(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.

(3)

In a statement of 25 March 2021, the members of the European Council considered the Digital Compass Communication to be a step towards charting the Union’s digital development for the next decade and confirmed the vision set out in the Digital Compass Communication, including the idea of a policy programme with an efficient governance framework to facilitate the implementation of multi-country projects that are necessary for the Union’s digital transformation in critical areas. They also invited the Commission to widen the Union’s policy toolbox for the digital transformation, at both Union and national level, and to use all available instruments from industrial, trade and competition policy, skills and education, research and innovation policy and long-term funding instruments to facilitate the digital transformation.

(4)

The European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles for the Digital Decade (the ‘European Declaration’) will put people at the centre of the digital transformation, aims to promote principles for the digital transformation in accordance with shared European values and law and is intended to contribute to achieving the general objectives of this Decision. To that end, the Commission and Member States should take into account the digital principles and rights set out in the European Declaration when cooperating, with a view to achieving the general objectives set out in this Decision.

(5)

As outlined in the Commission’s communication of 5 May 2021 entitled ‘Updating the 2020 New Industrial Strategy: Building a stronger Single Market for Europe’s recovery’, it is necessary for the Union to identify systems of critical technologies and strategic sectors, to address strategic weaknesses and high-risk dependencies which could lead to supply shortages or cybersecurity risks, and to foster the digital transformation. This underlines the importance of Member States’ joining forces and supporting industry’s efforts to address those dependencies and to develop strategic capacity needs. This also responds to the Commission’s analysis set out in its communication of 8 September 2021 entitled ‘2021 Strategic Foresight Report – The EU’s capacity and freedom to act’. In the framework of the Recovery and Resilience Facility established by Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) and the preparation of national recovery and resilience plans, the Commission encouraged Member States to coordinate their efforts with a view, inter alia, to establishing multi-country projects in the digital area.

That experience highlighted the need for the Commission to support coordination efforts by Member States, and for the Union to have implementation mechanisms that facilitate joint investments, in order to establish multi-country projects. In conjunction with other initiatives of the Commission, such as the EU Observatory for Critical Technologies, referred to in the Commission’s communication of 22 February 2021 entitled ‘Action Plan on synergies between civil, defence and space industries’, a governance structure implementing the Digital Compass should be established, should help to identify the Union’s current and possible future digital strategic dependencies and should contribute to strengthening the Union’s digital sovereignty in an open manner.

(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 (4), 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 (5) and the Technical Support Instrument established by Regulation (EU) 2021/240 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6), and on Regulations (EU) 2021/523 (7), (EU) 2021/690 (8), (EU) 2021/694 (9), (EU) 2021/695 (10) and (EU) 2021/1153 (11) 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.

(14)

Technological neutrality, which is provided for by Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council (12), is a principle that should guide Union and national policies for digital connectivity infrastructure of the highest performance, resilience, security and sustainability, in order to benefit from prosperity. All technologies and transmission systems able to contribute to the achievement of the gigabit connectivity, including the current and upcoming advancements of fibre, satellite, 5G or any other future ecosystem and next generation Wi-Fi should therefore be treated equally, where they have equivalent network performance.

(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.

(16)

Beyond enablers, existing and future technologies will be at the core of new products, new manufacturing processes and new business models based on the fair and secure sharing of data in the data economy, while ensuring the effective protection of privacy and personal data. The transformation of businesses depends on their ability to adopt new digital technologies rapidly and comprehensively, including in industrial and services ecosystems that are currently lagging behind. That transformation is particularly important for SMEs, which continue to face challenges in the take-up of digital solutions.

(17)

Member States are encouraged to apply the once-only principle within their public administration, fostering the re-use of data, in accordance with the data protection rules, so that no additional burden falls on citizens or businesses.

