At Digital Day 2019,
participating Ministers and representatives of the EU confirmed
their full commitment to work more closely in key areas where
digital technologies will make a significant impact in the coming
years.
European Commission Vice-President
Andrus Ansip, Commissioners
Tibor Navracsics,
Phil Hogan and
Mariya Gabriel welcomed the
commitments from European countries to step up cooperation on the
digitalisation of cultural heritage, digitalisation of
agriculture and rural areas, and promoting greater participation
of women in digital. They said in a joint statement:
“We are delighted to see that so many EU Member States are
committing to advance digital cooperation in these areas. 26
European countries signed today the Declaration to increase
women's visibility and empowerment in the digital economy. 24
Member States pledged to pool efforts and resources for a smart
and sustainable future for European agriculture and rural areas.
And 24 European countries opted for closer cooperation in
digitising cultural heritage.
Digital technologies have the potential to improve the
quality of life in rural areas by tackling important economic,
social and environmental challenges, and help to preserve
Europe's rich cultural heritage and make it accessible to
everyone. In view of this, it is important that these
developments are inclusive.
Joining forces is essential to build a digital future for
Europe and we need to act quickly on all fronts, as the demand
for good connection, relevant competences and access to the
online world is growing rapidly in all sectors. We can achieve a
functioning Digital Single Market only by promoting digitisation
and tearing down barriers together.
We encourage the participating countries to follow up on
their commitments with swift actions, and are ready to support
them. We hope that this year's Declarations will result in
similarly tangible results as those agreed on in previous years –
for example on boosting the EU's joint efforts on supercomputing
in 2017 and on artificial intelligence in 2018.”
Background
Today at the Digital Day 2019, EU
Member States signed three Declarations to pool efforts and
resources for accelerating digital developments in key areas that
can bring tangible benefits to our economies and our societies.
The event brought Member States and EU institutions together with
partners from industry, academia and civil society.
The participating Member States signed Declarations of
cooperation on:
The Declarations follow the successful cooperation launched in
previous editions of the event, e.g. on artificial
intelligence in 2018 and on supercomputing in
2017.
Highlights of the Digital Day 2019 also included the presentation
of the guidelines for trustworthy
artificial intelligence (AI) by the High-Level Expert
Group on Artificial Intelligence (see also
yesterday's Commission's Communication on
AI), as well as a number of panel discussions, including on
the progress of the Digital Single Market.
On Monday, ahead of the Digital Day, stakeholders from the
Southern Mediterranean met to discuss for new ways of working
together for connectivity and data at the Digital4Med conference.
For More Information
Opening speech by
Vice-President Ansip, Digital Day 2019
Speech by Commissioner
Navracsics, Digital Day 2019
Press release: Digital Day
2019
Declaration on
Digitisation for European Agriculture and rural areas
Declaration on Digitising
Cultural Heritage
Declaration on Women in
Digital
Factsheet: A Digital
Single Market for the benefits of all Europeans
Timeline: Digital Single
Market – Commission actions since 2015
Ethics Guidelines for
Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence
#DigitalDay19
