Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice President for a Europe fit for the Digital Age, said: “The new commitments made today strengthen our joint ambitions for a human-centered approach to digitalisation. With several Member states signing, the declarations consolidate commitments within three areas, namely connectivity, start-ups and clean digital technologies, supporting our ambitions towards a more competitive, inclusive and green Europe.”

Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market, said: “The Digital Day is an important avenue for Member States to come together around key digital goals. The new commitments that Member States made today are also evidence of our determination in the EU to work together for greater digital leadership by 2030.”

Pedro Siza Vieira, Minister for the Economy and Digital Transition of Portugal, said: “The Portuguese Presidency of the Council aims to play a decisive role as an accelerator of the digital transition. We believe that the commitments made today by Member States will help Europe to position itself as a global digital leader, as defined in the Digital Decade Strategy.”

Hosted by the Commission and the Portuguese Presidency of the Council, the fourth edition of the Digital Day is bringing together Members of the European Parliament, Ministers from Member States, industry executives and several other stakeholders. The participating Member States made concrete commitments in three key areas, namely connectivity, start-ups and clean digital technologies.

Connectivity: Europe to reinforce global connectivity networks through its Data gateways international connectivity pledge

27 European countries signed the Declaration on ‘European Data Gateways as a key element of the EU’s Digital Decade’, in which they committed to strengthening connectivity between Europe and its partners in Africa, Asia, the European Neighbourhood and Latin America. The focus will be on terrestrial and submarine cables, satellites and network links for increased and secure data exchange. The EU already has strong data protection standards and high-quality internal connectivity. By improving its global connectivity networks, it can become a global, secure and agile data centre. international connectivity pledge