Spotlight on Europe's digital decade
In her recent State of the Union address, President von der Leyen placed technology at the centre of the continent's recovery from the pandemic. She referred to the next few years as Europe's ‛digital decade' and proposed that 20 % of the EU's recovery fund be spent on digital initiatives. So, what is on the list to be covered by this EUR 150 billion?
Importantly, there are investments in infrastructure, such as network connectivity. This is what most of us turned to during the pandemic, as confinement boosted the use of telecommunications, businesses found new ways for employees to telework and teachers explored different platforms for engaging with their dispersed pupils. Investments are also being made in the next generation of supercomputers: systems with extremely high computational power that can benefit multiple sectors including healthcare, industry, environmental protection and artificial intelligence. For example, they can simulate the trillions of processes and molecules of the human body that can help to tackle viruses, improve diagnostics and bring about advances in treatments.
Other domains to benefit from the investment include the transition to a data economy, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, digital skills and improved public services. All of this while safeguarding EU values and citizens' fundamental rights and security: a key element of the digital transition. This edition of the newsletter presents key publications on this and other interesting topics.
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In this communication, the European Commission unveils its ideas and concrete plans for a digital transformation that works for all, reflecting the best of Europe: open, fair, diverse, democratic and confident. It presents a European society powered by digital solutions that put people first, opens up new opportunities for businesses and supports the development of trustworthy technology to foster an open and democratic society and a vibrant and sustainable economy. |
Available in English, French and German |
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A fusion of technologies that gradually blurs the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres is accelerating Europe's digital transformation. These new technologies, the new business models they create – building on the use of data – and ways to capture their value are discussed in this publication. |
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Many of the most successful innovations of recent years were developed by a new generation of data-driven tech firms which, competing for the markets of the future, manage to beat even the 20th century powerhouses. Read an analysis of how the digital age has influenced the content of the innovation toolbox. One thing is for sure, the toolbox is much lighter than it was once upon a time in the industrial age. |
Available in English |
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Understanding public sector innovation in a data-driven society |
How can governments take advantage of emerging and future digital technologies to address systemic problems such as the inefficiency of public services, existing inequalities of access and a decline in trust in the legitimacy of governments? This report presents the results of research on how information and communication technology innovation in the public sector can address such problems and transform governance systems. |
Available in English |
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Are digital skills enough? |
Digitalisation presents great opportunities for economic growth and improvements in working conditions. At the same time, it brings challenges such as new skills requirements. But what kind of skills are needed to facilitate the digital transition and reap its benefits? Is it just cognitive skills (numeracy, literacy and digital) or is it also non-cognitive skills (such as communication and adaptability?). This publication examines this interesting question. |
Available in English |
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Evidence from the EIB investment survey |
This report of the European Investment Bank elaborates on what survey data suggest are the key issues for firms when it comes to the adoption of digital technologies. It highlights how access to management, skilled labour and the regulatory environment affect the digitalisation of both European and US firms. Furthermore, it attempts to find out which framework conditions are needed in the European Union to unlock the benefits of future digitalisation. The analysis is followed by assessments for each European country. |
Available in English
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Research and innovation |
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From our individual well-being to our security, efficient and transparent public services have a direct impact on the quality of our lives. When used to their full potential, digital tools to support the modernisation of public administrations could further facilitate administrative processes, improve the quality of services through flexible and personalised interactions and increase public-sector efficiency. This CORDIS Results Pack showcases 10 EU-funded projects that have pioneered innovative solutions and processes to fully launch Europe's public services into the digital realm. |
Available in English
(Individual article also available in English, French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish on the CORDIS website) |
Also out recently |
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The year in review |
This is the annual report of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the EU's judicial authority. The task of the institution is to ensure compliance with EU law by overseeing the uniform interpretation and application of the treaties. It contributes to the preservation of the values of the European Union and, through its case-law, works towards building the EU. Its annual report presents key figures about its work and the most important judgments, as well as important events and administrative highlights. |
