According to a report published on the implementation of the Berlin Declaration on Digital Society and Value-based Digital Government, Member States are improving digital literacy and integrating innovative technologies into public service. However, they need to focus more on social participation and digital inclusion, as well as trust and security in digital services.
Framework for the digital society: the Berlin Declaration
Signed in December 2020, the Berlin Declaration outlines a framework for a digital society based on fundamental rights, democratic values, and value-based digital governance, reaffirms the strong commitment of European leaders to digital transformation and European pillars, and provides input for the monitoring of the Strategic Programme for the Digital Decade 2030 and the related European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles.
The Berlin Declaration focuses on the definition of a human-centered digital transformation and interoperability as key factors for eServices, with the aim of providing 100 % of the EU’s core public services online by 2030.
The II Report on the Implementation of the Berlin Declaration
This is the second report on the implementation of the Berlin Declaration (the first report was released in May 2022) provides an overview of the progress made by Member States in implementing the actions associated with the Berlin Declaration compared to the previous year, highlighting positive trends in most policy areas, in particular, the following
- Member States continued to implement strategies, projects, and forums to promote fundamental rights and democratic values in the digit-sphere. Member States continued to create platforms to provide information on fundamental rights and promote debate on the subject;
- Member States have introduced new strategies and initiatives, e.g. training activities, to strengthen citizens’ digital skills and competencies. This contributes to the empowerment and digital literacy of citizens, in line with the Communication Attracting skills and talent to the EU (April 2022);
- Member States are integrating human-centered systems and innovative technologies into the public sector. This is a key element of the proposed law on an interoperable Europe, which aims to facilitate the expansion of interoperability solutions among public administrations in Europe.
What’s next?
However, the Member States have made less clear progress in promoting social participation and inclusion and need to do more to strengthen trust in the digital sphere, with an emphasis on security. With in-depth comments on these findings for different countries, the report offers good practices for policy-makers, businesses, and citizens.
