(Susceptible de modifications en cours de semaine)

Déplacements et visites

 

Lundi 21 mai 2018

Whit Monday

Mr Karmenu Vella in Utrecht, The Netherlands: meets Ms Stientje van Veldhoven, State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management of The Netherlands; delivers opening and closing speeches for the official opening of Green Week event; participates in a Citizens’ dialogue; visits Hof van Cartesius and delivers a speech for the opening of the court garden; meets Ms Mariëtte Pennarts, Provincial-Executive for the Environment, Recreation and European Affairs; meets citizens active in the Utrecht green network and Utrecht University students; visits and delivers a speech at the botanical garden; attends and delivers a speech at “The Young Councillors debate” workshop; and attends a presentation of the results of the “Designing Green and Healthy City” creathon.

Mr Christos Stylianides in Madrid, Spain: meets members of the Home Affairs Commission of the Parliament of Spain to present the rescEU proposal to strengthen the EU system of civil protection; Mr Juan Ignacio Zoido, Minister for Home Affairs of Spain; and delivers a speech at the “Nueva Economia Forum” about Climate Change and rescEU.

Ms Elżbieta Bieńkowska in Katowice, Poland: meets representatives of the Archdiocese of Katowice.

Ms Vĕra Jourová in Prague, Czech Republic: delivers a speech at the conference ‘Multiple Challenges for Europe 2018’, organised by the Institute for Politics and Society.

Ms Corina Crețu in Bacău, Romania (until 22/05): delivers a speech at the conference “Europe’s Urban Investments: a challenge for change”; and visits an EU-funded project, the County Emergency Hospital Bacău.

Ms Mariya Gabriel in Milan, Italy: holds Citizens’ dialogue with Politecnico students; meets Ms Roberta Cocco, Councillor for Digital Transformation and Citizens Services at Municipality of Milan; Ms Sabrina Baggioni, Mr Giorgio Migliarina and Mr Michelangelo Suigo, representatives of Vodafone; attends a role modelling session for STEMinTheCity; meets Mr Davide Dattoli and Mr Lorenzo Maternini, representatives of Talent Garden community for accelerating digital innovation; and attends the “Tecnovisionarie” Award Prize.

 

Mardi  22 mai 2018

22/05 Foreign Affairs Council (Trade)

22/05 Foreign Affairs Council (Development)

22-23/05 Education, Youth, Culture and Sports Council

President Jean-Claude Juncker receives Mr Adama Barrow, President of the Gambia.

Mr Frans Timmermans receives Ms Svenja Schulze, Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany.

Mr Frans Timmermans receives Mr Owen Bonnici, Minister for Justice, Culture and Local Government of Malta.

Mr Frans Timmermans delivers a speech on Transparency and Gender Equality at an event organised by Bloomberg, in Brussels.

Ms Federica Mogherini receives Mr Adama Barrow, President of The Gambia.

Ms Federica Mogherini and Mr Neven Mimica participate in the International Conference for The Gambia and deliver speeches, in Brussels.

Ms Federica Mogherini delivers an opening speech at the Conference on the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban-Treaty, in Brussels.

Mr Andrus Ansip participates in a roundtable discussion with the CEOs of the Pan-European Insurance Forum (PEIF), in Brussels.

Mr Jyrki Katainen in Berlin, Germany: attends a working lunch with Mr Olaf Scholz, Vice-Chancellor and Minister for Finance of Germany; Ms Ursula von der Leyen, Minister for Defence; and Mr Helge Braun, Minister of State to the Federal Chancellor; discusses the European Defence Action Plan with senior officials of the Ministry of Defence; and participates in a Citizens’ dialogue on “Tomorrow’s Europe and global megatrends”.

Mr Johannes Hahn in Kyiv, Ukraine: on official visit.

Mr Miguel Arias Cañete receives Mr José Bogas Gálvez, CEO of Endesa.

Mr Miguel Arias Cañete receives Mr William Todts, Executive Director at Transport and Environment (T&E).

Mr Miguel Arias Cañete receives Ms Svenja Schulze, Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany.

