Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the 2030 Policy Programme “Path to the Digital Decade”

Key points

The EESC:

• urges the EU to develop its digital sovereignty, which over the coming years is expected to be a crucial pillar of Europe's path to economic, social and environmental development;
• stresses the need for the digital transformation to take place in a sustainable, human-centred and inclusive way;
• deems it crucial to guarantee the involvement of civil society representatives, including the social partners, consumers organisations and other concerned stakeholders, in shaping, implementing and monitoring the policy programme and related national roadmaps;
• points out the need for specific attention to be paid to the people that are most vulnerable in terms of exposure to the digital gap, such as older people, persons with low-level qualifications, and persons with disabilities;
• highlights the importance of investment in digital infrastructure and the development of the single market in data as essential enablers of proper digital development in all regions of the EU;
• stresses the vital role of the public sector in digital development, through the digitalisation of public services and administration;
• considers multi-country projects as a valuable initiative which should involve as many Member States as possible so as to support an interconnected, interoperable and secure Digital Single Market, and address any gaps in critical capacities across the EU;
• calls on the Commission to accelerate and steer projects in a way that ensures the best possible benefit from the point of view of the whole EU.

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