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(1) In its communication of 9 March 2021 entitled ‘2030 Digital Compass: the European way for the Digital Decade’ (the ‘Digital Compass Communication’) the Commission laid out its vision for 2030 to empower citizens and businesses through digital transformation (the ‘Digital Decade’). The Union’s path to the digital transformation of the economy and society should encompass digital sovereignty in an open manner, respect for fundamental rights, the rule of law and democracy, inclusion, accessibility, equality, sustainability, resilience, security, improving quality of life, the availability of services and respect for citizens’ rights and aspirations. It should contribute to a dynamic, resource-efficient, and fair economy and society in the Union.

(2) The digital transformation is not possible without strong support for science, research, development and the scientific community, which are the driving forces of the technological and digital revolution. Moreover, since the degree of digitalisation of the economy or society is a critical underpinning of economic and societal resilience as well as a factor in their global influence, it is necessary for the Union’s international action to structure the broad range of existing cooperation in line with the pillars of the Digital Decade. The need for such structuring is also reflected in the joint communication from the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 1 December 2021 entitled ‘The Global Gateway’, through which the Union intends to contribute to narrowing the global investment gap, based on a democratic, value-driven approach, fostering high-standards and transparent partnerships in order to meet global infrastructure development needs.

(6) In its communication of 11 December 2019 entitled ‘The European Green Deal’, the Commission emphasised that the Union should leverage the potential of the digital transformation, which is a key enabler for reaching the European Green Deal objectives. The Union should promote and invest in the necessary digital transformation, as digital technologies and new methods and processes are critical enablers for attaining the sustainability goals of the European Green Deal, the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals in many different sectors. Digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence, 5G, 6G, blockchain, cloud and edge computing, and the internet of things should accelerate and maximise the impact of policies to deal with climate change and protect the environment, including through sustainable lifecycles. Together with satellite navigation and localisation, digitalisation also presents new opportunities for distant monitoring of air and water pollution, and for monitoring and optimising how energy and natural resources are used. The Union needs a digital sector that puts sustainability at its heart, including in its supply chain, preventing excessive reliance on critical raw materials, ensuring that digital infrastructures and technologies become verifiably more sustainable, renewable and energy- and resource-efficient, and contributing to a sustainable circular and climate-neutral economy and society in line with the European Green Deal.

(7) Policies about, and investments in, digital infrastructure should aim to ensure connectivity accessible to all and everywhere in the Union, with available internet access, in order to close the digital divide across the Union, with a particular focus on the divide between different geographical areas.

(8) The measures envisaged in the Digital Compass Communication should be implemented, to intensify actions provided for in the strategy presented in the Commission communication of 19 February 2020 entitled ‘Shaping Europe’s digital future’, and building on existing Union instruments, such as programmes under the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund established by Regulation (EU) 2021/1058 of the European Parliament and of the Council and the Technical Support Instrument established by Regulation (EU) 2021/240 of the European Parliament and of the Council , and on Regulations (EU) 2021/523 , (EU) 2021/690 , (EU) 2021/694 , (EU) 2021/695 and (EU) 2021/1153 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and on the funds allocated to the digital transformation under Regulation (EU) 2021/241. This Decision should establish a Digital Decade policy programme 2030 in order to achieve, accelerate and shape a successful digital transformation of the Union’s economy and society.

(9) The European Pillar of Social Rights proclaimed by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission at the Informal meeting of heads of state or government, on 17 November 2017, in Gothenburg, Sweden, calls for the right to access essential services of good quality, including digital communications, as well as the right to quality and inclusive education, training and life-long learning.

(10) In order to follow the trajectory of the Union regarding the pace of the digital transformation, digital targets should be established at Union level. Those digital targets should be linked to concrete areas in which progress is expected to be made collectively within the Union. The digital targets follow the four cardinal points identified in the Digital Compass Communication, identified as the essential areas for the digital transformation of the Union: digital skills, digital infrastructures, the digitalisation of businesses, and the digitalisation of public services.