(18)

Democratic life and key public services also depend crucially on digital technologies. Every citizen and business should be able to interact digitally with public administrations. Several parameters of such interactions, including user-centricity and transparency, should be monitored in DESI. Key public services, including electronic health records, should be fully accessible on a voluntary basis as a best-in-class digital environment providing for easy-to-use, efficient, trustworthy and personalised services and tools with high security and privacy standards. Such key public services should also cover services that are relevant for major life events for natural persons, such as losing or finding a job, studying, owning or driving a car, or starting up a business, and for legal persons in their professional life-cycle. Offline accessibility of services should nevertheless be maintained while transitioning to digital tools.

(19)

Digital technologies should contribute to achieving broader societal outcomes that are not limited to the digital sphere, but have positive effects on the everyday lives and well-being of citizens. If it is to be successful, the digital transformation should go hand-in-hand with improvements as regards democracy, good governance, social inclusion and more efficient public services.

(20)

The Commission should review the digital targets and relevant definitions by June 2026 to assess whether they still meet the high level of ambition of the digital transformation. The Commission should be able, where it considers it to be necessary to propose amendments to the digital targets in order to address technical, economic and societal developments, in particular in the areas of data economy, sustainability and cybersecurity.

(21)

Where public funds are used, it is crucial that maximum value be gained for society and businesses. Public funding should therefore aim to ensure open and non-discriminatory access to the outputs of the projects funded, save where, in substantiated and proportionate cases it is considered appropriate to do otherwise.

(22)

Harmonious, inclusive and steady progress towards the digital transformation and towards the achievement of the digital targets in the Union requires a comprehensive, robust, reliable, flexible and transparent form of governance, on the basis of close cooperation and coordination between the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the Member States. An appropriate mechanism should ensure the coordination of convergence, the exchange of best practices and the consistency and effectiveness of policies and measures at Union and national level, and should also encourage the activation of appropriate synergies between the Union and national funds, and also between Union initiatives and programmes. To that end, the Commission could provide guidance and support to Member States on how best to make use of the most suitable types of synergies. To that end, it is necessary to lay down provisions on a monitoring and cooperation mechanism implementing the Digital Compass. Such a mechanism should take into account the diversity of situations across and within Member States, should be proportionate, in particular with regard to administrative burdens, and should allow Member States to follow a greater level of ambition when establishing their national objectives.

(23)

The monitoring and cooperation mechanism implementing the Digital Compass should include an enhanced monitoring system to identify gaps in the strategic digital capacities of the Union. It should also include a mechanism to report, inter alia, on the progress towards the digital targets set out in this Decision, as well as on the more general state of compliance with the general objectives set out in this Decision. It should establish a cooperative framework between the Commission and Member States to identify solutions addressing weaknesses and to propose targeted actions for effective remedies.

(24)

DESI should be integrated into the report on the state of the Digital Decade (the ‘Report on the Digital Decade’), and should be used to monitor progress towards the digital targets. Such monitoring should include an analysis of the indicators measuring progress at Member State level, national policies and initiatives aiming to achieve the general objectives of, and the digital targets set out in, this Decision, as well as horizontal and thematic analyses tracking the digital transformation of the Union’s economies and a ranking of Member States’ progress thence. In particular, DESI’s dimensions and indicators should be aligned with the digital targets set out in this Decision. For each digital target, key performance indicators (KPIs) should be set out in implementing acts to be adopted by the Commission. The KPIs should be updated when necessary for continued effective monitoring and to take account of technological developments. The data collection mechanism within Member States should be reinforced, where appropriate, to present a comprehensive state of play on progress towards the digital targets, as well as information about the relevant policies, programmes, and initiatives at national level, and should, where possible, include data disaggregated by gender and by region, in accordance with Union and national law.

On the basis of the Commission’s reviews and where appropriate, the Commission should prepare, after consulting the Member States, a timeline for future data collection needs. In establishing DESI, the Commission should rely largely on official statistics collected in the various Union surveys on the information society under Regulations (EU) 2019/1700 (13) and (EU) 2019/2152 (14) of the European Parliament and of the Council. The Commission should use specific studies to collect data for relevant indicators that are not measured in the Union surveys or collected through other reporting exercises, such as in the framework of the strategy announced by Commission communication of 25 June 2008 entitled ‘ “Think Small First” – A “Small Business Act” for Europe’, including its annual SME performance review. The definitions related to the digital targets under this Decision do not constitute precedents for KPIs and in no way hinder the upcoming measurement of the progress on those targets through the KPIs.

