The impact of digital technology on the lives of EU citizens.

 

The impact of digital technology on the lives of EU citizens

Digital technology has never been more important in our lives: from telecommuting to online medical consultations, to video calls with family and friends. But, the pandemic has also highlighted Europe's backwardness. Almost a quarter of households do not have broadband and less than 20% of small businesses use the Internet to sell their products or services, explains Euro & Asian news journalist Muhammad majid.

Thus, 22% of households do not have broadband and, barely, 17.5% of SMEs sell products or services online, as reflected in the data provided by the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2020.

Guillaume Desjardins, a reporter who is part of the Real Economy team, visits a century-old Danish manufacturer to find out how it has made the move towards digital technology.

But first, a crash course on how EU Recovery Funds help Europe's digital transformation.

The transition to the digital world is a key element of the EU Recovery Plan. At the center of the plan is the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, endowed with 672.5 billion euros that will be used for investments and public reforms. To access the money, Member States have submitted national recovery plans that allocate 20% of economic aid to initiatives to digitize their economies.

Digital technology is changing the way we live and work, but there is a gap between those who have access to it and those who do not. 42% of Europeans do not have basic digital skills and 83% of SMEs do not use Internet services in the 'cloud'. For everyone to benefit, the EU wants to invest in ultra-fast broadband, train citizens in digital skills, help start-ups and small businesses to innovate and grow and use technology to achieve climate neutrality.