Digital Europe

7.59 billion

Program dedicated to the digital transition of public services and businesses

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DG / Responsible agencies / National contact points: CNET | HADEA | NCP

Potential beneficiaries

Public and private organizations, enterprises and SMEs, scientists and academics, universities, etc.

Description and objectives

Information resources, data and artificial intelligence are strategic assets for European companies, the public sector and researchers. They are often sought outside the EU, but they represent a unique opportunity to create jobs, investment and innovation; they are a security factor for the IT infrastructure and data of citizens, businesses and public administrations; and they are an essential element for the strategic autonomy and competitiveness of the Union.

The Digital Europe program aims to accelerate the recovery and lead the EU’s digital transformation, build the EU’s strategic digital capabilities, and facilitate a broad deployment of digital technologies among EU citizens, businesses, and public administrations. The program primarily supports the strengthening of advanced digital skills, such as high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity; while aiming more generally to accelerate the adoption and better use of digital technologies. More specifically, the program aims to:

• Making Europe a world leader in high-performance computing (HPC), increasing its scientific potential and industrial competitiveness;
• Promote the implementation of artificial intelligence-based solutions in critical areas such as climate change or health;
• Invest in cybersecurity to ensure the resilience, integrity and reliability of networks, infrastructure and strategic services;
• Promote advanced digital skills, in the key technologies covered by the program;
• Expanding the adoption and best use of key digital technologies to make Europe more competitive and address major societal challenges.

Types of actions and projects

The main actions funded under the Digital Europe program fall under the following categories:

• Acquisition of high-performance computing (HPC, or high-performance computing and supercomputing) machines;
• Creation of common data spaces (federated cloud-to-edge infrastructure) and promotion of testing, experimentation and solutions in the field of artificial intelligence;
• Developing advanced cybersecurity capabilities by establishing cybersecurity centers, a secure quantum communications infrastructure, sharing best practices, and deploying state-of-the-art cybersecurity solutions;
• Strengthening academic excellence and the provision of education, training and master’s degrees in advanced digital technologies, such as HPC, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence;
• Promoting the adoption and use of advanced digital technologies by: creating a network of European digital innovation hubs, supporting the digital transformation of European public and private organizations; promoting the contribution of digital technologies to addressing major societal challenges (e.g., environment and climate change); strengthening European capabilities in the area of blockchain; and accompanying the digital transformation of administrations and public services in an inclusive and trusted digital space.

Highlights

Digital Europe is a new program, so everything, in a sense, constitutes something new. Some of its activities pick up on what has already been implemented in the previous programming cycle under programs for telecommunications, interoperability of European public administrations, and the Horizon 2020 program (which has already worked in the areas of HPC and artificial intelligence).