EU budgets €763 million for digital transition, cybersecurity

The European Commission, which is the executive branch of the European Union, has adopted the amendment of the Digital Europe work programmes for 2024, assigning €762.7 million in funding towards various digital technologies that are deemed to be pivotal to the future growth and development of the region.

These technologies include data analytics, cloud computing, and advanced digital skills that are necessary to support the growth of digital industries and businesses in the European Union.

“The Digital Europe Programme is key for pooling EU and national funding to achieve ambitious digital projects that no Member State can do alone. It is crucial that Europe continues to support our digital decade targets with enhanced focus on digital skills, excellence in artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity.” Executive Vice President of the Commission, Margrethe Vestager said.

The work programme will roll out support for the smooth implementation of Digital Decade multi-country projects, including opportunities for European Digital Infrastructure Consortia (EDICs). New actions will support the implementation of the AI Act and the development of a European AI ecosystem, including in particular SMEs.

Nearly €549m will be spent delivering continuity and evolution of ongoing projects and the multi-country projects under the Digital Decade targets (a roadmap that aims to accelerate the digital transformation of Member States by 2030).

The ongoing projects, originally launched in March, include the use of digital technologies such as supercomputers, data, AI, cloud, cybersecurity, and advanced digital skills. The multi-country projects involve increased efforts on AI, as well as additional actions related to key digital policies such as virtual worlds, cloud, and quantum.

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Other policy areas the EU considers key as part of this subsection of the funding include “seed funding for a pilot demonstrating seamless integration and interoperability of Industrial IoT Edge with Telco Edge developments, the establishment of a 3D Competence Centre for the Cultural Heritage sector, and the provision of quantum-based metabolic MRI sensors for cancer diagnosis and treatment.”

The Commission has earmarked the remaining €214 million for 2024 for cybersecurity, to enhance the EU’s collective resilience against cyber threats. The actions funded by this work programme will be implemented by the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC).

The European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC) will be in charge of implementing the actions under this work programme while National Coordination Centres will be the point of contact for interactions between member states, assisting stakeholders, and contributing to the strategic tasks of the ECCC.

“The Digital Europe Programme drives Europe’s leadership and sovereignty in digital technologies. It will build on the recent agreement on the EU AI Act and boost the development of a thriving European AI start-up ecosystem. It will also allow us to jointly scale up our capabilities in cloud, data and cybersecurity, including necessary digital skills.” Commissioner Thierry Breton said.

According to the commission, the first calls for the Digital Europe Programme will be published in early 2024.