What is it?

A quick and state-of-the-art adaptation of Member States to AI is one of the priorities of the Von der Leyen Commission. It envisions to encompass the interaction of all stakeholders in society (private, public, citizens) with the objective to transform Europe digitally while addressing socioeconomic and ethical impacts/concerns.

What does it do?

The European Commission has presented the main project "Europe's Digital Decade" to transform Europe digitally by 2030. According to its objectives, the Commission aims at reinforcing the EU's digital sovereignty and setting standards, with a particular emphasis in the domains of data, technology and infrastructure. Measures include public policies concerning human capital skills, government capabilities, business' adaptation and secure and sustainable digital infrastructures.

Digital technology is changing people’s lives. The EU’s digital strategy aims to make this transformation work for people and businesses, while helping to achieve its target of a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. The Commission is determined to make this Europe's “Digital Decade”. Europe must now strengthen its digital sovereignty and set standards, rather than following those of others – with a clear focus on data, technology, and infrastructure.

Previous EU policies

The European Commission has extensively regulated since 2014 data. Examples include the regulation on the free flow of non-personal data, the Cybersecurity Act, the Open Data Directive, and the General Data Protection. Nonetheless, the first AI Strategy coordinating Member States' policies saw the light in 2018. In 2019, the High-level Expert Group on AI presented the Ethics Guidelines on Trustworthy AI.

Source: EC Website, 2023.