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Document 02021R0694-20230921
Regulation (EU) 2021/694 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 establishing the Digital Europe Programme and repealing Decision (EU) 2015/2240 (Text with EEA relevance)Text with EEA relevance
Consolidated text: Regulation (EU) 2021/694 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 establishing the Digital Europe Programme and repealing Decision (EU) 2015/2240 (Text with EEA relevance)Text with EEA relevance
Regulation (EU) 2021/694 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 establishing the Digital Europe Programme and repealing Decision (EU) 2015/2240 (Text with EEA relevance)Text with EEA relevance
02021R0694 — EN — 21.09.2023 — 001.001
This text is meant purely as a documentation tool and has no legal effect. The Union's institutions do not assume any liability for its contents. The authentic versions of the relevant acts, including their preambles, are those published in the Official Journal of the European Union and available in EUR-Lex. Those official texts are directly accessible through the links embedded in this document
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REGULATION (EU) 2021/694 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 29 April 2021 establishing the Digital Europe Programme and repealing Decision (EU) 2015/2240 (OJ L 166 11.5.2021, p. 1) |
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REGULATION (EU) 2023/1781 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 13 September 2023 |
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18.9.2023 |
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REGULATION (EU) 2021/694 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 29 April 2021
establishing the Digital Europe Programme and repealing Decision (EU) 2015/2240
(Text with EEA relevance)
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
Subject matter
This Regulation establishes the Digital Europe Programme (the ‘Programme’) for the duration of the MFF 2021-2027.
This Regulation lays down the objectives of the Programme, its budget for the period 2021 to 2027, the forms of Union funding and the rules for providing such funding.
Article 2
Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:
‘blending operation’ means an action supported by the Union budget, including within a blending facility or platform as defined in point (6) of Article 2 of the Financial Regulation, that combines non-repayable forms of support or financial instruments from the Union budget with repayable forms of support from development or other public finance institutions, as well as from commercial finance institutions and investors;
‘legal entity’ means a natural person, or a legal person created and recognised as such under Union, national, or international law, which has legal personality and the capacity to act in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity which does not have legal personality as referred to in point (c) of Article 197(2) of the Financial Regulation;
‘associated country’ means a third country which is party to an agreement with the Union allowing for its participation in the Programme pursuant to Article 10;
‘international organisation of European interest’ means an international organisation, the majority of whose members are Member States or whose headquarters are in a Member State;
‘European Digital Innovation Hub’ means a legal entity selected in accordance with Article 16 in order to fulfil the tasks under the Programme, in particular by directly providing, or ensuring access to, technological expertise and experimentation facilities, such as equipment and software tools to enable the digital transformation of industry, as well as by facilitating access to finance and it is open to businesses of all forms and sizes, in particular to SMEs, mid-caps and scale-up companies, and to public administrations across the Union;
‘advanced digital skills’ means the skills and professional competencies requiring the knowledge and experience necessary to understand, design, develop, manage, test, deploy, use and maintain the technologies, products and services supported by the Programme as referred to in Article 7;
‘European Partnership’ means a European Partnership as defined in point (3) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2021/695;
‘small or medium-sized enterprise’ or ‘SME’ means a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise as defined in Article 2 of the Annex to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC ( 1 );
‘cybersecurity’ means the activities necessary to protect network and information systems, the users of such systems, and other persons affected by cyber threats;
‘digital service infrastructures’ means infrastructures which enable networked services to be delivered electronically, typically over the internet;
‘Seal of Excellence’ means a quality label which shows that a proposal submitted to a call for proposals under the Programme has passed all of the evaluation thresholds set out in the work programme, but could not be funded due to a lack of budget available for that call for proposals in the work programme, and might receive support from other Union or national sources of funding;
‘exascale’ means, in the context of computing systems, being capable of executing 1018 (ten to the power of 18) floating operations per second.
Article 3
Programme objectives
The Programme shall be implemented in close coordination with other Union programmes as applicable, and shall aim:
to strengthen and promote Europe’s capacities in key digital technology areas through large-scale deployment;
in the private sector and in areas of public interest, to widen the diffusion and uptake of Europe’s key digital technologies, promoting the digital transformation and access to digital technologies.
The Programme shall have six interrelated specific objectives:
Specific Objective 1 – High Performance Computing
Specific Objective 2 – Artificial Intelligence
Specific Objective 3 – Cybersecurity and Trust
Specific Objective 4 – Advanced Digital Skills
Specific Objective 5 Deployment and Best Use of Digital Capacity and Interoperability.
Specific Objective 6 – Semiconductors.
