efficiency and comply with personal data protection, allow for the participation of SMEs and start-ups, and promote the use of open-source solutions.
Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)
The initiative is in an area of shared competence in which relevant cross-border and transnational problems should be addressed.
The digital transformation concerns all policy areas and requires joint action from a variety of stakeholders, and the involvement of Member States, including across borders. The challenges in achieving the objectives and targets will require a rapid and coordinated EU-level response. Subscribing to common principles and targets, pooling resources, building capacity and deploying broadly across the Union can strengthen the entire EU economy, and allow the Union to compete globally and shape a global digital transformation anchored in European fundamental values and rights. Failure to invest and deploy technologies and to develop digital skills of citizens to empower them to benefit fully from digital technologies could limit the EU’s ability to address the pressing climate and other sustainability challenges.
Action at EU level is clearly the best means of driving European actors to achieve common visions, objectives and targets, and adopt common technological roadmaps that provide a basis for global standards and norms. This is key to generate economies of scale and of scope, and the critical mass necessary for cutting-edge capacities, thus limiting (if not avoiding) a fragmentation of efforts in the EU and suboptimal national solutions.
It is expected that this novel form of governance, through the reporting framework and a functional monitoring and cooperation mechanism between the Member States and the Commission, will bring broader economic, social and environmental benefits for the Member States and for stakeholders. The robust monitoring and cooperation mechanism will help ensure that the EU and its Member States collectively achieve the Digital Decade objectives and find coordinated and effective solutions to common challenges in an affordable manner. Broad reporting activity will ensure transparency for all stakeholders. This is imperative in view of the considerable investment needs of digital transformation over the next decade.
Proportionality
This proposal builds on existing policy initiatives and legal frameworks and is proportionate to achieve its objectives and targets. First, this Policy Programme complements the Digital Compass Communication, which announced its preparation and is fully endorsed by the European Council.
In addition, it does not go beyond what is necessary to reach its objectives and targets since it establishes a novel mechanism for structured and transparent cooperation among the Member States and the Commission, which should lead to agreed policies, measures and actions to be put in place at national and at Union level. Furthermore, this proposal provides that the Commission may recommend to the Member States policies, measures and actions to be taken at Union and at national level, in particular to those Member States where progress towards the set objectives and targets is insufficient or gaps have been identified based on the report on the state of the Digital Decade and the subsequent cooperation process. Where a Member State fails to adopt adjustments to its national Digital Decade strategic roadmap taking into account the Commission recommended policies, measures and actions or where the reasons provided for failing to do so are considered to be insufficient, the Commission may adopt a recommendation, including a specific analysis of how this failure could impact the achievement of the objectives and the digital targets at Union level. Member States should take utmost account of such recommendations and, where they decide not to address a recommendation or a substantial part thereof, they should provide their reasons and make them public.
Choice of the instrument
The Digital Compass Communication includes a reference to a Digital Compass in the form of a digital policy programme to be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council via the “ordinary legislative procedure”.
Given that the Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade” is mainly addressed to Member States and establishes a cooperation mechanism between the Commission and the Member States, the most appropriate legal instrument is a Decision. A Decision will render binding a monitoring and cooperation mechanism involving the Commission and the Member States with a view to support and achieve the indicative EU targets set out in the Decision. A Decision produces immediate direct effects towards those to whom it is addressed.
Therefore, it is proposed to adopt the Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade” in a form of a Decision based on Art. 288 i TFEU. Such decision shall be binding in its entirety and specify those to whom it is addressed and it shall be binding only on them.
3. RESULTS OF EX-POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS
Stakeholder consultations
The Commission encouraged stakeholders and citizens to provide input on the purpose and scope of the Policy Programme; the concrete measures under the Programme and took into account the feedback received. The Commission published a roadmap 23 for a four week feedback period (between 24 June and 22 July 2021). Moreover, the Commission launched a six week targeted public consultation 24 (from 22 June to 3 August 2021) to allow all interested stakeholders to provide input and to measure and generate multi-stakeholder support for the development of the policy programme. A space on the Futurium platform 25 was also created to interact with stakeholders on specific issues. In order to ensure the widest engagement possible of all relevant stakeholders, including representatives of industry, society, of the European Parliament and Member States, the Commission also organised a high level event (Digital Assembly on 1 June), engaged in inter-institutional discussion with the co-legislators (European Parliament and Council), and carried out a consultation with European Economic and Social Committee and European Committee of the Regions.
