⚡ Quick Summary
Published by DIGITALEUROPE, the Brussels-based association of Europe's digital industry, this manifesto sets out a vision of Europe in 2030 as a "Digital Powerhouse" and 20 solutions for getting there. A foreword by Director General Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl and President Hilary Mine recalls that the 2018 manifesto's KPI-led approach was echoed in the Commission's Digital Decade strategy, and asks how the EU can support innovative companies to scale in Europe.
The document assesses progress against its 2025 KPIs and the Digital Decade data: only 10 of the top 100 tech companies are European, 8% of SMEs trade across at least one European border, the EU's share of global ICT revenue fell from 21.8% in 2013 to 11.3% in 2022, and the projected 2030 trajectory gives cloud use at 66%, big data at 34% and AI at 20% against a 75% target. It then sets out its own KPIs for 2030 and 20 solutions grouped under five headings: a competitive Europe, a sustainable and healthy Europe, a resilient, secure and innovative digital Europe, a global Europe, and a digital European society. It concludes that industry and policymakers must work closely together.
🧩 What’s Covered
The document moves from a 2030 vision, through an assessment of the state of play, to twenty numbered recommendations.
- Foreword and vision: the association's leadership explains why it believes the regulatory burden has grown since 2018, cites Spain's rise from 14th to 7th in the EU's digital rankings, and describes the 2030 goal of a Europe that is "the best place in the world to do business".
- A Stronger Digital Europe? The state of play: a traffic-light assessment of progress against the 2018 KPIs and Digital Decade targets, covering digital government, 100Mbps broadband, connectivity, SME digitalisation, unicorns, R&D spending, technology adoption, the single market and competitiveness.
- KPIs for 2030: twelve indicators with 2023 baseline values, including cloud, big data and AI adoption, gigabit coverage, digital skills, cybersecurity skills, electronic waste collection, online financial services and a rules freeze under a one-in, one-out principle.
- Solutions 1–6, a competitive Europe: one set of digital rules, streamlining data rules, compulsory regulatory sandboxing, an SME strategy with one-stop shops, a Commission measured on digital KPIs, and a digital finance action plan covering tokenisation and financial literacy.
- Solutions 7–10, a sustainable and healthy Europe: twin transition strategies for key sectors, a Twin Transition Fund, a green and circular single market with the Digital Product Passport, and a digital-first EU health strategy with the European Health Data Space.
- Solutions 11–13, a resilient, secure and innovative digital Europe: a mandatory cyber check on legislation with a stronger ENISA, public-private cyber cooperation and cyber campuses, and a 25% digital target across EU and NATO funding.
- Solutions 14–16, a global Europe: transatlantic cooperation through the Trade and Technology Council, global standards starting with a global standard on responsible AI, and diversified supply chains.
- Solutions 17–20, a digital European society: a connectivity framework fit for 6G, fully online public services and digital IDs, a European Skills Passport, and programmes to attract and retain tech talent.
💡 Why it matters?
The manifesto maps the EU digital policy pipeline onto twenty numbered asks, naming the files that digital companies must track: the Digital Decade KPIs, the GDPR review, the Data Act and Data Governance Act, the AI Act, the Cyber Resilience Act, eIDAS and the European Health Data Space. For policy and compliance teams it shows where industry will push for simplification, sandboxing, presumption of conformity and CE marking extended to AI. Its KPI table offers a benchmark against which later EU digital progress and industry positions can be compared.
❓ What’s Missing
No publication year, version or edition statement is printed, and several KPI target values sit in graphics that did not survive text extraction, so the figures should be checked against the PDF. The AI content is thin: a global standard on responsible AI and extending CE marking to AI Act compliance are proposed but not developed, and no evaluation, risk-management or assurance methods are discussed. The 20 solutions are advocacy positions without costings, sequencing or delivery detail, and they come from an industry association with a stated interest in reducing regulatory burden.
👥 Best For
Best for EU public-affairs and policy staff in digital companies, compliance leads tracking the AI Act, Cyber Resilience Act and EU data rules, standards and certification strategists, and analysts mapping industry positions on EU digital competitiveness, skills and connectivity policy.
📄 Source Details
EUROPE 2030: A Digital Powerhouse — 20 solutions to boost European tech leadership and resilience, published by DIGITALEUROPE, Rue de la Science 37, B-1040 Brussels. No publication year or version statement is printed; 48 pages; English. The foreword is signed by Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, Director General, and Hilary Mine, President. The organisation's website www.digitaleurope.org is printed on the final page, but no URL for the document itself. Text was extracted from all 48 pages, although figure-only numbers did not extract.