Mr Karmenu Vella receives Ms Svenja Schulze, Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany.

Mr Karmenu Vella delivers a speech at the European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR) Awards ceremony, in Brussels.

Mr Karmenu Vella receives CEOs of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Europe.

Mr Karmenu Vella delivers a speech at the opening session of Green Week high-level conference, in Brussels.

Mr Vytenis Andriukaitis receives representatives of organisations in the sector of cardiovascular medicine – the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS), the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Society for Cardiovascular and Endovascular Surgery (ESCVS).

Mr Vytenis Andriukaitis receives Ms Svenja Schulze, Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany.

M. Pierre Moscovici à Paris, France: rencontre la mission d’information sur l’évasion et l’optimisation fiscales à l’Assemblée Nationale; et  M. Jean-Yves Le Drian, Ministre de l’Europe et des Affaires étrangères de la France.

Mr Christos Stylianides receives Ms Minata Samate Cessouma, Commissioner for Political Affairs of the African Union (AU).

Mr Phil Hogan delivers opening speech at the European Network for Rural Development (ENRD) Seminar on ‘Smart Villages’, in Brussels.

Mr Phil Hogan receives Mr Jim Collins, Chief Operating Officer of Corteva Agriscience, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont.

Ms Violeta Bulc in Germany (until 23/50): in Berlin: meets Mr Olaf Scholz, Vice-Chancellor and Minister for Finance of Germany; and Mr Andreas Scheuer, Minister for Transport and Digital Infrastructure.

Ms Elżbieta Bieńkowska participates in a LinkedIn Economic Graph Forum: “Addressing the challenges of the future of work” at the European Parliament, in Brussels.

Mr Tibor Navracsics opens the ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the European Union Prize for Literature, in Brussels.

Ms Corina Crețu in Bacău, Romania: participates in a Citizens’ dialogue, together with Ms Rovana Plumb, Minister for European Funds of Romania.

Mr Carlos Moedas receives Mr Peter Grauer, Chairman of the Bloomberg L.P. Board.

Mr Carlos Moedas participates in the signing ceremony of the EU-Brazil Administrative Arrangement to support EU-Brazil cooperation in research and innovation activities, in Brussels.

Mr Carlos Moedas receives Ms Anja Karliczek, Minister for Education and Research of Germany.

Ms Mariya Gabriel receives representatives from AEPO ARTIS Association of European Performers Organisations.

Ms Mariya Gabriel receives Mr Xu Lin, Minister of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC).

Ms Mariya Gabriel receives Ms Anja Karliczek, Minister for Education and Research of Germany.

Ms Mariya Gabriel hosts a celebration of the Slavonic Literature and Culture Day, at the European Commission, in Brussels.

 

Mercredi 23 mai 2018

College meeting

Education, Youth, Culture and Sports Council

President Jean-Claude Juncker receives Mr Moussa Faki, Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

President Jean-Claude Juncker, together with the College of Commissioners, receives the African Union Commission and its Chairperson, Mr Moussa Faki, for a College to College meeting.

President Jean-Claude Juncker holds a joint press point with Mr Moussa Faki, Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

President Jean-Claude Juncker receives Mr Bernd Althusmann, Deputy Minister-President of Lower Saxony.

Mr Frans Timmermans receives Mr Christian Kern, former Federal Chancellor of Austria.

Mr Frans Timmermans receives Mr Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Mr Frans Timmermans delivers the closing keynote speech at the Brussels Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit, in Brussels.

Mr Frans Timmermans, Mr Jyrki Katainen and Mr Pierre Moscovici participate in debates and roundtables at the European Business Summit, in Brussels.

Mr Frans Timmermans receives the Prix du Judaisme from the Conference of European Rabbis, in Brussels.

Ms Federica Mogherini receives Mr Moussa Faki, Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

Mr Maroš Šefčovič in Malmö, Sweden: co-chairs the Clean Energy Ministerial and Mission Innovation Ministerial meetings.

Mr Jyrki Katainen receives Mr Christoph Leitl, President of Eurochambres and President of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ).