Consulted stakeholders were overall supportive of the Commission’s initiative and its intention to operationalise the EU’s digital ambition into a concrete monitoring and reporting mechanism. They support the Commission taking this next step of setting out a dedicated monitoring and cooperation mechanism to organize the cooperation among the Union institutions and the Member States. Existing structures, monitoring, reporting, should be aligned and reinforced at the EU level, therefore a structured cooperation and progress monitoring and reporting on the Union level would add significant value to a common vision for a Europe fit for the digital age.
Many respondents pointed out that the success of the digital transformation is closely linked to the technologies identified in the digital compass. The chosen cardinal points are relevant and well balanced and concrete enough. They consider that the upcoming Policy Programme will introduce a new monitoring and cooperation mechanism for close cooperation and effective coordination between the Commission and Member States. This strategic approach is essential to create appropriate links between Member States at political and expert level for the successful implementation of multinational projects. Besides targets, respondents consider that Member States and the Commission should do more on the inducement and coordination of investments at EU level around a few priorities stemming from the EU’s wider digital agenda. To ensure a full and successful digital transformation across the EU and to the benefit of European citizens, businesses and public administration, a comprehensive and adapted regulatory framework is needed. It will bring the required visibility and security for private and public actors to implement the levers to achieve the common EU digital targets for 2030. Many respondents consider the support and promotion of the exchange of cooperation and sharing of best practices across Member States as a priority action to accelerate the progress towards the Digital Decade targets.
Some respondents also underlined that the contribution to higher order societal objectives should be prioritised making sure that the impact of the digital transformation to societal objectives should be regularity assessed as the quality and direction of the digital growth is also important, and needs to be ensured through strategic priorities and principles that will be used alongside quantitative indicators. Many underlined that it is important to take into account and have a better assessment of the environmental impacts of digitalisation in the digital transformation, in order to reduce them while at the same time making digital technologies supportive of the green transition.
Collection and use of expertise
The Commission relied on a solid and wide set of evidence in support of the approach proposed in the Digital Compass Communication and concretised by way of this Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade”.
On targets and indicators, the Policy Programme relies notably on an enhanced Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) , which is a composite index that monitors Europe’s digital performance and tracks the evolution of EU Member States in digital competitiveness, including the analysis of national digital policies. Key studies collecting data for DESI on broadband coverage and prices, e-government benchmarking and business survey also contribute to the process of gathering the relevant data. A holistic perspective of the EU’s digital vulnerabilities and capacities, also linked to other dimensions of resilience (green, social and economic, and geopolitical), is provided by the digital Resilience Dashboards 26 .
Along many other studies referenced to in the Communication, a study released by McKinsey in September 2020 27 presents an up-to-date and in-depth analysis of the challenges ahead for the EU on its digital transformation and of the actions needed to make the best of it.
Impact assessment
Following the guidelines in the Better Regulation Toolbox, the Commission did not consider an Impact Assessment as necessary and instead provided a SWD to accompany the proposal of the Decision. The 2030 Digital Compass: the European way for the Digital Compass Communication, which had been endorsed by the European Council, had already outlined a detailed monitoring and cooperation mechanism that has been closely followed in the proposal of the Decision. As a number of elements had been firmly set in the Communication (e.g. targets, monitoring and cooperation mechanism, framework for the implementation of Multi Country Projects), a very limited room remained for manoeuvre in terms of policy options, the analysis of which is at the core of an Impact Assessment.
In line with the Communication, the proposed Decision lists common digital targets along four cardinal points to translate the EU’s ambition for a successfully digitalised Union by 2030 into common concrete objectives. The proposed Decision specifies only how the targets will be measured. Furthermore, the novel form of governance, through the monitoring and cooperation mechanism, relies notably on the already existing DESI, a composite index monitoring the EU’s digital performance that will be enhanced to reflect the new targets. While the proposed Decision provides for a monitoring and cooperation mechanism that aims to enable the monitoring of the progress towards the achievement of the targets, possible concrete actions that may be suggested as a result of the monitoring will only be an outcome of an iterative and cooperative process between the Commission and the Member States to take place subsequently, in the form of recommended actions. Since the concrete actions will necessarily only be identifiable following the establishment of the monitoring and cooperation mechanism, and in particular as outcome of the monitoring process, the precise impact of the Programme in this particular aspect cannot be identified ex ante.
