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The European Commission published this June the fourth State of the Digital Decade report, showing the EU-wide progress on its 2030 digital transformation targets, such as secure and sustainable digital infrastructures and the digitalisation of public services; as well as some still existing challenges in resulting scale, speed and consistency. The report reveals that an overwhelming majority of Europeans rank digital policy as a top EU priority, firmly backing a more autonomous European digital future.
The EU Digital Decade
The Digital Decade Policy Program until 2030, serves as the EU’s strategic compass for advancing and investing in Europe’s digital competitiveness and sovereignty. The report evaluates progress made by the EU in its digitalisation across the board, including in critical infrastructures, digitalisation of business, digital skills, and digitalisation of public services. This year, the report goes beyond stocktaking, outlining priority reforms and investments at EU and Member States level in an attempt to guide digital funding allocations in the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework.
The first digital report-2023, in: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/2023-report-state-digital-decade
For example, making the most out of online services, the program envisions a significant increase in the digitalisation of public services, such as eHealth and eGovernment. To ensure that “no one is left behind”, the program sets important targets on basic digital skills and on access to connectivity.
In order to address the risks associated to cybersecurity, the Digital Decade prioritises the need to make critical infrastructures more secure through enhanced EU collaboration. By harnessing digital technologies, and addressing their associated risks, the Digital Decade Policy Program guides and gives direction to the EU’s digital transformation over the next decade.
The Digital Decade Program focuses basically on four cardinal points, under which the Digital Decade targets fall: – digitally skilled population and highly skilled digital professionals; – secure and sustainable digital infrastructures; – digital transformation of the corporate and business sectors; and – the digitalisation of public services.
The Digital Decade policy program is the first ever digital strategy commonly agreed by the European Commission, Parliament and Council. It is a strategic initiative that outlines a vision for Europe’s digital transformation until 2030, sets out concrete targets and objectives and provides a governance framework and mechanisms for collaboration, both between the Commission and the states, and among the EU states.
https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/digital-decade-policy-programme
The report: main outcomes
The 2026 report highlights that, while the foundations of the EU’s digital transformation are in place, the scale, speed and coordination of implementation need to be significantly reinforced. The EU has advanced in several areas, including connectivity, business digitalisation and the deployment of common digital infrastructures. However, significant gaps remain in foundational technologies, computing capacity, cybersecurity, advanced digital take-up, digital skills and scale-up capacity.
https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/state-digital-decade-2026-factsheet
Moreover, the progressive phase-put of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, RRF creates a risk of investment discontinuity. The 2026 State of the Digital Decade report thus calls on the EU states to use the next adjustment of their Digital Decade national roadmaps (up to December 2026) to address existing gaps through concrete measures and reforms, while ensuring stronger alignment with the next Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF) and the future EU Competitiveness Fund. The report also stresses the need for deeper EU-level coordination.
Source: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/state-digital-decade-2026-closing-structural-gaps-and-mobilising-investments-2030-and-beyond
The 2026 State of the Digital Decade report shows that Europe has advanced in several key areas, including connectivity, digital public services, digital skills and the adoption of advanced technologies. The EU states have continued implementing their National Digital Decade Roadmaps, committing to 1 934 measures worth €289.3 billion, including €205.9 billion from public budgets (around 1.09% of EU GDP).
In parallel, 64% of the 2025 country-specific recommendations have already been addressed. New milestones include the launch of two additional European Digital Infrastructure Consortia (EDICs) and the development of Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) for microelectronics, cloud and AI healthcare.
Public support for Europe’s digital ambitions remains strong. According to the 2026 Special Eurobarometer, 79% of Europeans consider digital policy a key EU priority, while 85% support investment in EU-developed digital infrastructure and 82% favor reducing dependence on non-EU suppliers.
Europe’s digital transformation hinges on structural reforms and sustained investment. While the foundations are in place; the challenge is now execution at scale.
https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/2026-state-digital-decade-package
EU’s digital transition and structural reforms
Europe’s digital transformation hinges on structural reforms and sustained investment. While the foundations are in place; the challenge is now execution at scale.
The report highlights several areas where further action is needed:
= Digital infrastructure: connectivity continues to improve, with basic 5G coverage reaching 96.8% of EU households. However, deployment of Fibre-to-the-Premises and other high-capacity networks still needs to accelerate.
= Technological sovereignty: the EU accounts for only 9% of the global semiconductor market, well below the 2030 target of 20%. Dependencies on non-EU providers remain significant in cloud services, cybersecurity and other strategic technologies.
= Technology adoption by businesses: in 2026, 46.7% of EU enterprises use cloud computing, 39.9% use data analytics, and nearly 20% deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI adoption increased by 48% in 2025 compared to the previous year. However, SMEs continue to face barriers linked to skills, data access, infrastructure and resources.
= Computing capacity: while edge node deployment is progressing and expected to reach targets ahead of schedule, overall computing capacity remains under pressure due to growing demand, particularly driven by AI.
= Digital skills: more than 60% of Europeans now have at least basic digital skills. However, ICT specialists represent only 5% of employment in 2025, half of the 2030 target of 10%, with women accounting for less than 20% of ICT specialists.
= Societal challenges: digital transformation also increases societal risks. 92% of citizens consider protection of children and young people online a priority, 87% see online manipulation, disinformation, deepfakes and AI-generated content as a threat to democracy, and 80% support careful regulation of Artificial Intelligence.
Source: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/2026-state-digital-decade-package
Closing structural gaps and mobilising investments: 2030 and beyond
Although progress has been achieved in developing the EU’s digital policy framework and launching flagship initiatives such as IPCEIs and EDICs, structural constraints persist, notably market fragmentation, uneven implementation across Member States and limited testing and innovation capacity.
Addressing these structural gaps will require greater scale, more effective execution, and reinforced EU-level coordination. The report therefore calls for accelerated deployment of EDICs and IPCEIs and highlights the need to ensure funding continuity beyond 2026.
Digital investments deliver strong economic returns. A joint study by the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology and the Joint Research Centre shows that every euro invested through digital measures under the RRF generates €1.50 in EU economic output and €2.00 globally by the end of the Digital Decade. These investments also generate significant cross-border and cross-sector spillovers.
However, funding continuity is critical: almost half of the public funding included in National Digital Decade Roadmaps is expected to be phased out by the end of 2026, creating risks for the sustainability of digital transformation efforts.
To close remaining gaps and prevent fragmentation, the report calls for:
= Continued investment in strategic digital technologies, including advanced connectivity, semiconductors, secure cloud and data infrastructures, Artificial Intelligence, quantum technologies and cybersecurity;
= Stronger EU-level coordination and the scaling-up of successful initiatives, including European Digital Infrastructure Consortia and Important Projects of Common European Interest; = Faster implementation of Single Market reforms to reduce fragmentation and enhance Europe’s technological sovereignty;
= Support for businesses, especially SMEs, to adopt advanced digital solutions through improved access to skills, infrastructure and innovation ecosystems;
= Alignment of future EU funding priorities with Digital Decade objectives to ensure sustainable progress beyond 2030.