Article 4
Specific Objective 1- High Performance Computing
The financial contribution from the Union under Specific Objective 1 – High Performance Computing shall pursue the following operational objectives:
deploy, coordinate at Union level and operate an integrated demand-oriented and application-driven world-class exascale supercomputing and data infrastructure that shall be easily accessible to public and private users, in particular SMEs, irrespective of the Member State in which they are located, and easily accessible for research purposes, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1488;
deploy ready to use operational technology resulting from research and innovation in order to build an integrated Union HPC ecosystem, covering various aspects in the scientific and industrial value chain segments, including hardware, software, applications, services, interconnections and digital skills, with a high level of security and data protection;
deploy and operate post-exascale infrastructure, including integration with quantum computing technologies and research infrastructures for computing science and encourage the development within the Union of the hardware and software necessary for such deployment.
Article 5
Specific Objective 2 – Artificial Intelligence
The financial contribution from the Union under Specific Objective 2 – Artificial Intelligence shall pursue the following operational objectives:
build up and strengthen core AI capacities and knowledge in the Union, including building up and strengthening quality data resources and corresponding exchange mechanisms, and libraries of algorithms, while guaranteeing a human-centric and inclusive approach that respects Union values;
make the capacities referred to in point (a) accessible to businesses, especially SMEs and start-ups, as well as civil society, not-for-profit organisations, research institutions, universities and public administrations, in order to maximise their benefit to the European society and economy;
reinforce and network AI testing and experimentation facilities in Member States;
develop and reinforce commercial application and production systems in order to facilitate the integration of technologies in value chains and the development of innovative business models and to shorten the time required to pass from innovation to commercial exploitation and foster the uptake of AI-based solutions in areas of public interest and in society.
AI-based solutions and data made available shall respect the principle of privacy and security by design and shall fully comply with data protection legislation.
Where appropriate, the Commission shall carry out checks to ensure compliance with those ethical requirements. Funding for actions which do not comply with the ethical requirements may be suspended, terminated or reduced at any time in accordance with the Financial Regulation.
The ethical and legal requirements referred to in this Article shall apply to all actions of Specific Objective 2, regardless of the method of implementation.
Article 6
Specific Objective 3 – Cybersecurity and Trust
The financial contribution from the Union under Specific Objective 3 – Cybersecurity and Trust shall pursue the following operational objectives:
support the building-up and procurement of advanced cybersecurity equipment, tools and data infrastructures, together with Member States, in order to achieve a high common level of cybersecurity at European level, in full compliance with data protection legislation and fundamental rights, while ensuring the strategic autonomy of the Union;
support the building-up and best use of European knowledge, capacity and skills related to cybersecurity and the sharing and mainstreaming of best practices;
ensure a wide deployment of effective state-of-the-art cybersecurity solutions across the European economy, paying special attention to public authorities and SMEs;
reinforce capabilities within Member States and private sector to help them comply with Directive (EU) 2016/1148 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 2 ) including through measures supporting the uptake of cybersecurity best practices;
improve resilience against cyberattacks, contribute towards increasing risk-awareness and knowledge of cybersecurity processes, support public and private organisations in achieving basics levels of cybersecurity, for example by deploying end-to-end encryption of data and software updates;
enhance cooperation between the civil and defence spheres with regard to dual-use projects, services, competences and applications in cybersecurity, in accordance with a Regulation establishing the European Cybersecurity Industrial, Technology and Research Competence Centre and the Network of National Coordination Centres (the ‘Cybersecurity Competence Centre Regulation’).
Article 7
Specific Objective 4 – Advanced Digital Skills
The financial contribution from the Union under Specific Objective 4 – Advanced Digital Skills shall support the development of advanced digital skills in areas covered by the Programme in order to contribute to increasing Europe’s talent pool, bridge the digital divide and foster greater professionalism, especially with regard to high performance and cloud computing, big data analytics, cybersecurity, distributed ledger technologies (e.g. blockchain), quantum technologies, robotics, AI, while taking gender balance into account. In order to tackle skills mismatches and to encourage specialisation in digital technologies and applications, the financial contribution shall pursue the following operational objectives:
support the design and delivery of high-quality, long-term training and courses, including blended learning, for students and for the workforce;
support the design and delivery of high-quality, short-term training and courses for the workforce, in particular in SMEs and in the public sector;
support high-quality on-the-job training and work placements for students, including traineeships, and the workforce, in particular in SMEs and in the public sector.
