Enhancing the EU's digital competitiveness

Background

The Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU has made competitiveness one of its key priorities, and has asked the EESC to provide its advice on the following topic: What is needed for the EU to further enhance its digital competitiveness, and in particular to enable businesses to benefit from digitalisation?

In this opinion, the EESC answers that question, building on an earlier, more general opinion on how to improve the competitiveness of EU businesses.

Key economic indicators show that the EU has been losing ground to its main competitor nations over the past few years. However, digitalisation is one area where it has made significant inroads; it could form the basis for increasing the competitiveness and profitability of businesses and improving working conditions for workers.

 

Key points

The EESC believes that, to address this issue, we need first and foremost to acknowledge that the single market has, over the last 30 years, been a key element in supporting economic growth and social well-being. Now digitalisation, if implemented successfully, and with the same intensity and inclusiveness across the EU, can help unlock its full potential and make a huge difference to businesses, workers and people of all ages and social backgrounds.

To improve the digital competitiveness of EU businesses, the EESC recommends the following actions:

  • providing a favourable business environment through a comprehensive strategy which places competitiveness, the social dimension and the impact of business on people's welfare at the forefront. The goal should be to improve the conditions for the development and supply of digital solutions by EU companies, but also for the use of digital tools across the wide variety of EU businesses;
  • addressing public concerns around cybersecurity and building trust, which is one of the most crucial issues surrounding the use of digital tools and data collection. This step is key to ensuring that stakeholders can gather, store, pool, share and analyse data securely, thereby making the most of a European data economy;
  • investing in comprehensive, effective and secure digital infrastructure. The need for such investment can be clearly seen when comparing Europe with other geographic areas that are leading on a global scale. Investment should cover not only digital networks, data centres, computing capacity etc., but also access to low-carbon energy and the critical raw materials needed in digital products and systems;
  • investing in digital skills development. There is a strong link between skills development on the one hand and productivity and competitiveness on the other, which provides a strong economic argument for increasing investment in human resources.

Link to full opinion

 

Additional information

EESC section responsible: Single Market, Production and Consumption (INT)

Opinion type: Exploratory opinion requested by the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU

Rapporteur:  Gonçalo LOBO XAVIER (Employers – Portugal)

Co-rapporteur: Philip VON BROCKDORFF (Workers – Malta)

Date of adoption by section: 04/04/2023

Result of the vote: 51 votes in favour and none against, with no abstentions

Date of adoption by plenary: 27/04/2023

Result of the vote: 145 votes in favour and none against, with no abstentions

 

Contacts

Daniela Marangoni

Press Officer

Tel.: + 32 2 546 8422 | Mob: +32 475 99 94 32

email: daniela.marangoni@eesc.europa.eu

 

Dalila Bernard

Policy officer

Tel.: +32 2 546 8438

email: dalila.bernard@eesc.europa.eu