From Elbasan in Albania to Tartu in Estonia, 28 emerging European cities will have the opportunity to tap expertise, best practice, and EU funds in their quest to become climate-neutral by 2030.
The European Commission has announced the 100 cities that will participate in its so-called Cities Mission to develop climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030.
The cities will receive technical advice, ad hoc support, and advisory input to address the pressing challenges related to the ethical and digital rights aspects of their local digital strategies and projects.
Belgian capital Brussels, Dublin, Ireland, Sofia, in Bulgaria and Tirana, in Albania have been chosen to pilot the Digital Rights Governance Framework.
The framework focuses on the local safeguarding of human rights in the digital context of city governments.
Read more: EU: Four cities chosen to pilot digital rights framework
Today, the Commission proposed a Path to the Digital Decade, a concrete plan to achieve the digital transformation of our society and economy by 2030. The proposed Path to the Digital Decade will translate the EUʼs digital ambitions for 2030 into a concrete delivery mechanism. It will set up a governance framework based on an annual cooperation mechanism with Member States to reach the 2030 Digital Decade targets at Union level in the areas of digital skills, digital infrastructures, digitalisation of businesses and public services. It also aims to identify and implement large-scale digital projects involving the Commission and the Member States.
A new interactive world map links projects involving biometric and behavioral mass surveillance in the EU and their providers worldwide. It has been created as part of a report into the known uses of remote biometric identification – public and private – in the bloc as a dossier to serve as a warning against projects running unchecked and becoming biometric mass surveillance.
‘Biometric and Behavioural Mass Surveillance in EU Member States’ was commissioned by the Greens/EFA parliamentary group, the fourth-largest grouping in the European Parliament. It spans case studies across the continent where (allegedly) privacy-infringing technologies have already been installed in cities or entire countries.
Read more: EU parliamentary group maps biometric mass surveillance across bloc, calls for ban
One of the most significant lessons learnt during the pandemic is that digital connectivity is a lifeline for society. It can also drive our economic recovery, build resilience, and enable our green transition. Joakim Reiter, Vodafone Group’s Chief External and Corporate Affairs Officer, explains why we need faster development in 5G if we are ‘to build back better’ and ensure Europe remains competitive.
Q: How has the pandemic changed our relationship with online technologies?
We spoke to people from across Europe, with the help of Friends of Europe, to understand their experiences with technology during the pandemic. Many described connectivity as ‘essential’, as digital technologies were the only way to stay informed, connected, keep working, access crucial public services and healthcare, and study. It’s incredible to realise how schools responded by transferring lessons online, and how small businesses pivoted to provide online services. In early 2020, how many of us regularly used video conferencing technologies?