EU sets up international digital strategy: “No one can lead this revolution alone”

Brussels – A ‘common vision’ to be translated into a series of concrete proposals to accompany as many international partners as possible in a digital revolution full of opportunities, but certainly not without risks. The European Commission today (5 June) presented a strategy to strengthen its digital partnerships and establish new ones, ultimately acting as a counterbalance to those countries already possessing significant technological potential, notably China and the United States.

“Nobody can lead this revolution alone,” said the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President in charge of Technological Sovereignty, Henna Virkkunen, at a press conference. The EU’s new “digital diplomacy” envisages a real “technology offer” for partner countries “in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.” The idea is to combine EU public and private sector investments in support of the digital transition in partner countries, focusing in particular on “secure and reliable” digital infrastructures, ’emerging’ technologies such as artificial intelligence, 5G and 6G, semiconductors and quantum technologies, cybersecurity, digital identities, and digital public infrastructure.

“There is also a security aspect: the EU must address the risks of instrumentalisation of its technological and economic dependencies”, the executive vice-president further explained. The EU currently has four digital partnerships with Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Canada. But Virkkunen also mentioned India, with whom Brussels has deepened cooperation through the EU-India Trade and Technology Council (TTC). In total, there are more than 30 ‘like-minded’ countries with which the EU has engaged in digital dialogues.

On the other side of the Atlantic, “our most strategic security and economic partner” does not share the regulatory approach that the EU is trying to impose on the digital ecosystem. “We know that US technology companies play a very important role in the EU,” Virkkunen admitted, stressing, however, that the Union “is their main market” and “is very important for them.” 

Among Brussels’ priorities, also reiterated in the international strategy, is the need to “ensure a safe and fair digital environment.” Partnerships will also focus on “online platforms that promote the protection of minors, freedom of expression, democracy, and the privacy of citizens” and on “digital governance that promotes social cohesion” and protects “human rights and democratic principles.”