(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.

(27)

In particular, the Commission should address in its Report on the Digital Decade how effectively the general objectives of this Decision have been implemented into policies, measures or actions, as well as on progress towards achieving the digital targets, detailing the degree of Union progress in relation to the projected trajectories for each target, the assessment of the efforts necessary to achieve each target, including any investment gaps in digital capacities and innovation, as well as raising awareness about the actions needed to increase digital sovereignty in an open manner. The report should also include an assessment of the implementation of relevant regulatory proposals and an assessment of the actions undertaken at Union and Member States level.

(28)

On the basis of the Commission’s assessment, the report should include specific recommended policies, measures and actions. When recommending policies, measures or actions in the report, the Commission should take into account the most recent data available, the joint commitments undertaken, the policies and measures defined by Member States, as well as progress regarding recommended actions identified in earlier reports and addressed by means of the cooperation mechanism. In addition, the Commission should take into account the differences in individual Member States’ potential to contribute to the digital targets, as well as the policies, measures and actions already in place and considered appropriate to achieve those targets, even if their effects have not yet materialised.

(29)

With a view to ensuring that the general objectives of, and the digital targets set out in, this Decision, are achieved, and that all Member States effectively contribute to that end, the design and implementation of the monitoring and cooperation mechanism should ensure exchanges of information and best practices through a constructive and inclusive dialogue between Member States and the Commission. The Commission should ensure that the European Parliament is informed in a timely manner of the outcome of the dialogue.

(30)

The Commission should, together with the Member States, establish projected trajectories for the Union to achieve the digital targets set out in this Decision. Those projected trajectories should, where possible, be converted in national projected trajectories by Member States and should, where appropriate, take due account of the regional dimension. The different potential, and the different starting points, of individual Member States to contribute to the digital targets should be taken into account and reflected in the national projected trajectories. The national projected trajectories should help assess progress over time at Union and national level.

(31)

In order to ensure that the cooperation between the Commission and the Member States is efficient and effective, Member States should submit to the Commission national digital decade strategic roadmaps covering the period up to 2030 (the ‘national roadmaps’) proposing, where possible and measurable at national level, national projected trajectories, describing all the instruments planned, adopted or implemented with a view to contributing to the achievement at Union level of the general objectives of, and the digital targets set out in, this Decision. Member States should be able to include in their national roadmaps information on policies, measures and actions to be undertaken at regional level. The national roadmaps should be drafted after consulting key stakeholders, such as business organisations, including representatives of SMEs, the social partners and civil society, including older people and youth, as well as local and regional representatives, and should be a crucial tool for the coordination of the policies of the Member States and in order to ensure predictability for the market. Member States should take into account relevant sectoral initiatives, at Union and national level, and foster consistency with them. The commitment of a Member State to provide a national roadmap to contribute to the digital targets at Union level does not prevent the same Member State from designing and implementing strategies at national or regional level, or from specialising in certain industrial or digital domains.

(32)

During the cycles of cooperation between the Commission and Member States, Member States could propose adjustments to their national roadmaps to take into account the evolution of the digital transformation at Union and national level, and to respond in particular, to the Commission’s recommended policies, measures and actions. In order to foster a consistent and comparable approach across Member States and to facilitate the preparation of their national roadmaps, the Commission should provide guidance setting out in more detail the key elements of the structure of a national roadmap and, in particular, the common elements that all national roadmaps should include. The guidance should also provide for a general approach to be followed by the Member States when developing their national projected trajectories.

(33)

The cooperation and monitoring mechanism between the Commission and the Member States should commence with an assessment of their national roadmaps and should be based on the data provided and the assessment made in the Report on the Digital Decade, as well as on the feedback received from relevant stakeholders, such as business organisations, including representatives of SMEs, the social partners and civil society, as well as regional and local representatives.

