From connectivity and digital skills to public services, EU countries have made progress since last year which marked the launch of the Digital Single Market Strategy by the European Commission.
While highlighting improvements, results of the 2016 edition of the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), released on Thursday, by the European Commission, also show that the pace of progress is slowing down. Action is needed, both at EU and national levels, to remove the obstacles that prevent EU countries from fully benefit from digital opportunities.
In DESI 2016, Malta has an overall score of 0.56 and ranks 11th out of the 28 EU Member States. Malta is particularly strong broadband deployment and take-up.
All Maltese households are covered by fixed broadband and all networks provide at least 30 Mbps. In addition, more than half (58%) of broadband subscriptions provides speeds of at least 30Mbps.
As for the weak points, according to DESI Malta is lagging behind in the assignment of radio spectrum for mobile broadband and in making government data available.
Malta's DESI score is above the EU average and the country developed faster than the EU over the last year, which places it in the running ahead of a cluster of countries.
Speaking about the release of the report Andrus Ansip, Vice-President for the Digital Single Market, said, "more and more people, businesses and public services are going digital. But too many of them still face problems such as the lack of high-speed internet coverage, cross-border e-government or difficulties in shopping and selling across borders. We need to fix this and we started fixing it: the first proposals of our Digital Single Market strategy will boost e-commerce and connectivity. All our proposals will be on the table this year and I encourage EU countries to lose no time. This will help them boost their digital performance and economies."
Günther H. Oettinger, Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society, said, "the EU makes progress, but too slowly. There is no room for complacency. Action is needed if we want to catch up with Japan, the USA and South Korea. Based on today's index, we will come in May with concrete recommendations for EU countries to improve their national performance. This combined with our work to create a Digital Single Market, I am sure that the EU as a whole and its Member States will do much better in the coming years."
Main findings:
- The EU is progressing, but slowly: The EU as a whole attains a score of 0.52 out of 1, an improvement from 0.5 last year. All EU countries but Sweden have improved their score.
Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland continue to lead the DESI rankings.
The Netherlands, Estonia, Germany, Malta, Austria and Portugal are the fastest growing countries and they are running ahead.
- Action needed to reach the global top: For the first time, the Commission is also comparing the EU to some of the most digitalised countries in the world (Japan, the USA and South Korea). While the full report will be available mid-March 2016, preliminary results show that top EU countries are also top worldwide performers in digital. However the EU as a whole needs to significantly improve to lead on the global stage. More details can be found in this factsheet.
- Better connectivity, but insufficient in the long-term: 71% of European homes can access high-speed broadband (at least 30 Mbps) compared to 62% last year. The EU is on the right track to be totally covered by 2020. The number of mobile broadband subscriptions is rapidly increasing, from 64 subscriptions per each 100 Europeans in 2014 to 75 today. The EU needs to be ready to meet future demand and to provide the next generation of communication networks (5G). This is why the Commission will present a review of EU telecoms rules to address technological and market challenges by the end of the year.
- Digital skills to be improved: While the number of Science, Technology and Mathematics (STEM) graduates has slightly increased in the EU, almost half of Europeans (45%) don't have basic digital skills (using a mailbox, editing tools or installing new devices). The Commission will address digital skills and training as part of the upcoming EU Skills Agenda later this year.
- e-Commerce, a missed opportunity for smaller businesses: 65% of European internet users shop online, but only 16% of SMEs sell online – and less than half of those sell online across borders (7.5%). To address this issue, the Commission presented proposals on digital contracts in December (press release) to better protect consumers who shop online and help businesses expand their online sales. The Commission will come with a legislative package in May to further boost e-commerce. It will include measures to address unjustified geo-blocking, to improve the transparency of cross-border parcel markets and to better enforce EU consumer rules across borders.
- More public services online, but they are under-used: Indicators show that public administrations are providing a wider range of services online (allowing people to use the internet to inform about a new residence, the birth of a child and other important events). However, the number of internet users interacting with their administration online is not increasing (32%).
Country profile for Malta – Read the full profile for Malta here.
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Quelle/Source: Gozo News, 25.02.2016
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