Software

European Commission: EU Report on Digitalization – Germany Leads in High-Tech Sectors

June 17, 2026. In its report on the status of the Digital Decade, the European Commission outlines how the EU is progressing with the digital transformation and highlights its successes and shortcomings. Specifically, the report addresses the digital goals and targets for 2030 across four key areas: digital infrastructure, the digitization of businesses, digital skills, and the digitization of public services. This year’s report shows that Germany is a leader in the development of cutting-edge technology sectors (such as the semiconductor industry and quantum technology).

Illustrative image of digitalization / Photo by Conny Schneider on Unsplash

2026: Progress and Remaining Gaps

The report documents progress in the following areas:

Development of basic connectivity infrastructure: 96.8 percent of households now have basic 5G coverage.
Adoption of advanced digital technologies by businesses: 46.7 percent of businesses in the EU use cloud computing, 39.9 percent use data analytics, and nearly 20 percent use artificial intelligence (adoption rose by 48 percent in 2025 compared to the previous year).
Over 60 percent of Europeans now have at least basic digital skills.
However, gaps remain:
Semiconductors: Here, the EU accounts for only 9 percent of the global semiconductor market—far from the 20 percent target for 2030. The same applies to computing capacity.
Dependency: Despite significant progress in the area of cybersecurity, Europe remains structurally dependent on cybersecurity providers outside the EU
Lack of ICT skills: In 2025, only 5 percent of the workforce were specialists—half of the 10 percent target for 2030.

Recommendations: Close structural gaps, mobilize investments

The report contains clear recommendations for both the EU and the member states to further scale up their efforts. To prevent progress from stalling, the report strongly calls for securing funding beyond 2026, further expanding successful projects (e.g., consortia for a European digital infrastructure (EDIC), important projects of common European interest (IPCEI), and coordination at the EU level (e.g., through multi-country projects) .

Eurobarometer: Public Support for the EU’s Digital Policy

The report coincides with the latest special Eurobarometer survey. It shows that an overwhelming majority of Europeans consider digital policy to be the EU’s top priority and strongly support a more autonomous digital future for Europe.

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