Article 8
Specific Objective 5 – Deployment and Best Use of Digital Capacities and Interoperability
The financial contribution from the Union under Specific Objective 5 – Deployment and Best Use of Digital Capacities and Interoperability shall pursue the following operational objectives while bridging the digital divide:
support the public sector and areas of public interest, such as health and care, education, judiciary, customs, transport, mobility, energy, environment, cultural and creative sectors, including relevant businesses established within the Union, to effectively deploy and access state-of-the-art digital technologies, such as HPC, AI and cybersecurity;
deploy, operate and maintain trans-European interoperable state-of-the-art digital service infrastructures across the Union, including related services, in complementarity with national and regional actions;
support the integration and use of trans-European digital service infrastructures and of agreed European digital standards in the public sector and in areas of public interest to facilitate cost-efficient implementation and interoperability;
facilitate the development, update and use of solutions and frameworks by public administrations, businesses and citizens, including of open-source solutions and the re-use of interoperability solutions and frameworks;
offer the public sector and the Union industry, in particular SMEs, easy access to testing and piloting of digital technologies and increase the use thereof, including their cross-border use;
support the uptake by the public sector and the Union industry, in particular SMEs and start-ups, of advanced digital and related technologies, including in particular HPC, AI, cybersecurity, other leading edge and future technologies, such as distributed ledger technologies (e.g. blockchain);
support the design, testing, implementation, and deployment and maintenance of interoperable digital solutions, including digital government solutions, for public services at Union level which are delivered through a data-driven reusable solutions platform aiming to foster innovation and establish common frameworks in order to unleash the full potential of the public administrations’ services for citizens and businesses;
ensure the continuous capacity at Union level to lead digital development, in addition to observing, analysing and adapting to fast-evolving digital trends, and share and mainstream best practices;
support cooperation towards achieving a European ecosystem for trusted data sharing and digital infrastructures using, inter alia, services and applications based on distributed ledger technologies (e.g. blockchain), including support for interoperability and standardisation and by fostering the deployment of Union cross-border applications based on security and privacy by design, while complying with consumer and data protection legislation;
build up and strengthen the European Digital Innovation Hubs and their network.
Article 8a
Specific Objective 6 – Semiconductors
The financial contribution from the Union under Specific Objective 6 – Semiconductors shall pursue the objectives laid down in Article 4(2), points (a) to (d), of Regulation (EU) 2023/1781 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 3 ).
Article 9
Budget
The indicative distribution of the amount referred to in paragraph 1 shall be:
EUR 2 019 914 000 for Specific Objective 1 – High Performance Computing;
EUR 1 663 956 000 for Specific Objective 2 – Artificial Intelligence;
EUR 1 399 566 000 for Specific Objective 3 – Cybersecurity and Trust;
EUR 507 347 000 for Specific Objective 4 – Advanced Digital Skills;
EUR 1 002 217 000 for Specific Objective 5 – Deployment and Best Use of Digital Capacities and Interoperability;
EUR 1 575 000 000 for Specific Objective 6 – Semiconductors.
Article 10
Third countries associated to the Programme
The Programme shall be open to the participation of the following third countries through association or partial association, in accordance with the objectives laid down in Article 3:
members of the European Free Trade Association, which are members of the European Economic Area, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the Agreement on the European Economic Area;
acceding countries, candidate countries and potential candidates, in accordance with the general principles and general terms and conditions for the participation of those countries in Union programmes established in the respective framework agreements and Association Council decisions or in similar agreements and in accordance with the specific conditions laid down in agreements between the Union and those countries;
European Neighbourhood Policy countries, in accordance with the general principles and general terms and conditions for the participation of those countries in Union programmes established in the respective framework agreements and Association Council decisions or in similar agreements and in accordance with the specific conditions laid down in agreements between the Union and those countries;
other third countries, in accordance with the conditions laid down in a specific agreement covering the participation of the third country to any Union programme, provided that the agreement:
ensures a fair balance as regards the contributions and benefits of the third country participating in the Union programmes;
lays down the conditions of participation in the programmes, including the calculation of financial contributions to individual programmes and their administrative costs;
does not confer on the third country any decision-making power in respect of the Union programme;
guarantees the rights of the Union to ensure sound financial management and to protect its financial interests;
The contributions referred to in point (d)(ii) of the first subparagraph shall constitute assigned revenues in accordance with Article 21(5) of the Financial Regulation.
Article 11
International cooperation
Article 12
Security
Article 13
Synergies with other Union programmes
Article 14
Implementation and forms of Union funding
Where the achievement of the objective of an action requires the procurement of innovative goods and services, grants may be awarded only to beneficiaries that are contracting authorities or contracting entities as defined in Directives 2014/24/EU ( 5 ) and 2014/25/EU ( 6 ) of the European Parliament and of the Council.
Where the supply of innovative goods or services that are not yet available on a large-scale commercial basis is necessary to achieve the objectives of an action, the contracting authority or the contracting entity may authorise the award of multiple contracts within the same procurement procedure.
For duly justified reasons of public security, the contracting authority or the contracting entity may require that the place of performance of the contract be situated within the territory of the Union.
The Programme may also provide financing in the form of financial instruments within blending operations.
Article 15
European Partnerships
The Programme may be implemented through European Partnerships and within the strategic planning between the Commission and the Member States, as referred to in Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2021/695. Such implementation may include contributions to existing or new public-private partnerships in the form of joint undertakings established under Article 187 TFEU. For those contributions, the provisions of that Regulation relating to European Partnerships shall apply.
