Spanish economy "undergoing an ambitious digital transformation", according to the Report of the state of the Digital Decade

The European Commission has published the first Report of the state of the Digital Decade. It takes stock of the progress of the European Union on its way to the success of the digital transformation, as set out in the Digital Decade Policy Agenda 2030. The document builds on the agreements and recommendations adopted at European level on digitization towards 2030, including the Council Recommendation (EU) 2021/2122 of 26 November 2021 on a Pact for Research and Innovation in Europe.  

Various studies and statistical sources, such as the Eurobarometer on the Digital Decade, the Strategic Foresight Report for 2021 and 2022, as well as different statistical sets from Eurostat on the state of technology, have been taken into account in compiling the report. It also includes the monitoring of the European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles for the Digital Decade, which translates the EU's vision on digital transformation into principles and commitments. 

According to the report, the success of the Digital Decade will be crucial for the future prosperity of the EU. Achieving the agenda could unlock more than €2.8 trillion in economic value, equivalent to 21% of the EU's current economy. To achieve this end, the text highlights the need to incentivize policies and investments in digital technologies, skills and infrastructure.   

On this basis, the report includes concrete recommendations to Member States prior to the adoption of their national strategic roadmaps and for their future adjustments. 

Spain, a major player  

The Commission has prepared a report for each member country in which it exhaustively analyzes its strengths and future duties. About Spain it points out that the country is "in an ambitious digital transformation of the economy" and high rates in connectivity: Spain is, according to the report, one of the EU states with the best results in digital infrastructure.  

The three key aspects analyzed in the report are: 

1. Connectivity and Public Administration  

In this regard, the report points out that Spain is "well above the EU average" in terms of very high capacity fixed networks, with 93% availability compared to 73% of the EU average. In fiber coverage "far exceeds" the EU average, with 91% connectivity compared to 56% of the EU average.   

In terms of other technologies such as 5G, Spain is at the European average, with 82% improved broadband access. In addition, the document reveals that 98% of all pioneering 5G bands have already been allocated in the country and that "appropriate measures are being implemented to achieve the objectives of the Digital Decade" such as the Telecommunications Law of 2022. 

The report also points out that Spain "is at the forefront of e-Government and digital public services in the EU". It also highlights the effort to update services and infrastructures to adapt them to the "rapid technological evolution" and the needs of companies. In fact, Spain is "well above the EU average" in indicators that measure the number of Internet users who use electronic administration services, with 84% compared to 74% in the EU or in digital public services for citizens, with 86% access, and companies, with 91%. In this sense, it highlights the work that has been done in the interoperability of digital public services at national, regional and local level.  

The report includes some recommendations on healthcare digitization and notes that the country should continue to implement its public service digitization policies to "connect more types of healthcare providers to medical records" and implement measures "to ensure regionally comparable quality of service and completeness of healthcare data." 

2. Economic development and companies  

 In terms of economic and technological development, the report praises the country's progress with PERTE Chip, whose objective is the development of semiconductors and cutting-edge technologies to strengthen their design and production in Spanish industry in order to "promote national and EU strategic sovereignty". In this field, it also highlights Spain's participation in the Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) on Microelectronics and Communication Technologies with 11 direct participants active in various fields (material, open source design, equipment, packaging, connectivity, photonics) and that "could help to achieve the first European computer with quantum acceleration by 2025". 

As for SMEs, the level of digital development is at the EU level (68%) and highlights the efforts "to improve the digitization of companies" that can be seen in figures: 12.3% of Spanish companies already use Artificial Intelligence and 14.3% use Big Data for analysis and internal use. In addition, it joins the Kit Digital initiative for the digital acceleration of SMEs and the Agents of Change program to hire experts in digital transformation in the field of small and medium-sized enterprises, a type of company with a high number of companies in the country and a "significant participation in the Spanish economy", which makes them a target for reforms and investments that "will have an indirect multiplier impact". The report encourages the country to continue "implementing these policies" in the area of business digitalization, particularly in the case of SMEs. 

3. Citizen digitization  

In addition, at the citizen level, the report analyzes the digitalization of the Spanish population. In this sense, the document points out that Spain obtains good results in terms of digital skills with 64% and 38% of the population benefiting from these skills respectively. In both cases, the Spanish average is above the EU.  

Within the efforts being made when it comes to boosting ICT profiles both in the educational area and in the labor market, the report highlights measures to increase the number of ICT specialists, in particular a law to modernize the vocational education and training (VET) system, approved in March 2022, and a new VET specialization course on AI and big data that allows training in the new digital environment. 

The report, which analyzes the state of play in 2022, notes the importance of that year, which stands out as having been the period "of a further acceleration of key trends affecting the digital transformation of the EU digital EU" with increasingly rapid technological advances, such as AI, climate change and associated social and economic concerns, a growing demand for high-speed connectivity or the multipolarization of the global scene in the face of an ever-increasing technological race.   

The report concludes that the potential impact of technological change is significant and will require the EU to be agile and swift in its transformation.