Mr Johannes Hahn in Kyiv, Ukraine: on official visit.

Mr Karmenu Vella delivers a speech and presents awards at the “LIFE Green Awards” ceremony, in Brussels.

Mr Dimitris Avramopoulos and Mr Julian King in Sofia, Bulgaria: participate in the EU-US Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Meeting.

M. Pierre Moscovici reçoit M. Klaus Schwab, Fondateur et Président exécutif du Forum économique mondial.

M. Pierre Moscovici reçoit M. Nicolas Dufourcq, Directeur général de Bpifrance.

M. Pierre Moscovici participe à une conférence sur le trafic illicite des biens culturels, organisée par les députés Mme Sabine Verheyen et M. Arndt Kohn, au Parlement européen, à Bruxelles.

Mr Phil Hogan receives Ms Francesca McDonagh, Group CEO of Bank of Ireland.

Ms Violeta Bulc in Leipzig, Germany: takes part in the Ministers’ Roundtable: Transport and Climate – moving forward from COP23; and delivers a keynote speech at the International Transport Forum.

Ms Corina Crețu receives Ms Natascha Kohnen, Head of the Bavarian Socialist Party (SPD).

Ms Corina Crețu receives Ms Silvia Clemente Municio, President of Regional Parliament of Castilla y León.

Ms Margrethe Vestager participates in the annual reception of the Danish Trade Unions, in Brussels.

Mr Carlos Moedas in Malmö, Sweden: participates in the Clean Energy Ministerial meeting.

Ms Mariya Gabriel delivers opening speech at EU Conference on Youth, Peace and Security – Promoting Youth in Peacebuilding, in Brussels.

 

Jeudi 24 mai 2018

24/05 Eurogroup

President Jean-Claude Juncker participates in a commemorative plenary session on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), in Brussels.

President Jean-Claude Juncker receives Mr Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

President Jean-Claude Juncker receives Mr Petteri Orpo, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance of Finland.

President Jean-Claude Juncker receives Mr Volodymyr Groysman, Prime Minister of Ukraine.

Mr Frans Timmermans in Berlin, Germany (until 25/05): on official visit.

Ms Federica Mogherini receives European youth representatives as part of the EU conference on youth, peace and security.

Ms Federica Mogherini, Mr Valdis Dombrovskis and Ms Cecilia Malmström deliver keynote speeches at the European Business Summit, in Brussels.

Mr Andrus Ansip meets Mr Bruno Studer, President of the Cultural and Education Affairs Commission of the French National Assembly.

Mr Maroš Šefčovič in Copenhagen, Denmark (until 24/05): co-chairs the Clean Energy Ministerial and Mission Innovation Ministerial meetings.

Mr Valdis Dombrovskis takes part in a European Political Strategy Center (EPSC) high-level policy lunch with Mr Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), in Brussels.

Mr Jyrki Katainen receives Mr Jean Pierre Mustier, CEO of UniCredit.

Mr Jyrki Katainen delivers a keynote speech at the 2018 Institute of International Finance Spring Membership Meeting, in Brussels

Mr Jyrki Katainen receives Mr Bill Winters, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank.

Mr Günther H. Oettinger in Paris, France: participates in a debate on the European Commission’s proposal of the Future of EU finances and the post-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), in the French Senate.

Mr Miguel Arias Cañete in Copenhagen, Denmark: participates in the Clean Energy Ministerial meeting and Mission Innovation Ministerial meeting; and delivers opening remarks at the Energy Infrastructure Forum 2018, organised by the European Commission.

Mr Karmenu Vella delivers a speech at the closing session of the of Green Week high-level conference, in Brussels.

Mr Vytenis Andriukaitis inVilnius, Lithuania (until 25/05): delivers a speech at the EPSU-HOSPEEM Conference; participates in the International Exhibition for Agriculture and Food Industry AgroBalt 2018; and delivers a speech at the high-level political forum on Food Losses and Food Waste in the framework of the Exhibition.

Ms Marianne Thyssen receives Mr Ingo Kramer, President of the Confederation of German Employers (BDA). 