Article 16
European Digital Innovation Hubs
For the purpose of establishing the network referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, each Member State shall designate candidate entities in accordance with its national procedures, administrative and institutional structures through an open and competitive process, on the basis of the following criteria:
the appropriate competences related to the activities of the European Digital Innovation Hubs referred to in paragraph 6 of this Article and competences in one or several areas identified in Article 3(2);
the appropriate management capacity, staff and infrastructure necessary to carry out the activities referred to in paragraph 6 of this Article;
the operational and legal means to apply the administrative, contractual and financial management rules laid down at Union level; and
the appropriate financial viability corresponding to the level of Union funds it will be called upon to manage and demonstrated, where appropriate, through guarantees issued preferably by a public authority.
The entities shall be selected by the Commission from candidate entities designated by Member States on the basis of the criteria referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article and the following additional criteria:
the budget available for the financing of the initial network; and
the need for the initial network to ensure coverage of the needs of industry and areas of public interest and to ensure comprehensive and balanced geographical coverage to improve convergence between Member States benefiting from the Cohesion Fund for 2021 to 2027 established by a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council and the other Member States, for example to bridge the digital divide in geographical terms.
The Commission shall take the utmost account of the opinion of the Member State before selecting an additional European Digital Innovation Hub in its territory.
The Commission shall select additional European Innovation Hubs in such a way to ensure a broad geographical coverage across Europe. The number of entities of the network shall be sufficient to meet the demand for the hubs’ services in given Member States. To address the specific constraints faced by the Union’s outermost regions, specific entities may be nominated to cover the needs of such regions.
With respect to the implementation of the Programme, European Digital Innovation Hubs shall perform the following activities to the benefit of the Union industry, in particular SMEs and mid-caps, as well as the public sector:
raising awareness and providing or ensuring access to digital transformation expertise, knowhow and services, including testing and experimentation facilities;
assisting businesses, especially SMEs and start-ups, organisations and public administrations to become more competitive and to improve their business models through use of new technologies covered by the Programme;
facilitating the transfer of expertise and knowhow between regions, in particular by matching SMEs, start-ups and mid-caps established in one region with European Digital Innovation Hubs established in other regions that are best suited to providing relevant services; encouraging exchanges of skills and knowledge, joint initiatives and good practices;
providing or ensuring access to thematic services, in particular services related to AI, HPC and cybersecurity and trust to the public administrations, public sector organisations, SMEs or mid-caps;
providing financial support to third parties under Specific Objective 4.
For the purposes of point (d) of the first subparagraph, European Digital Innovation Hubs may specialise in specific thematic services and shall not be required to provide all thematic services or to provide those services to all categories of entities referred to in this paragraph.
CHAPTER II
ELIGIBILITY
Article 17
Eligible actions
Article 18
Eligible legal entities
The following legal entities shall be eligible to participate in the Programme:
legal entities established in:
a Member State or an overseas country or territory linked to a Member State;
a third country associated to the Programme in accordance with Articles 10 and 12;
any other legal entity created under Union law and any international organisation of European interest.
CHAPTER III
GRANTS
Article 19
Grants
Grants under the Programme shall be awarded and managed in accordance with Title VIII of the Financial Regulation and may cover up to 100 % of the eligible costs, without prejudice to the co-financing principle as laid down in Article 190 of the Financial Regulation. Such grants shall be awarded and managed as specified for each specific objective.
Article 20
Award criteria
The award criteria shall be set out in the work programmes and in the calls for proposals, taking into account at least the following elements:
the maturity of the action in the project development;
the soundness of the implementation plan proposed;
the need to overcome financial obstacles such as a lack of market finance.
Where applicable, the award criteria, shall take into account the following elements:
the stimulating effect of Union support on public and private investment;
the expected economic, social, climate and environmental impact;
accessibility and ease of access to respective services;
a trans-European dimension;
a balanced geographical distribution across the Union, including bridging the geographical digital divide, including the outermost regions;
the presence of a long-term sustainability plan;
the freedom to re-use and adapt the projects’ results;
synergies and complementarities with other Union programmes.
Article 21
Evaluation
In accordance with Article 150 of the Financial Regulation, applications for grants shall be evaluated by an evaluation committee, which may be fully or partially composed of external independent experts.
CHAPTER IV
BLENDING OPERATIONS AND OTHER COMBINED FUNDING
Article 22
Blending operations
Blending operations under the Programme shall be carried out in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/523 and Title X of the Financial Regulation.
Article 23
Cumulative and alternative funding
In order to be awarded a Seal of Excellence under the Programme, actions shall comply with all of the following conditions:
they have been assessed in a call for proposals under the Programme;
they comply with the minimum quality requirements of that call for proposals;
they are not financed under that call for proposals due to budgetary constraints.
In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Common Provisions Regulation for 2021-2027, the ERDF or ESF+ may support proposals submitted to a call for proposals under the Programme, which were awarded a Seal of Excellence in accordance with the Programme.
CHAPTER V
PROGRAMMING, MONITORING, EVALUATION AND CONTROL
Article 24
Work programmes
Article 25
Monitoring and reporting
To that end, proportionate reporting requirements shall be imposed on recipients of Union funds and, where necessary, on Member States.