Available in all the official languages of the EU except Irish |
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The European Parliament and economic integration, 1979-1989 |
This volume is part of a study on the ongoing history of the European Parliament as a political institution, since its creation in 1952. It examines the period from 1979 to 1989, which was the first decade of the European Parliament as a directly elected political institution. During that time, the Parliament exercised significant influence in shaping the debate and agenda around the concept of completing the 'single' or 'internal' market of the (then) European Economic Community. |
Available in English, French and German |
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Public health: audit reports published between 2014 and 2019 |
Health consistently ranks as a high priority for Europeans and has probably become a subject of even greater concern during the current pandemic that is putting health systems around the world under intense pressure. This publication is a compilation of audit reports published between 2014 and 2019 on the complex area of public health, seen from an EU-wide perspective. |
Available in all the official languages of the EU |
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As social media increasingly become the primary source of information for many, they have also become a minefield of disinformation. With news-like formats being easy to reproduce, it is ever more difficult to spot the difference between a genuine article and a hoax. This short booklet can help increase our resilience to the spread of disinformation in the digital age, honing our skills in identifying and removing incorrect information and supporting the dissemination of reliable news. |
Available in English |
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European Union Prize for Literature: winning authors 2020 |
This anthology gives you a glimpse of the winning books of the 13 EU Prize for Literature laureates for 2020. It demonstrates how, through their stories, they bring us closer to other Europeans, especially important at times when we cannot travel.
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Each story in the original language along with English translation |
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This storybook is about a little girl, Anna, who is starting school in a new country and learning the local language through immersion.
It is available in the 24 official EU languages as a booklet and also as an audiobook (link provided inside the publication). While the target audience is 3-6-year-olds, this storybook could also be useful for older children learning to read, whether in their first EU language or in another one. |
Available in all the official languages of the EU |
Our news |
2020 EU Datathon: participants from Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Lithuania, Romania and the United Kingdom awarded first places
The winners of EU Datathon, the European Union open data competition, were announced in the finale on 15 October 2020. Up for grabs were the prize fund of EUR 100 000 and the Public Choice Award from the audience.
Alongside the prizes awarded by the expert jury, the finalists competed for the public vote. The Public Choice Award went to Team FinLine, who will receive tickets to attend the Web Summit conference to be held in Lisbon on 2-4 December 2020.
Commissioner for Budget and Administration Johannes Hahn said: ‛I congratulate the 12 finalist teams for having presented excellent ideas for concrete business models and social enterprises. They have all sparked off suitable innovative approaches and solutions to help Europe address key challenges by using EU open data.'
Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira added: ‛With 121 submissions from around the world, this year´s participation was the largest in the competition's history. This great interest in open data shows that we can make a better use of the huge amount of open information that we have at our disposal and we plan to do so in order to improve our policymaking and, most importantly, people's lives thanks to open data.'
EU Datathon is an annual competition inviting people passionate about data to present their innovative ideas on how EU open data can be exploited.
The 2020 edition, the fourth in the history of the competition, was organised by the Publications Office of the European Union in close collaboration with the European Commission´s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy.
The competition culminated with the online finale of 15 October that took place for the first time as part of the 18th European Week of Regions and Cities, the biggest annual EU event for public investors. This gave the 12 finalists the chance to present their apps via virtual stands. Matches were made with concrete EU projects to enable them to develop their ideas further. They also enjoyed the support of Luxinnovation, the Luxembourg agency supporting innovation and economic development, including a keynote speech by its CEO, Sasha Baillie.
The final ranking of the winners for each challenge was decided by a jury of 25 open data specialists chaired by Paul Hofheinz, President and Co-Founder of the Lisbon Council.
The event also had the support of the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union; a keynote speech was provided by Robert Dehm, Digital Policy and Telecommunication Counsellor at the Permanent representation of Germany to the EU.
To see the list of the winners and learn more about the applications they created, visit the EU Datathon 2020 website.
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