(34)

The timing of the cooperation should take into account the need to reflect the results of previous cooperation cycles, as well as policies, measures, actions and the possible adjustments to the national roadmaps every 2 years.

(35)

In order to progress towards the digital targets in alignment with the projected trajectories, Member States, which are considered in the report as having made insufficient progress in a given area, should propose adjustment to policies, measures and actions that they intend to undertake to foster progress in that critical area. Furthermore, the Commission and Member States should examine how recommended policies, measures and actions mentioned in the previous year’s report have been addressed by Member States collectively and individually. A Member State should be able to request a peer review process to be launched in order to give other Member States an opportunity to comment on proposals it intends to present in its national roadmap, in particular as regards their suitability to achieve a specific target. The Commission should facilitate the exchange of experience and best practices by way of the peer review process.

(36)

The Commission and one or more Member States, or at least two Member States, should be able to undertake joint commitments regarding coordinated actions they would like to undertake in order to achieve the digital targets, to establish multi-country projects, and to agree on any other policies, measures and actions at Union and national level with the objective to progress towards those targets in alignment with the projected trajectories. A joint commitment is an initiative to cooperate, in particular with the aim of contributing to the achievement of the general objectives of, and the digital targets set out in, this Decision. Multi-country projects and European digital infrastructure consortia (EDICs) should include at least three Member States.

(37)

In the monitoring of the achievement of the general objectives of, and the digital targets set out in, this Decision, the Commission and the Member States have an obligation to cooperate sincerely in accordance with Article 4(3) of the Treaty on European Union. It is therefore necessary that any call for cooperation made by the Commission be followed up appropriately by Member States, in particular where there is a significant deviation from a Member State’s national projected trajectory or where such a deviation has not been addressed for a substantial period.

(38)

The effective implementation of the recommended policies, measures and actions and of the national roadmaps and the adjustments thereto, is crucial for the achievement of the general objectives of, and the digital targets set out in, this Decision. A structured dialogue with individual Member States is essential to guide and support them in identifying and implementing the appropriate measures to progress towards their national projected trajectories, in particular where Member States consider it to be necessary to adjust their national roadmaps on the basis of the Commission’s recommended policies, measures or actions. The Commission should keep the European Parliament and the Council appropriately informed, in particular regarding the process and the outcome of the structured dialogue.

(39)

In order to ensure transparency and public participation, the Commission should engage with all interested stakeholders. To that end, the Commission should cooperate closely with stakeholders including civil society and private and public actors, such as bodies governed by public laws of the education and training or health sectors, and should consult them about measures to accelerate the digital transformation at Union level. When consulting stakeholders, the Commission should be as inclusive as possible and involve bodies that are instrumental to promoting the participation of girls and women in digital education and professional careers, aiming to promote a gender-balanced approach to the extent possible when the national roadmaps are implemented by the Member States. The involvement of stakeholders is also important at the level of the Member States, in particular when adopting their national roadmaps and the possible adjustments thereto. Both at Union and national level, the Commission and the Member States should involve business organisations, including representatives of SMEs, the social partners and civil society, in a timely manner and proportionately to the available resources.

(40)

Multi-country projects should allow for large-scale intervention in key areas necessary for the achievement of the digital targets set out in this Decision, in particular by pooling resources from the Union, Member States and, where appropriate, private sources. Where necessary for the achievement of the digital targets, Member States should be able to involve third countries associated with a directly managed Union programme that supports the digital transformation of the Union. Multi-country projects should be implemented in a coordinated manner, in close cooperation between the Commission and Member States. The Commission should play a central role in accelerating the implementation of multi-country projects through the identification of multi-country projects ready for implementation among the project categories indicatively included in an Annex to this Decision, in advising Member States on the choice of the most suitable existing implementation mechanism, on the choice of the sources of funding and their combination and on other strategic matters related to the implementation of those projects. Where appropriate, the Commission should provide guidance on the setting-up of an EDIC as an implementation mechanism. Member States wishing to do so are also able to cooperate or take coordinated action in areas other than those provided for in this Decision.