Article 26
Evaluation of the Programme
The final evaluation shall assess long-term impacts of the Programme and its sustainability.
Article 27
Audits
Article 28
Protection of the financial interests of the Union
Where a third country participates in the Programme by means of a decision adopted pursuant to an international agreement or on the basis of any other legal instrument, the third country shall grant the necessary rights and access required for the authorising officer responsible, OLAF and the Court of Auditors to comprehensively exercise their respective competences. In the case of OLAF, such rights shall include the right to carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, as provided for in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013.
Article 29
Information, communication, publicity, policy support and dissemination
Financial resources allocated to the Programme shall also contribute to the corporate communication of the political priorities of the Union, insofar as those priorities are related to the objectives referred to in Article 3.
CHAPTER VI
DELEGATED ACTS, IMPLEMENTING ACTS, TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 30
Exercise of the delegation
Article 31
Committee procedure
Article 32
Repeal
Decision (EU) 2015/2240 is repealed with effect from 1 January 2021.
Article 33
Transitional provisions
Article 34
Entry into force and application
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 1 January 2021.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
ANNEX I
ACTIONS
Technical description of the Programme: scope of actions
The initial and, where appropriate, subsequent actions of the Programme shall be implemented in accordance with the following technical description:
Specific Objective 1 – High Performance Computing
The Programme shall implement the European strategy on HPC by supporting a full Union ecosystem that provides the necessary HPC and data capabilities for Europe to compete globally. The strategy aims to deploy a world-class HPC and data infrastructure with exascale capabilities between 2022 and 2023, and with post-exascale facilities between 2026 and 2027 to endow the Union with its own independent and competitive HPC technology supply, achieve excellence in HPC applications and widen the availability and use of HPC.
Initial and, where appropriate, subsequent actions under this objective shall include:
A joint procurement framework enabling a co-designed approach for the acquisition of an integrated network of world-class HPC, including the acquisition of exascale supercomputing and data infrastructure. That network will be easily accessible to public and private users, in particular SMEs, irrespective of the Member State in which they are located, and will be easily accessible for research purposes, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1488.
A joint procurement framework for the acquisition of post-exascale supercomputing infrastructure, including the integration with quantum computing technologies.
Coordination and adequate financial resources at Union level to support the development, procurement and operation of such infrastructure.
Networking of Member States HPC and data capacities and support for Member States wishing to upgrade or acquire new HPC capacities.
Networking of national High Performance Computing competence centres, at least one per Member State and associated with their national supercomputing centres to provide HPC services to industry, in particular SMEs, the academic community and public administrations.
The deployment of ready to use operational technology, in particular supercomputing as a service resulting from research and innovation to build an integrated European HPC ecosystem, covering all segments of the scientific and industrial value chain (hardware, software, applications, services, interconnections and advanced digital skills).
Specific Objective 2 – Artificial Intelligence
The Programme shall build up and strengthen core AI capacities in Europe, including data resources and repositories of algorithms, and make them accessible to all public administrations and businesses, and shall reinforce and network existing and newly established AI testing and experimentation facilities in Member States.
Initial and, where appropriate, subsequent actions under this objective shall include:
The creation of common European data spaces that make accessible data across Europe, including information gathered from the re-use of public sector information, and become a data input source for AI solutions. The spaces should be open to the public and private sectors. For increased usage, data within a space are to be made interoperable, in particular through data formats that are open, machine readable, standardised and documented, both in the interactions between the public and private sectors, within sectors and across sectors (semantic interoperability).
The development of common European libraries or interfaces to libraries of algorithms that make them easily accessible to all potential European users on the basis of fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. Businesses and the public sector are to be able to identify and acquire whichever solution would work best for their needs.
Co-investment with Member States in world class reference facilities for testing and experimentation in real setting focusing on the applications of AI in essential sectors such as health, earth or environment monitoring, transport and mobility, security, manufacturing and finance, as well as in other areas of public interest. Those facilities are to be open to all actors across Europe and connected to the network of European Digital Innovation Hubs. Those facilities are to be equipped with or connected to large computing and data handling facilities, as well as latest AI technologies, including emerging areas such as neuromorphic computing, deep learning and robotics.
Specific Objective 3 – Cybersecurity and Trust
The Programme shall stimulate the reinforcement, building and acquisition of essential capacities to secure the Union’s digital economy, society and democracy by reinforcing the Union cybersecurity industrial potential and competitiveness, as well as by improving capabilities of both the private and public sectors to protect citizens and businesses from cyber threats, including by supporting the implementation of Directive (EU) 2016/1148.
Initial and, where appropriate, subsequent actions under this objective shall include:
Co-investment with Member States in advanced cybersecurity equipment, infrastructures and knowhow that are essential to protect critical infrastructures and the Digital Single Market at large. Such co-investment could include investments in quantum facilities and data resources for cybersecurity, situational awareness in cyberspace as well as other tools to be made available to public and private sector across Europe.