Since spectrum is an essential enabler for progress towards the Digital Decade targets, in particular for the achievement of a secure, performant and sustainable digital infrastructure, Member States should also report on their adopted and future policies and measures regarding the availability and possibility to use radio spectrum for existing users and prospective investors and operators The Commission could provide guidance on how best to organise such policies and measures in order to meet the general objectives and digital targets of this decision. This is without prejudice to the possibility for the Commission to propose new strategic spectrum policy orientations or mechanisms under Article 4 i of Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of 11 December 2018.
The Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade” also foresees a mechanism for a legal structure enabling the swift and flexible set-up and implementation of Multi-Country projects, in particular for the deployment across countries of large-scale digital infrastructures and/or services. The combination of the funds from centrally managed Union programme with resources committed by Member States should be possible, including, under certain conditions, contributions from the Recovery and Resilience Facility, as explained in Part 3 of the Commission guidance to Member States on Recovery and Resilience Plans 28 . The legal structure will provide for standard arrangements governing common issues such as governance of the project, liability, ownership, and management of data as well as the pooling of multiple funding sources, which may include i.a. directly and indirectly managed Union programmes, Member States’ contributions and private funding. This will constitute an option for implementing Multi-Country Projects, and the mechanism will remain voluntary for Member States. The precise details regarding funding, implementation and participation in particular projects, as well as the specific areas, will not be set out in this Policy Programme. These will only be available in the years to come and depend on the support from Member States.
As evident from the above, the proposal does not provide for concrete substantive policy choices, but rather for a methodological and governance framework, which is agnostic to future concrete measures based on it. Details regarding the impacts of the suggested framework are dependent on its further implementation (and therefore operationalisation) at the EU and national level. Based on above, the Commission consolidated the existing evidence in a SWD that accompanies the proposal. With regard to Multi Country Projects in particular, the SWD shows that, firstly, a procedural framework for the acceleration of the implementation of MCPs is necessary and, secondly, that it is necessary to provide Member States with an option of implementing MCPs through a new instrument which can be used where no existing instruments are suitable for a given Multi-Country Project. This new instrument, the European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (EDIC), does not involve the actual setting up of a new Union body and is not targeted at one specific Multi-Country Project, but addresses a gap in the EU’s toolbox to combine funding from Member States, the EU budget and private investment for the purposes of deploying and operating infrastructures and services of common interest, outside the research area.
4. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS
The proposal has no implications for the EU budget. In particular, new tasks of the Commission related to its role as Multi-Country Project Accelerator will be performed using resources that would have been expended otherwise to provide ad hoc support to Member States’ projects in the areas covered by Multi-Country Projects. By pooling these scattered resources, efficiency gains will be achieved without extra costs to the Union’s budget.
5. OTHER ELEMENTS
Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements
Monitoring of the implementation, evaluation and reporting is set out in more detail in the description of the specific provision below. In essence, the Commission will annually report on the progress of the “Path to the Digital Decade” to the European Parliament and the Council via the “Report of the state of the Digital Decade”. That report in turn triggers a monitoring and cooperation mechanism between the Commission and the Member States that is described in more detail in the description of the specific provisions below.
Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal
The subject matter and scope of the Decision is laid out in Article 1, which establishes the Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade” including a related monitoring and cooperation mechanism and monitoring. Article 2 describes the general objectives of the Decision which consist in the promotion of a human-centred, secure and open digital environment; in the reinforcing of Member States’ collective resilience; in ensuring a secure and accessible digital infrastructure; in the promotion of the deployment and use of digital capabilities; in ensuring the accessibility of democratic life and online public services; in ensuring that digital infrastructures and technologies become more sustainable and energy- and resource efficient as well as in ensuring that all existing policies which are relevant to the achievement of the digital targets are taken into account to fully contribute to the digital transition.
Article 3 contains definitions of certain terms used in the Decision.