M. Pierre Moscovici à Paris, France: est auditionné par les commissions des Finances et Affaires européennes de l’Assemblée nationale.

Mr Christos Stylianides in Washington D.C., the United States (until 25/05): delivers speeches at the high-level luncheon on health security “Strengthening EU-US cooperation in emergency response” organised by the Center for Strategic and International Studies; and at the high-level workshop on the Ebola Response, organised by the Georgetown University.

Ms Elżbieta Bieńkowska in Milano, Italy: participates in EU Plastic Converters conference.

Ms Vĕra Jourová delivers a speech at the European Data Protection Board reception in Brussels.

Mr Tibor Navracsics in Paris, France: participates in and delivers a speech at the Conference on the Bologna Process; and meets Ms Audrey Azoulay, Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

Ms Corina Creţu delivers an opening speech at the high-level conference on Governance and Cohesion Policy, in Brussels.

Ms Corina Creţu receives Mr Richard Raši, Deputy Prime Minister for Investments and Informatisation Government Office of Slovakia.

Ms Corina Creţu receives Mr Javier Moliner, President of the Council of Castellon province (Spain).

Mr Carlos Moedas in Portugal (until 25/05): in Lisbon: delivers an opening keynote speech at a conference on the knowledge valorisation roadmap, organised by Ms Margarida Mano, Vice-President of the Portuguese Social Democratic Parliamentary Group (PSD); participates in a public debate about Europe with Mr Nuno Melo, Member of the European Parliament; in Estoril: participates in a working dinner of the 28^th Congress of International Federation of European Law (FIDE).

Mr Julian King in Manchester, the United Kingdom: meets Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester; and visits the UK Passenger Information Unit.

Vendredi 25 mai 2018

25/05 European Economic Area Council

President Jean-Claude Juncker receives Mr Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand.

President Jean-Claude Juncker in Tbilisi, Georgia: participates in the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Georgia’s first democratic republic.

Mr Frans Timmermans in Berlin, Germany: on official visit.

Ms Federica Mogherini receives Mr Volodymyr Groysman, Prime Minister of Ukraine.

Ms Federica Mogherini participates in the Civil Society Dialogue Network event “The European Union as a Global Peace Actor: Exchange of views on the EU and conflict prevention”, in Brussels.

Ms Federica Mogherini receives Ms Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

Mr Maroš Šefčovič receives Mr Volodymyr Groysman, Prime Minister of Ukraine.

Mr Maroš Šefčovič delivers an opening statement at the Ukraine Gas Transmission conference, in Brussels.

Mr Jyrki Katainen receives Mr Ken Hu, Deputy Chairman of Huawei’s Board of Directors and Rotating CEO.

Mr Jyrki Katainen receives Mr Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Ms Cecilia Malmström in Valencia, Spain: participates in a Citizens’ dialogue; meets representatives of the Association of Businesswomen and Professionals of Valencia (EVAP); Mr Ximo Puig, President of the Regional Government of Valencia; and visits two local companies, Ford and Jeanologia S.L.

Mr Karmenu Vella in Madrid, Spain: meets representatives of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce; and Ms Manuela Carmena, Mayor of Madrid; and visits Gran Via and the Manzanares river.

Mr Vytenis Andriukaitis in Vilnius, Lithuania: participates in the International Conference “Effectiveness and Sustainability of the Lithuanian Health System”, in the Seimas (Lithuanian Parliament); and meets Mr Han Changfu, Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China.

Ms Marianne Thyssen receives Mr Tony Murphy, Member of the European Court of Auditors (ECA).

M. Pierre Moscovici reçoit M. Dragan Tevdovski, ministre des Finances de l’Ancienne république yougoslave de Macédoine.

Mr Christos Stylianides in Washington D.C., the United States: meets Mr Daniel Kaniewski, Acting Deputy Administrator for Protection and National Preparedness at the Federal Emergency Management Agency of the United States, and Mr Jonathan Cohen, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State at the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs of the US Department of State.   