Scaling up existing technological capacities and networking the competence centres in Member States and making sure that those capacities respond to public sector and industry needs, including through products and services that reinforce cybersecurity and trust within the Digital Single Market.
Ensuring wide deployment of effective state-of-the-art cybersecurity and trust solutions across the Member States. Such deployment includes strengthening the security and safety of products, from their design to their commercialisation.
Support closing the cybersecurity skills gap by, for example, aligning cybersecurity skills programmes, adapting them to specific sectorial needs and facilitating access to targeted specialised training.
Specific Objective 4 – Advanced digital skills
The Programme shall support access to advanced digital skills and training opportunities on those skills, in particular in HPC, big data analytics, AI, distributed ledger technologies (e.g. blockchain) and cybersecurity for the current and future workforce by offering, inter alia, students, recent graduates, current workers and citizens of all ages in need of upskilling, wherever they are situated, with the means to acquire and develop those skills.
Initial and, where appropriate, subsequent actions under this objective shall include:
Access to on-the-job training by taking part in traineeships in competence centres and businesses that deploy advanced digital technologies.
Access to courses in advanced digital technologies which are to be offered by higher education institutions, research institutions and industry professional certification bodies in cooperation with the bodies involved in the Programme (topics are expected to include AI, cybersecurity, distributed ledger technologies (e.g. blockchain), HPC and quantum technologies).
Participation in short-term, specialised professional training that have been pre-certified, for example in the area of cybersecurity.
Interventions shall focus on advanced digital skills related to specific technologies.
The European Digital Innovation Hubs provided for in Article 16 shall act as facilitators for training opportunities, liaising with education and training providers.
Specific Objective 5 – Deployment and Best Use of Digital Capacities and Interoperability
Projects serving the deployment and the best use of digital capacities or interoperability shall constitute projects of common interest.
I. Initial and, where appropriate, subsequent actions under this objective related to the digital transformation of areas of public interest shall include:
Modernisation of public administrations:
Support Member States in the implementation of the principles of the Tallinn Declaration on eGovernment in all policy domains, creating, where necessary, the necessary registries and interconnecting them in full compliance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679.
Support the design, piloting, deployment, maintenance, evolution and promotion of a coherent eco-system of cross-border digital services infrastructure and facilitate seamless end-to-end, secure, interoperable, multi-lingual cross-border or cross-sector solutions and common frameworks within public administrations. Methodologies for assessing the impact and benefits shall also be included.
Support the assessment, updating and promotion of existing common specifications and standards as well as the development, establishment and promotion of new common specifications, open specifications and standards through the Union’s standardisation platforms and in cooperation with European or international standardisation organisations as appropriate.
Cooperate towards a European ecosystem for trusted infrastructures, possibly using services and applications based on distributed ledger technologies (e.g. blockchain), including support for interoperability and standardisation and fostering the deployment of Union cross-border applications.
Health
Ensure that citizens have control over their personal data and can access, share, use, and manage their personal health data across borders securely and in a way that guarantees their privacy, irrespective of their location or the location of the data, in accordance with applicable data protection legislation. Complete the eHealth digital service infrastructure and extend it by new digital services in relation to disease prevention, health and care and support the deployment of such services, building on a broad support by Union activities and Member States, in particular in the eHealth network according to Article 14 of Directive 2011/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 8 ).
Make available better data for research, disease prevention and personalised health and care. Ensure that European health researchers and clinical practitioners have access to the necessary scale of resources (shared data spaces, including data storage and computing, expertise and analytical capacities) to achieve breakthroughs in major as well as in rare diseases. The target is to ensure a population-based cohort of at least 10 million citizens.
Make digital tools available for citizen empowerment and for person-centred care by supporting the exchange of innovative and best practices in digital health, capacity building and technical assistance, in particular for cybersecurity, AI and HPC.
Judiciary
Enable seamless and secure cross-border electronic communication within the judiciary and between the judiciary and other competent bodies in the area of civil and criminal justice. Improve access to justice and to legal information and procedures for citizens, businesses, legal practitioners and members of the judiciary by providing semantically interoperable interconnections to databases and registers as well as by facilitating online out-of-court dispute resolution. Promote the development and implementation of innovative technologies for courts and the legal profession based, inter alia, on AI solutions which are likely to streamline and speed-up procedures (for example, ‘legal tech’ applications).
Transport, mobility, energy and environment
Deploy decentralised solutions and infrastructures required for large-scale digital applications such as connected automated driving, unmanned aerial vehicles, smart mobility concepts, smart cities, smart rural areas or outermost regions, in support of transport, energy and environmental policies and in coordination with the actions for digitalising the transport and energy sectors under Connecting Europe Facility.
