In the summit meeting on 9 June, the Heads of the EU Member State governments adopted conclusions on the ‘Shaping Europe’s Digital Future’ strategy. A strong emphasis was placed on both basic and advanced digital skills, especially in light of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council also calls on the Member States and the European Commission to ensure that citizens have basic digital skills and to halve the existing skills gap by 2025. It also encourages the implementation of the New Skills Agenda for Europe, focusing especially on increasing the proportion of the EU population with basic digital skills and competences, from the current 57% to 65% by 2025.
The document also emphasises the importance of the digital technologies such as 5G, blockchain, IoT, Artificial Intelligence and maximising Europe’s capacity and autonomy in these technologies. Overall, the conclusions call for a closer cooperation between Member States, EU institutions, private sector and all other stakeholders to ensure rapid advancement of digital transformation in the EU, noting that the acceleration of digital transformation is key to successful economic and societal recovery.