Mr Phil Hogan receives Mr Tony Murphy, Member of the European Court of Auditors (ECA).

Ms Elżbieta Bieńkowska in Sosnowiec, Poland: meets representatives of the Local Development Agency.

Ms Vĕra Jourová delivers a speech at a conference on the occasion of the entry into force of the new General Data Protection Regulation, organised by the European Commission, in Brussels.

Ms Margrethe Vestager in Copenhagen, Denmark: meets Ms Mia Nyegaard, Mayor for social affairs of Copenhagen; members of the Board of the Confederation of Danish Employers; and participates in an event with the local social liberal group to discuss the future of Europe.

Mr Carlos Moedas in Beja, Portugal: delivers a keynote speech on social innovation at the commemorative seminar for the 40^th anniversary of Cercibeja, a social care non-profit organisation; and a speech on innovation in the agri-food sector within the Alqueva dam area at an event organised by the Portuguese public bank Caixa Geral de Depósitos.

Mr Julian King delivers opening remarks at the EU-UN Leadership Dialogue on Counter-Terrorism, in Brussels.

 

Samedi 26 mai 2018

Mr Johannes Hahn in Tbilisi, Georgia: on official visit.

 

Prévisons du mois de mai:

28/05 Foreign Affairs Council

28-29/05 Competitiveness Council

Permanence DG COMM du 19 au 21 mai 2018:

Carlos MARTIN RUIZ DE GORDEJUELA: +32 460 79 17 16

Permanence RAPID – GSM: +32 (0) 498 982 748

Service Audiovisuel, planning studio – tél. : +32 (0)2/295 21 23

The Commission has adopted a new policy framework today that aims to increase humanitarian funding for education in emergencies and crises to 10% of its overall humanitarian aid budget as of 2019. The policy also aims to bring children caught up in humanitarian crises back to learning within 3 months.

“With humanitarian crises growing across the world, millions of children are at risk of growing up without education. We have a responsibility to act to prevent lost generations. Our new policy will allow us to help children better and quicker than before, even in the most difficult situations. To do so, we will strengthen cooperation with other donors and partners and better link our short and long term assistance. The EU is now a global leader in bringing children back to school. 8% of our humanitarian aid budget goes to education in emergencies this year, 8 times up from 2015. We aim to reach 10% in 2019,” said Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides speaking in Brussels today at the launch of the EU’s Communication on education in emergencies and protracted crises.

The new policy framework sets out four key priorities: improving access to learning opportunities for children and young people, providing quality education and training, ensuring that education is protected from attacks, and introducing rapid and innovative education responses.

Today’s decision is a milestone in the Juncker Commission’s commitment to support millions of children whose access to education is being disrupted due to conflict, forced displacement, violence, climate change and disasters. The EU’s largest ever humanitarian programme for education in emergencies worth €84 million is currently the Conditional Cash Transfer for Education programme in Turkey that helps put 290,000 refugee children into school.

Background

Across the world access to education is denied to millions of children by conflict, forced displacement, violence, climate change, and disasters. Syria, Iraq, Yemen, occupied Palestinian territory, Afghanistan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo are among some 35 crisis-affected countries where nearly 75 million school-aged children experience disruption to their education. Among refugees, just over half of the children of primary school age attend school, while less than a quarter of the equivalent age group are in secondary school and merely 1 per cent in tertiary education.

The EU has become a global leader in education in emergencies since the global average of humanitarian aid to education is less than 3%. The Commission has consistently stepped up funding. For example, from funding projects in only 6 countries in 2012 from its humanitarian budget, the latter has now reached projects in a total of 52 countries worldwide. Overall, more than 5.5 million girls and boys have benefited from this funding of some €265 million since 2016. In addition, more than € 1.5 billion has been mobilised by the EU in the context of the Syrian crisis since 2011. This has been done through a range of EU instruments and mechanisms (the European Neighbourhood Instrument, humanitarian assistance, the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace, as well as the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis, which also ensures educational opportunities for host countries under pressure like Lebanon and Jordan, and the EU Facility for refugees in Turkey). The ERASMUS+ Programme continues to be open to Syrian students for study periods abroad and to Syrian universities for capacity building and modernisation of curricula.