(11) This Decision is without prejudice to Articles 165 and 166 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

(12) Digital skills, basic and advanced, as well as other skills, including in the domains of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), are essential to speeding-up the adjustment of the Union industry to structural changes. It is intended that digitally empowered and capable citizens, including those with disabilities, are able to take advantage of the opportunities of the Digital Decade. To pursue that aim, there should be a focus on education to ensure that the education community, in particular teachers, is adequately trained, skilled and equipped to use technology effectively in its teaching methods and is able to teach digital technologies to ensure that students are better equipped to enter the labour market in the short and longer term. Digital education and training should also enhance the Union’s attractiveness for high-skilled professionals who have acquired advanced digital skills and their availability on the Union labour market. The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2021 published by the Commission states that even before the COVID-19 pandemic Union businesses, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), struggled to find information and communications technology (ICT) professionals in sufficient numbers. Digital training and education should therefore support all the actions to ensure that the workforce is equipped with the necessary current and future skills supporting the mobilisation of, and the incentive for, all relevant stakeholders to maximise the impact of investments in improving existing skills (upskilling) and training in new skills (reskilling) as well as life-long learning by the active population, in order to ensure that full advantage is taken of the opportunities of the digitalisation of industry and services. Non-formal digital training provided by employers in the form of learning-by-doing should also be encouraged. Education and training will also bring concrete career incentives to avoid and eliminate differences in opportunities and treatment between women and men.

(13) A sustainable digital infrastructure for connectivity, microelectronics and the ability to process big data are critical enablers for taking advantage of the benefits of digitalisation, for further technological developments and for digital leadership by the Union. In line with the Commission’s communication of 30 June 2021 entitled ‘A long-term Vision for the EU’s Rural Areas – Towards stronger, connected, resilient and prosperous rural areas by 2040’, reliable, fast and secure connectivity for everybody and everywhere in the Union, including in rural and remote areas, such as islands and mountainous and sparsely-populated regions, as well as the outermost regions, is needed. Societal needs for converging upload and download bandwidth are constantly growing. By 2030, networks with gigabit speeds should become available to those who need or wish to have such capacity. All Union end-users should be able to use gigabit services provided by networks at a fixed location deployed up to the network termination point. Moreover, all populated areas should be covered by a next-generation wireless high-speed network with performance at least equivalent to that of 5G. All market actors benefiting from the digital transformation should assume their social responsibilities and make a fair and proportionate contribution to the public goods, services and infrastructures, for the benefit of all citizens in the Union.

(15) Semiconductors are essential to most of the key strategic value chains and are expected to be in even higher demand in the future than at present, in particular in the most innovative technological fields. As they are central to the digital economy, semiconductors are also critical enablers for the sustainability transition, thus also contributing to achieving the European Green Deal objectives. Semiconductors with a low-energy footprint also contribute to positioning the Union as a leader in sustainable digital technologies. It is intended that the resilience of the semiconductor value chain and semiconductor production capacity (including material, equipment, design, fabrication, processing and packaging) is strengthened, inter alia, by building large-scale innovative infrastructure in accordance with the Union law regarding environmental sustainability. For example, quantum capacity and low-power semiconductors are critical enablers to achieving the climate neutrality of highly secure edge nodes that guarantee access to data services with low latency, regardless of the user’s location.

(25) In order to keep the co-legislators informed about the progress of the digital transformation in the Union, the Commission should submit an annual Report on the Digital Decade to the European Parliament and to the Council, containing an overview and analysis of the digital transformation of the Union and an evaluation of the progress made with regard to the general objectives of this Decision and the digital targets for the period until 2030. The Report on the Digital Decade, in particular DESI, should feed into the European Semester, including aspects relating to the Recovery and Resilience Facility, while the recommended policies, measures and actions included in the Report on the Digital Decade should be complementary to the country-specific recommendations.

(26) Since 2019, DESI has included the Women in Digital Scoreboard, which assesses Member States’ performance in the areas of internet use, internet user skills as well as specialist skills and employment, based on 12 indicators. The inclusion of the Women in Digital Scoreboard in the Report on the Digital Decade should enable monitoring of the digital gender divide.