Europe promotes Green Deal and Digital Transformation

October 8th, 2020 by Triglav Digital

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COVID-19 has highlighted Europe’s assets and dependencies. Since a strong economic base is essential for sustainable growth and stability, an unprecedented recovery package was agreed to alleviate the effect of the COVID crisis. But a reform of our economies will also be necessary.

The European Union council held on October 1st and 2nd 20201 underlined Europe’s current priorities. Besides returning to the normal functioning of the Single Market, Europe wants to draw the lessons from the COVID-19 crisis by addressing remaining fragmentation, barriers and weaknesses.

The Council’s recommendations clearly stressed Europe’s new priorities, strongly focused on the Green Deal and Digital Transformation.

SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY

The European Council invited the Commission to increase Europe strategic autonomy by identifying dependencies in the most sensitive industrial ecosystems (such as health for instance) and propose measures to reduce these dependencies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further underlined the need to accelerate the digital transition in Europe.

Seizing the opportunities of this evolution is crucial to strengthening Europe’s economic base, ensuring technological sovereignty, reinforcing global competitiveness and facilitating the green transition. At least 20% of the funds under the Recovery and Resilience Facility will be made available for the digital transition, including for SMEs, to support objectives such as:

  • Fostering the European development of the next generation of digital technologies, including supercomputers and quantum computing, blockchain, and human-centred Artificial Intelligence;
  • Developing capacities in strategic digital value chains, especially microprocessors;
  • Accelerating the deployment of very high capacity and secure network infrastructures – including fibre and 5G – all over the European Union;
  • Enhancing the EUʼs ability to protect itself against cyber threats, to provide for a secure communication environment, especially through quantum encryption, and to ensure access to data for judicial and law enforcement purposes;
  • Unleashing the full potential of digital technologies to reach the ambitious environmental and climate objectives
  • Upgrading digital capacities in education systems.

CONCLUSION

Digital technology has imposed itself as one of the best levers to achieve a sustainable future ecosystem. Global institutions have embraced this belief and are fostering its development. Let us not wait, now is the time to change the world.

Sources

  1. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/european-council/2020/10/01-02/
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