(41)

Public support to the multi-country projects should, in particular, be used to address market failures or sub-optimal investment situations, in a proportionate manner, without distorting the level playing field or duplicating or crowding out private financing. Multi-country projects should have clear European added value and should be implemented in accordance with the applicable Union law and with national law that is consistent with Union law.

(42)

Multi-country projects should be able to attract and combine, in an efficient manner, various sources of Union and Member States’ funding and, where applicable, funding from third countries associated with a directly managed Union programme that supports the digital transformation of the Union, finding, where possible, synergies among them. In particular, the combination of the funds from centrally managed Union programmes with resources committed by Member States should be possible, including, under certain conditions, contributions from the Recovery and Resilience Facility, as explained in Part 3 of the Commission guidance to Member States on their national Recovery and Resilience Plans, as well as contributions from the European Regional Development Fund or the Cohesion Fund. Whenever justified by the nature of a particular multi-country project, contributions from entities other than the Union and Member States should also be allowed, including private contributions.

(43)

The Commission, in cooperation with the Member States and acting as the coordinator of multi-country projects, should assist Member States in identifying their interests in multi-country projects, give non-binding guidance regarding the selection of optimal implementation mechanisms, and provide assistance in the implementation, contributing to the widest possible participation. The Commission should provide such support unless Member States participating in a multi-country project object. The Commission should act in cooperation with the participating Member States.

(44)

The Commission should be able to establish, upon the application of the Member States concerned, and following an assessment of that application, an EDIC to implement a particular multi-country project.

(45)

The host Member State should determine whether an EDIC meets the requirements for recognition as an international body as referred to in of Article 143, point (g), and Article 151(1), point (b), of Council Directive 2006/112/EC (15) and as an international organisation as referred to in Article 12(1), point (b), of Council Directive 2008/118/EC (16).

(46)

In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Decision, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission as regards the KPIs and for setting up EDICs. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (17).

(47)

This Decision does not apply to measures taken by Member States concerning national security, public security or defence,

(1)

‘Digital Economy and Society Index’ or ‘DESI’ means an annual set of analyses and measurement indicators on the basis of which the Commission monitors the Union’s and the Member States’ overall digital performance across several policy dimensions, including their progress towards the digital targets set out in Article 4;

(2)

‘multi-country projects’ means large-scale projects facilitating the achievement of the digital targets set out in Article 4, including the Union’s and the Member States’ financing, in accordance with Article 10;

(3)

‘statistics’ means statistics as defined in Article 3, point (1), of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (18);

(4)

‘peer review process’ means a mechanism whereby Member States exchange best practices on specific aspects of the policies, measures and actions proposed by a given Member State, and in particular on their efficiency and suitability to contributing to achieving a specific target of the digital targets set out in Article 4, in the context of cooperation pursuant to Article 8;

(5)

‘projected trajectory’ means the projected path per digital target until 2030, to achieve the digital targets set out in Article 4, on the basis of historical data where available;

(6)

‘edge nodes’ means distributed data-processing capacity connected to the network and located close to or in the physical endpoint where the data is generated, which offers distributed computing and storage capabilities for low-latency data processing;

(7)

‘digital intensity’ means the aggregated value attributed to an undertaking, on the basis of the number of technologies it uses, against a scoreboard of various technologies, in line with DESI;

(8)

‘key public services’ means essential services provided by public entities to natural persons in their major life events and to legal persons in their professional life-cycle;

(9)

‘advanced digital skills’ means skills and professional competencies requiring knowledge and experience necessary to understand, design, develop, manage, test, deploy, use and maintain digital technologies, products and services;

(10)

‘basic digital skill’ means the ability to perform, by digital means, at least one activity related to the following areas: information, communication and collaboration, content creation, safety and personal data, and problem-solving;

(11)

‘unicorn’ means either:

(12)

‘small or medium sized enterprise’ or ‘SME’ means a microenterprise or a small or medium-sized enterprise as defined in Article 2 of the Annex to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC (19).