Under today’s proposal the EU will strengthen the links between tools and instruments available under humanitarian aid and development cooperation. This will build on the substantial contribution EU development assistance already provides to education projects in fragile and crisis affected countries and regions across the world, including through multilateral financing to global initiatives such as the Global Partnership for Education and Education Cannot Wait.

For more information

Communication on Education in Emergencies and Protracted Crises

Factsheet on Education in Emergencies

The European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid

The first estimate for euro area (EA19) exports of goods to the rest of the world in March 2018 was €199.9 billion, a decrease of 2.9% compared with March 2017 where they peaked at €205.9 bn. Imports from the rest of the world stood at €173.0 bn, a fall of 2.5% compared with March 2017 (€177.4 bn). As a result, the euro area recorded a €26.9 bn surplus in trade in goods with the rest of the world in March 2018, compared with +€28.5 bn in March 2017. Intra-euro area trade fell to €170.5 bn in March 2018, down by 0.6% compared with March 2017.

Full text available on EUROSTAT website

I – Results of DESI 2018
What is the Digital Economy and Society Index?

The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) is a composite index published every year by the European Commission since 2014, measuring progress of EU countries towards a digital economy and society. It brings together a set of relevant indicators on Europe’s current digital policy mix.

The DESI is composed of five principal policy areas which regroup overall 34 indicators:

1 Connectivity	Fixed broadband, mobile broadband, fast and ultrafast broadband and broadband prices
2 Human capital	Basic skills and internet use, advanced skills and development
3 Use of internet service	Citizens’ use of content, communication and online transactions
4 Integration of digital technology	Business digitisation and e-commerce
5 Digital public services	eGovernment and eHealth

 Here the results for 2018 DESI:

In 2017, all Member States improved in the DESI results. Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and the Netherlands have the most advanced digital economies, followed by Luxembourg, Ireland, the UK, Belgium and Estonia. Ireland, Cyprus and Spain progressed the most (by more than 15 points) over the last four years, while the lowest increase in digital performance was recorded in Greece (below 10 points).

Here is the revised ranking for DESI 2017:

How do the Member States perform on the five dimensions of the index?

Regarding connectivity to broadband networks, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Denmark show the highest overall connectivity levels.

Fixed broadband is available to 97% of Europeans, and 80% of European homes are covered by fast broadband (at least 30 Mbps). Ultrafast connectivity – measured for the first time by DESI (at least 100 Mbps) – is available to 58% of Europeans.

4G mobile networks cover on average 91% of the EU’s population, measured as the average of each mobile telecom operator’s coverage within each country.

75% of European homes subscribe to fixed broadband, and one third of all homes have at least 30 Mbps. The results also show that having an ultrafast broadband connection is increasingly more common. 15% of homes subscribe to ultrafast broadband, which is twice as high as two years ago.

Regarding the Human Capital dimension, 81% of Europeans go online regularly (at least once a week). This is 2 percentage points more than in the previous year. However, 43% of Europeans still do not have basic digital skills. Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden have the highest scores in this dimension.

The results show that the EU improved slightly in the number of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates. While only 18.4 out of 1000 people between 20 and 29 years old graduated in STEM in 2013, this increased to 19.1 in 2015. Moreover, there were 8.2 million ICT specialists in the EU in 2016, growing from 7.3 million 3 years earlier.

The percentage of internet users engaging in various online activities has overall slightly increased in comparison to the DESI 2017 results. 72% of internet users read news online, 46% make video or audio calls, 65%, use social networks, 68% shop online and 61% use online banking.

 

As for the Integration of technology, European businesses are increasingly adopting digital technologies. This includes the use of a business software for electronic information sharing (from 26% in 2013 to 34% of enterprises in 2017), sending electronic invoices (from 10% in 2013 to 18% of enterprises in 2016) or using social media to engage with customers and partners (from 15% in 2013 to 21% of enterprises in 2017). This trend is most advanced in Denmark, Finland and Ireland.

eCommerce by SMEs also grew slightly (from 14% in 2013 to 17% of SMEs in 2017). Nevertheless, less than a half of those trade online sell to another EU Member State while the majority operates only within their country.

