2026 State of the Digital Decade report shows progress but urges closing structural gaps to reach 2030 goals

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

The European Commission published the fourth State of the Digital Decade report, showing thatEurope has made progress on its 2030 digital transformation targets, such as secure and sustainable digital infrastructures and the digitalisation of public services – but the challenge now is delivering results at scale, speed and consistency.

The report comes as the Commission published the last Special Eurobarometer, showing that an overwhelming majority of Europeans rank digital policy as a top EU priority, firmly backing a more autonomous European digital future.

The Digital Decade Policy Programme serves as the EU’s strategic compass for advancing and investing in Europe’s digital competitiveness and sovereignty. The report evaluates progress made by the EU in its digitalisation across the board, including in critical infrastructures, digitalisation of business, digital skills, and digitalisation of public services. This year, the report goes beyond stocktaking, outlining priority reforms and investments at EU and Member States level in an attempt to guide digital funding allocations in the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework.

2026: progress and remaining gaps

The report shows that progress has been made in the following areas: with regard to the deployment of basic connectivity infrastructure, 96.8% of households now have basic 5G coverage. However, certain high-capacity bands and ‘Fibre-to-the-Premises’ deployment lag behind.

With regard to the basic adoption of advanced digital technologies by businesses, 46.7% of EU enterprises use cloud computing, 39.9% apply data analytics, and nearly 20% deploy artificial intelligence (adoption jumped by 48% in 2025 compared to the previous year). An example is in the healthcare sector, where it leads with AI-powered medical imaging, improving early detection, faster diagnoses, and better patient outcomes.

Finally, over 60% of Europeans now have at least basic digital skills.

Gaps do, however, remain. In the field of semiconductors the EU accounts for only 9% of the global semiconductor market – far from the 2030 target of 20%. The same can be said about computing capacity. While edge node deployment is on track to meet the 2030 Digital Decade target ahead of schedule, computing capacity still lags significantly behind demand.

Furthermore, despite significant progress in the domain of cybersecurity, Europe remains structurally dependent on non-EU cybersecurity suppliers, with European companies underrepresented in global cybersecurity leadership.

There is also a shortage in ICT skills. Specialists represented just 5% of employment in 2025 – half the 2030 target of 10%. Women accounted for under 20% of employed ICT specialists, a figure that has not changed since 2024, despite soaring demand – especially in cloud security, cybersecurity, data management and software development.

Finally, when it comes to advanced tech adoption, SMEs face persistent barriers in data, skills, integration and resources, making it harder for them to adopt and scale advanced digital solutions.

A Commission study shows that coordinated EU action in digital delivers high returns. Every €1 spent in digital policy under NextGenerationEU will generate €1.50 in economic output within the EU and €2 for the global economy as a whole (incl. the EU) until the end of 2030. This is far above the average in other policy areas. These investments in digital generate spillover effects both across borders and across sectors of the economy.

Recommendations: closing structural gaps and mobilising investments for 2030 and beyond

The report provides clear recommendations for both the EU and Member States to continue scaling efforts, in a time where nearly half of the public budget included in the Digital Decade national roadmaps will be phased out by 2026. To avoid stalling progress, the report urges to secure funding continuity post-2026 to bridge the gap, scale up successful projects (e.g. European Digital Infrastructure Consortia (EDICs), Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs) and strengthen EU-level coordination (e.g. through Multi-Country Projects) to prevent market fragmentation and uneven implementation.

Eurobarometer: Public support for EU’s digital policy

A Special Eurobarometer survey, conducted between February and March 2026, shows 79% of Europeans rank digital policy as a top EU priority in shaping the future. The Eurobarometer explores how citizens’ attitudes have evolved in a year marked by rapid technological change and intense policy debates on digital rights.

Citizens are firmly behind a more autonomous European digital future, prioritising investment in EU-developed infrastructure (85%) and reduced dependency on third-country technology (82%). 80% think it is important to make the EU a global leader in technological infrastructures. Furthermore, 58% of Europeans would switch to an EU provider even at a higher cost. The top five factors encouraging switching to an EU-based provider include: greater security and reliability (50%), better protection of personal data (49%), clearer rules and consumer protection (39%), reduced dependence on non-EU countries (33%), supporting the EU economy and competitiveness (30%).

Europeans believe that digital health (55%), green technologies (50%), faster connectivity (42%) and AI (39%) will have the most positive impact for the next decade.

Around four in ten citizens use generative AI at least weekly, and among those who do, nearly seven in ten report increased usage over the past year. 80% think the development of AI should be carefully regulated, even if it means AI developers face some constraints.

Concerns about the harmful use of digital technologies is widespread and increasing: 92% of citizens want stronger protection for children online, 87% agree that online manipulation (disinformation, deepfakes, AI-generated content, foreign interference) poses a threat to democracy, and feel personally impacted by fake news and disinformation (53%), misuse of personal data (47%) and insufficient minor protection on platforms (41%).

Next steps

Through the 2026 State of the Digital Decade report, the Commission calls on Member States to update their National Digital Decade Roadmaps with concrete measures, while ensuring stronger alignment with the next Multiannual Financial Framework, notably in the context of the preparation of the National and Regional Partnership Plans and the future EU Competitiveness Fund. The first discussions with Member States will take place at the Digital Day and Digital Decade Board meeting organised in Nicosia by the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU on 18 and 19 June.

In 2027, the Commission will review the Digital Decade Policy Programme targets to ensure they reflect the adopted legislations, align with the changing digital landscape and fulfil the EU’s priorities and ambitions. The revision will modernise, simplify and extend the framework beyond 2030.

For more information

2026 State of the Digital Decade report

2026 State of the Digital Decade report – general factsheet

Country fact pages 2026

Study on the economic impact of digital investments under the Recovery and Resilience Facility

Special Eurobarometer on the Digital Decade 2026

2026 Member State-specific Digital Decade recommendations – heat map

Europe’s Digital Decade