Article 4 sets out the targets in regard to which the Union institutions and Member States should cooperate, set out along four “cardinal points”, i.e. a digitally skilled population and highly skilled digital professionals; secure and performant sustainable digital infrastructures; digital transformation of businesses; digitalisation of public services. The four cardinal points are made of a variety of dimensions and sub-dimensions. The targets are to be reviewed by the Commission by June 2026 to take account of technological, economic and societal developments.
Progress towards the targets at Union level will be monitored (Article 5) via the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI). To that end, a part of DESI’s dimensions and indicators will be aligned with the targets set out in the Decision. Monitoring for the attainment of the 2030 targets is based on key performance indicators, defined by the Commission in the DESI on a yearly basis, in consultation with Member States, as well as on projected EU level trajectories, identified by the Commission in close cooperation with Member States. The Commission is empowered to establish the list of the KPIs necessary to monitor each of the digital targets via an implementing act, when necessary for effective monitoring or to take account of technological developments. The monitoring could also include a ‘score of traffic lights’: a reporting system by which the colors of traffic lights (i.e. green, yellow and red) indicate whether the actual trends monitored at Union level are on track to achieve the target of a given key performance indicator compared to the projected trend.
As described in Article 6 the Commission will annually report to the European Parliament and the Council on the progress on digital transformation of the Union via a Report on the “State of the Digital Decade”. DESI will be included in this report. The report will cover the digital transition, in particular the progress towards the 2030 vision and corresponding digital targets, as well as the more general state of compliance with the general objectives and the digital principles enshrined in the [insert title of solemn Declaration]. The report will also include recommended policies, measures and actions addressed to Member States, as well as joint commitments proposed and undertaken by the Commission and the Member States. In the report, the Commission may identify recommended actions in terms of policies, measures and actions to be undertaken by Member States regarding areas where progress towards the digital targets is deemed insufficient, which should also be included in Member States’ national Digital Decade strategic roadmaps. Any such recommended action will take account of the outcome of the cooperative dialogue, including the comments made by Member States, following the previous report. In particular, the Commission may suggest to implement specific regulatory measures or public interventions to foster additional investments in digital technologies and capacities, including through the development of Multi-Country Projects.
Article 7 foresees that at the latest five months before the issuing of the report on the state of the Digital Decade, Member States should submit to the Commission national Digital Decade strategic roadmaps (‘national Digital Decade strategic roadmaps'). The Member States will outline in their roadmaps the main existing and planned policies, measures and actions to achieve the Digital Decade objectives and targets; projected national trajectories based on guidance provided by the Commission in close cooperation with the Member States; a timeline for the implementation of the planned policies, measures and actions, including an assessment of when those policies and measures are expected to produce effects with respect to the achievement of the targets; a general overview of the investment needed to achieve the objectives, targets and contributions set out in the national roadmaps, as well as a general assessment on the sources of that investment. The national Digital Decade strategic roadmaps may also include a proposal for Multi-Country Project(s). If needed, in order to take into account the findings of the annual report on the state of the Digital Decade, Member States should submit an adjustment to their national Digital Decade strategic roadmaps consisting of policies, measures and actions which they intend to undertake to foster progress in the areas concerned by the digital targets. The Commission will provide guidance to help Member States prepare their national Digital Decade strategic roadmaps, including the articulation between Union and national projected trajectories and how Union projected trajectories should be translated by Member States into national trajectories that take into account different national starting points, resources, comparative advantages and other relevant factors.
Article 8 provides for annual cooperation between the Commission and the Member States to ensure that the Digital Decade objectives and targets are achieved through a combination of Union initiatives and relevant national policies, taking into account the cross-border dimensions of digital policies and Union-wide targets, in particular the development of the internal market. Member States and the Commission will cooperate closely to identify ways to address deficiencies in areas where progress has been insufficient to achieve one or more digital targets or where the most recent progress report and available data point to significant gaps and shortcomings. In that context, Member States will be obliged to present the policies and measures they have planned, adopted or implemented.
As part of the cooperative dialogue, the Commission and the Member States will also examine how they have collectively and individually implemented recommended policies, measures and actions included in the previous year’s report. The assessment will cover the impacts of Member States’ actions and measures and/or estimate when such effects are likely to be produced. It will also cover the need to adopt measures or actions, adjusting or complementing those already in place.