Education, culture and media
Provide creators, creative industry and cultural sectors in Europe with access to the latest digital technologies from AI to advanced computing. Exploit the European cultural heritage, including Europeana, to support education and research and to promote cultural diversity, social cohesion and European society. Support the uptake of digital technologies in education, as well as private and publicly funded cultural institutions.
Other actions supporting the Digital Single Market
Support actions such as fostering digital and media literacy and raising awareness among minors, parents and teachers regarding risks minors may encounter online and ways to protect them, tackling cyberbullying and the dissemination of child sexual abuse material online by supporting a pan-European network of Safer internet Centres. Promote measures aimed at detecting and combatting intentional disinformation spread, thereby increasing the Union’s overall resilience; support a Union observatory for the digital platform economy as well as studies and outreach activities.
The actions referred to in points 1 to 6 may be partly supported by European Digital Innovation Hubs through the same capacities developed to assist industry with their digital transformation (see point (II).
II Initial and, where appropriate, subsequent actions under this objective related to the digital transformation of industry shall include:
Contribution to the upscaling of the network of European Digital Innovation Hubs to ensure access to digital capacities for any business, in particular SMEs, in any region across the Union. Such contribution includes:
Access to common European data spaces and AI platforms and European HPC facilities for data analytics and compute intensive applications
Access to AI large scale testing facilities and to advanced cybersecurity tools
Access to advanced digital skills
The actions referred to in the first subparagraph will be coordinated with, and will complement, the innovation actions in digital technologies supported, in particular, under Horizon Europe, as well as investments in European Digital Innovation Hubs supported under the ERDF. Grants for market replication may also be provided from the Programme, in compliance with state aid rules. Support for access to financing for further steps in their digital transformation will be achieved with financial instruments making use of the InvestEU Programme.
Specific Objective 6 – Semiconductors
Actions under Specific Objective 6 are provided in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2023/1781.
ANNEX II
MEASURABLE INDICATORS TO MONITOR THE IMPLEMENTATION AND TO REPORT ON THE PROGRESS OF THE PROGRAMME TOWARDS THE ACHIEVEMENT OF ITS SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
Specific Objective 1 – High Performance Computing
1.1. The number of jointly procured HPC infrastructures
1.2. The usage of the exascale and post-exascale computers in total and by various stakeholder groups (universities, SMEs etc.)
Specific Objective 2 – Artificial Intelligence
2.1. The total amount co-invested in testing and experimentation facilities
2.2. The usage of common European libraries or interfaces to libraries of algorithms, usage of common European data spaces and usage of testing and experimentation facilities related to actions under this Regulation
2.3. The number of cases for which organisations decide to integrate AI in their products, processes or services, as a result of the Programme
Specific Objective 3 – Cybersecurity and Trust
3.1. The number of cybersecurity infrastructure, or tools, or both jointly procured ( 9 )
3.2. The number of users and user communities getting access to European cybersecurity facilities
Specific Objective 4 – Advanced Digital Skills
4.1. The number of persons who have received training to acquire advanced digital skills supported by the Programme
4.2. The number of enterprises, in particular SMEs, having difficulty recruiting ICT specialists
4.3. The number of people reporting an improved employment situation after the end of the training supported by the Programme
Specific Objective 5 – Deployment and Best Use of Digital Capacity and Interoperability
5.1. The take-up of digital public services
5.2. Enterprises with high digital intensity score
5.3. The extent of the alignment of the National Interoperability Framework with the European Interoperability Framework
5.4. The number of businesses and public sector entities which have used the services of European Digital Innovation Hubs
Specific Objective 6 – Semiconductors
Measurable indicators to monitor the implementation and to report on the progress of Specific Objective 6 are provided in Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2023/1781.
ANNEX III
SYNERGIES WITH OTHER UNION PROGRAMMES
1. Synergies with Horizon Europe shall ensure that:
although several thematic areas addressed by the Programme and Horizon Europe converge, the type of actions to be supported, their expected outputs and their intervention logic are different and complementary;
Horizon Europe will provide extensive support for research, technological development, demonstration, piloting, proof-of-concept, testing and innovation including pre-commercial deployment of innovative digital technologies, in particular through:
a dedicated budget in the pillar ‘Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness’ for the cluster ‘Digital, Industry and Space’ to develop enabling technologies (AI and robotics, Next Generation internet, HPC and Big Data, key digital technologies, combining digital with other technologies);
support to research infrastructures under the pillar ‘Excellent Science’;
the integration of digital across all the Global Challenges (health, security, energy and mobility, climate, etc.); and
support for scale-up breakthrough innovations under the pillar ‘Innovative Europe’ (many of which will combine digital and physical technologies);
the Programme will invest in:
digital capacity building in HPC, AI, distributed ledger technologies (e.g. blockchain), cybersecurity and advanced digital skills; and
national, regional and local deployment within an Union framework of digital capacities and the latest digital technologies in areas of public interest (such as health, public administration, justice and education) or market failure (such as the digitisation of businesses, in particular SMEs);
the capacities and infrastructures of the Programme are made available to the research and innovation community, including for actions supported through Horizon Europe, such as testing, experimentation and demonstrations across all sectors and disciplines;
as the development of novel digital technologies matures through Horizon Europe, those technologies will progressively be taken up and deployed by the Programme;
Horizon Europe initiatives for the development of skills and competencies curricula, including those delivered at the co-location centres of the EIT’s KICs, are complemented by capacity-building in advanced digital skills supported by the Programme;
strong coordination mechanisms for programming and implementation are put in place, aligning all procedures for both programmes to the extent possible. Their governance structures will involve all Commission concerned services.
