Digital technologies present enormous growth potential for Europe. The European Commission is committed to deliver a Europe fit for the digital age, by empowering people, businesses and administrations with a new generation of technologies, where the digital transformation that will benefit everyone.
Digital solutions that put people first will open up new opportunities for businesses, encourage the development of trustworthy technology, foster an open and democratic society, enable a vibrant and sustainable economy, help fight climate change and achieve the green transition.
The European Commission, via the Technical Support Instrument, helps Member States carry out reforms to unlock digital growth potential and deploy innovative solutions for businesses and citizens, and to improve the accessibility and efficiency of public services.
Funding for Digital in the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework >
Digital economy, research and innovation
Digital technologies have a profound impact on our way of living and doing business. A systematic and forward-looking research and innovation strategy is crucial to a more productive and green economy. Member States need to have the capacity to reap the benefits of our increasingly digitalised society and face the challenges it brings. They are looking to design policies and deploy innovative solutions to give businesses the confidence, competences and means to digitalise and grow.
EXAMPLES OF SUPPORT
- Designing an industry strategy, an action plan for its implementation and a governance model for its monitoring.
- Designing tools for technology transfer, commercialisation of research and development and better integration in value chains.
- Proposing technical solutions and skill capabilities for the digitalisation of the construction sector.
- Supporting entrepreneurial discovery processes, cooperation between academia and businesses and smart specialisation.
The Commission provided support to Flanders Investment and Trade (FIT) to develop a deployment framework for Artificial Intelligence (AI) with a well-defined practice for conducting enterprise analysis, design, and planning for the implementation of AI.
In order to boost Lithuania’s innovation capacity, the Lithuanian authorities have started to implement an innovation reform.
Digital public administration
The digital transformation of public administrations is a way to provide faster, cheaper and better services. E-government improves efficiency and increases user-friendliness and accessibility. It also helps promote ethical practices and reduce the risks of corruption.
E-government has a strong interministerial aspect as it requires an overall simplification of administrative processes across services to meet citizens’ needs.The implementation of solid e-governance is at the core of the development of e-government. Once decision-making and supervision bodies are in place, EU Member States can define their strategies, architectures and frameworks and proceed with implementation.
EXAMPLES OF SUPPORT
- Designing digital governance systems and putting in place the right management framework.
- Improving services delivered by EU Member States’ administrations to citizens, companies and other administrations by using information and communication technologies such as artificial intelligence.
- Helping administrations make use of new digital technologies to overcome the lack of interoperability of IT systems.
The Directorate for IT Systems and Innovation of the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance is responsible for the digital transformation, promoting innovation and supplying IT services.
Slovakia established a government Chief Information Officer (CIO) responsible for the digital agenda.
Digitalisation of healthcare
Digitalisation of healthcare is one of the priorities for health system transformation. Citizens should have secure access to their health data, also across borders. Citizens should be empowered to use digital tools to look after their health, stimulate prevention and enable feedback and interaction with the healthcare providers. A number of the currently running health projects at the Commission are linked to digitalisation of healthcare systems, either developing national strategies, new governance models or solving interoperability issues.
The support measures are expected to enable the authorities to set the strategic, governance and technical frameworks to guide the efficient digital transformation of health systems and investments in digital health infrastructure.
EXAMPLES OF SUPPORT AREAS
- Digital health
- Interoperability
- Digital governance
- Telemedicine
The Commission is supporting Croatia in its efforts to develop e-Health Strategic Development Plan 2020-2027 and Action Plan 2021-2022.
The European Commission is supporting the Czech Ministry of Health to establish a National eHealth Centre.
Digitalisation of revenue authorities
The rapid growth of information and communications technologies (ICT) imposes challenges for revenue authorities in keeping up with the latest developments and trends. Digitalisation is essential for providing better taxpayer services, dealing with big data and detecting risks. It is also important for making revenue collection more effective and efficient. The European Commission provides technical support for the design and implementation of ICT reforms in revenue authorities.
EXAMPLES OF SUPPORT
- Developing ICT strategies and action plans.
- Strengthening data governance and management.
- Identifying a funding framework for ICT investments
- Drafting business case and functional specifications
The Commission is supporting the Federal Ministry of Finance to modernise and digitalise the system of tax filing in Austria.
Digital Skills, education and training
To shape Europe’s digital future, the European Commission is determined to tackle the digital skills gap and promote projects and strategies to improve the level of digital skills in Europe.
All Europeans need digital skills to study, work, communicate, access online public services and find trustworthy information. Digital skills are a crucial driver of the EU’s competitiveness and innovation capacity. They are also a key determinant of social cohesion and personal well-being. Ongoing digital and green transformations bring fast economic restructuring, which requires people to engage in lifelong learning. Moreover, these transitions require Member States to unlock their full skills and innovation potential. This includes reforms to improve the quality of education and training systems.
The European Commission supports EU Member States by providing expertise and exchange of good practices in the field of skills, education and training.
EXAMPLES OF SUPPORT
- Improving the upskilling and reskilling systems in adult education.
- Fostering digital education and skills.
- Improving higher education, research and innovation.
- Improving vocational education and training.