At any point during the annual cooperation, the Commission and one or more Member States will be able to undertake joint commitments, including establishing MCPs, and agree on measures and actions at Union and national levels, taking account inter alia of the implementation of other digital policies and initiatives. These joint commitments and other measures will be undertaken with a view to progressing towards achieving the Digital Decade targets, in alignment with the projected trajectories referred to in the Report of the State of the Digital Decade. The Commission and individual Member States will be able to request a meeting between the Commission and Member States. Such a meeting will be held in particular in the case where a Member State proposes to undertake a new Multi-Country Project or a joint action requiring the participation of other Member States. The Member States concerned or the Commission will also be able to request a peer review process to be launched.
Article 9 enables the Commission to adopt distinct recommendations in the case a Member State does not amend its national Digital Decade strategic roadmaps in accordance with recommended policies, measures and actions, nor provide sufficient explanations as to why it intends not to address the recommended actions. The Member State concerned will be required to take such a recommendation into utmost account, and explain how it intends to implement it. The recommendations issued by the Commission will be transmitted to the European Parliament and the Council. The Commission recommended policies, measures and actions contained in the report and the Commission distinct recommendations should be complementary to the latest country-specific recommendations issued in the context of the European Semester.
Cooperation between the Commission and the Member States will be open, effective and transparent through an appropriate structure set up by the Commission (Article 10). Such structure will also serve as a forum for peer review between Member States. Moreover, to ensure transparency and public participation, the Commission and Member States will also engage with all interested stakeholders (including at national, regional and local level, notably Member States’ public sector digital transformation bodies, and with social partners, citizens and civil society) (Article 11).
Opening a block of provisions on Multi-Country Projects, Article 12 sets out the aims that characterise a Multi-Country Project. At the highest level, these aims include the contribution of the project to the targets for digital transformation of the Union by 2030. This is then translated into more operational requirements. Article 12 empowers the Commission to issue a recommendation to set up a Multi-Country Project or invite a Member State to participate in a Multi-Country Project, as well as the possibility of setting up or joining a Multi-Country Project as a joint commitment. The indicative list of possible areas of activity in which Multi-Country Projects could be established is provided in Annex.
Rules on the selection and implementation of Multi-Country Projects are provided in Article 13. Firstly, this article provides that the Commission will include an annex to the report of the state of the Digital Decade in which it will provide the strategic principles and priorities in the implementation of Multi-Country Projects and up-to-date list of these projects selected for implementation. Secondly, an open list of potential implementation instruments is provided. If existing implementation instruments are chosen, the rules applicable to such instruments are not modified by this Decision and must be respected in their entirety.
The procedural framework to accelerate the implementation of Multi-Country Projects is provided in Article 14. A two-step coordination mechanism is envisaged, to be implemented in close cooperation between the Commission and Member States. As a first step, all Member States are invited to express their interest in the implementation of specific Multi-Country projects. As a second step, provided that there is sufficient interest from Member States, the Commission will provide guidance on the implementation mechanism that it considers as the most suitable for the implementation of a given project as well as other strategic aspects of its implementation. Technical assistance and other support may also be provided throughout the implementation of the project.
Article 15 provides an implementation mechanism in the form of European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (EDIC). It is expected that EDIC will be used mainly in case of Multi-Country projects that cannot be implemented under existing implementation mechanisms. As further provided in this Article, EDIC will have legal personality. This means that when applying for a Union grant, the EDIC itself is the applicant and eventually needs to apply itself by submitting its proposals to a call or invitation by the granting body. With the exception of a multi beneficiary grant agreement, the application cannot be submitted by a third party, e.g. by a Member State on behalf of the EDIC.
Article 16 provides EDIC may be established upon Member States’ request by a Commission decision adopted under comitology procedure.
Subsequent articles provide for the rules necessary for smooth and agile operation of an EDIC. Article 17 deals with membership rules, whereby Member States that provide financial or non-financial contribution are voting members and other Member States may be observers. Article 18 provides for a governance mechanism subject to the Commission veto rights in narrowly described circumstances. Article 19 provides minimum requirements that must be met by Statutes.
Finally, the liability rules applicable to an EDIC are provided in Article 20, applicable law and jurisdiction in Article 21, the rules on winding up in Article 22 and on reporting and control in Article 23.