2. Synergies with Union programmes under shared management, including the ERDF, ESF+, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Acquaculture Fund, shall ensure that:
arrangements for complementary funding from Union programmes under shared management and the Programme are used to support actions providing a bridge between smart specialisations and support to the digital transformation of the European economy and society;
the ERDF contributes to the development and strengthening of regional and local innovation ecosystems, industrial transformation, as well as the digital transformation of society and of public administrations, thereby also stimulating the implementation of the Tallinn Declaration on eGovernment. This includes support for the digital transformation of industry and the take-up of results, as well as the rolling out of novel technologies and innovative solutions. The Programme will complement and support the trans-national networking and mapping of digital capacities to make them accessible to SMEs and to make interoperable IT solutions accessible in all Union regions.
3. Synergies with the Connecting Europe Facility shall ensure that:
the Programme focuses on large-scale digital capacity and infrastructure building in the areas of HPC, AI, cybersecurity and advanced digital skills, aiming at the wide uptake and deployment across Europe of critical existing or tested innovative digital solutions within a Union framework in areas of public interest or market failure. The Programme is mainly to be implemented through coordinated and strategic investments with Member States, in particular through joint public procurement, in digital capacities to be shared across Europe and in Union-wide actions that support interoperability and standardisation as part of developing the Digital Single Market;
the capacities and infrastructures of the Programme are to be made available to the deployment of innovative new technologies and solutions in the field of mobility and transport. The Connecting Europe Facility is to support the roll-out and deployment of innovative new technologies and solutions in the field of mobility and transport;
coordination mechanisms are to be established, in particular through appropriate governance structures.
4. Synergies with InvestEU Programme shall ensure that:
support through market-based financing, including pursuing policy objectives under the Programme is provided under Regulation (EU) 2021/523; such market-based financing might be combined with the grant support;
access to financial instruments by businesses is facilitated by the support provided by European Digital Innovation Hubs.
5. Synergies with Erasmus+ shall ensure that:
the Programme supports the development and acquisition of the advanced digital skills needed for the deployment of cutting-edge technologies such as AI or HPC, in cooperation with relevant industries;
the advanced skills part of Erasmus+ complements the interventions of the Programme, addressing the acquisition of skills in all domains and at all levels through mobility experiences.
6. Synergies with Creative Europe established by a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council shall ensure that:
the MEDIA strand of Creative Europe supports initiatives that can generate real impact for cultural and creative sectors across Europe, helping them adapt to the digital transformation;
the Programme, inter alia, provides creators, creative industry and cultural sector in Europe with access to latest digital technologies from AI to advanced computing.
7. Synergies with other Union programmes and initiatives on competencies and skills shall be ensured.
( 1 ) Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (OJ L 124, 20.5.2003, p. 36).
( 2 ) Directive (EU) 2016/1148 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2016 concerning measures for a high common level of security of network and information systems across the Union (OJ L 194, 19.7.2016, p. 1).
( 3 ) Regulation (EU) 2023/1781 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 September 2023 establishing a framework of measures for strengthening Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem and amending Regulation (EU) 2021/694 (Chips Act) OJ L 229, 18.9.2023, p. 1
( 4 ) Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444 of 13 March 2015 on the security rules for protecting EU classified information (OJ L 72, 17.3.2015, p. 53).
( 5 ) Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 65).
( 6 ) Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors and repealing Directive 2004/17/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 243).
( 7 ) Regulation (EU) No 283/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2014 on guidelines for trans-European networks in the area of telecommunications infrastructure and repealing Decision No 1336/97/EC (OJ L 86, 21.3.2014, p. 14).
( 8 ) Directive 2011/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2011 on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare (OJ L 88, 4.4.2011, p. 45).
( 9 ) ‘Infrastructures’ would typically mean a research or experimentation infrastructure such as testbeds, cyber ranges or computing/communication facilities. This could be either data and/or software only, or involve physical facilities.
’Tools’ would typically mean a physical device and/or software/algorithm used to increase the security of ICT systems. Examples would be intrusion detection software or data resources allowing situational awareness of critical infrastructures.
The Cybersecurity Competence Centre Regulation allows all sorts of procurement, not only joint procurement: by the European Cybersecurity Industrial, Technology and Research Competence Centre as a Union body; by others with the help of a Union grant; or by several parties.