The European Commission has adopted seven new priorities for the digital economy and society. The digital economy is growing much faster than other areas of the economy, but the current fragmentation of the pan-European political framework is tearing its potential apart. The announced priorities are the result of a thorough policy review and highlight the most transformative elements of the Digital Agenda for Europe in early 2010.
The Digital Agenda for Europe was adopted in 2010, as an integral part of the Europe 2020 Strategy, to stimulate the digital economy and address social challenges through ICT. The European Council and the European Parliament want to strengthen their European digital leadership and the completion of the digital single market by 2015.
The new priorities are:
1. Creation of a new and stable broadband regulatory framework.
2. New public digital services infrastructures through the loans of the Connecting Europe mechanism
With the support of the Council, the Commission will promote the implementation (and especially cross-border interoperability) of digital electronic signature and identification services, business mobility, digital justice, electronic medical records and cultural platforms such as Europeana. E-procurement alone could save a hundred billion euros a year, and e-government can reduce government spending by 15-20%.
3. Launch a grand coalition on digital skills and employment
4. Proposal for an EU strategy and directive on cybersecurity
5. Updating the EU framework on copyright
6. Promoting cloud computing through the purchasing power of the public sector
7. Implementation of a new industrial strategy for electronics