 

The Digital Public Services dimension measures the digitisation of public services, focusing on eGovernment and eHealth. Modernisation and digitisation of public services can lead to efficiency gains for the public administration, citizens and businesses. The European champions in Digital Public Services are Finland, Estonia and Denmark.

How does the EU compare to other digitised countries worldwide?

The Commission also compare the digital performance of EU countries with 17 non-EU countries. The International DESI (I-DESI) evaluates the performance of both the individual EU countries and the EU as a whole in comparison to Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Iceland, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States. This is the second time the Commission compares the DESI with international data.

 

The results of the forthcoming study show that the top four EU countries (Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands) are among the global leaders. They are just behind Korea and have higher scores than the United States and Japan. At the same time, however, the comparison shows that the EU’s average in digital performance is significantly lower. The full iDESI report will be available in June.

I-DESI includes the same five dimensions as the DESI, but it is built on a slightly different set of indicators than DESI due to some DESI indicators not being available in non-EU countries. As a result, the I-DESI rankings and scores are slightly different to those of the DESI.

II – DESI methodology

Where does the data come from?

The majority of DESI indicators come from the surveys of Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Some broadband indicators are collected by the Commission services from the Member States through the Communications Committee. Other indicators are derived from studies prepared for the Commission (e.g. some eGovernment and broadband indicators). See the full list of indicators, exact definitions and sources.

How is the DESI score calculated?

To calculate a country’s overall score, each set and subset of indicators were given a specific weighting by European Commission experts. Connectivity and digital skills (‘human capital’), each contribute 25% to the total score. Integration of digital technology accounts for 20%, since the use of ICT by the business sector is one of the most important drivers of growth. Finally, online activities (‘use of internet’) and digital public services each contribute 15%. For more details, see the DESI methodological note.

How are EU countries clustered?

Three clusters were created based on the DESI score.

• High performing countries are the 9 EU Member States with the highest DESI score. These are Denmark, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Ireland, the UK, Belgium and Estonia.
• Medium performing countries have close to average DESI scores. These are Spain, Austria, Malta, Lithuania, Germany, Slovenia, Portugal, the Czech Republic, France and Latvia.
• Low performing countries are the 9 Member States at the bottom of the list. These are Slovakia, Cyprus, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Italy, Bulgaria, Greece and Romania.

What has changed in the DESI compared to 2017?

To improve the methodology and take into account the latest technological developments, a limited number of changes were made in DESI 2017:

Connectivity

• The Ultrafast Broadband sub-dimension was added measuring Ultrafast Broadband coverage (the combined footprint of Fibre to the Premises and Cable Docsis 3.0., measured as the percentage of homes) and Ultrafast Broadband Take-up (percentage of homes subscribing to at least 100 Mbps). Fast Broadband Take-up is measured as the percentage of homes in DESI 2018 instead of the percentage of subscriptions used in earlier publications. Spectrum was removed from the index.
• Broadband prices: A more robust methodology was used for the calculation of fixed broadband prices, assessing 12 consumption baskets and household income

Human capital

• STEM graduates: the historical data were revised by Eurostat

The Use of Internet Services and the Integration of Digital Technology dimensions were not affected by any change.

Digital Public Services

• eHealth was re-introduced as a sub-dimension with one indicator measuring the percentage of people who used health and care services provided online. Under eGovernment a new indicator was added on digital public services for businesses.

In addition, a limited number of historical data points were revised for other indicators, too. As a result of the above changes, the rankings for the previous years have slightly changed.

How did the improved methodology affect the ranking of last year?

As a result of the improved methodology, the rankings for the previous years have slightly changed.

For more information

Press Release

Country profiles

Factsheet: Digital Single Market for benefits of all Europeans

Factsheet: Data Economy for all Europeans

Creating a Digital Single Market – European Commission action since 2015

Videos

#DESIEU