EU makes steady progress on Digital Agenda goals

The European Union reported good progress with its Digital Agenda 2020 goals, with the latest data for 2013 showing it's on track to meet 95 of the 101 goals by 2015. While more people are going online and using broadband, the data shows a number of challenges remaining, notably getting more small businesses online, increasing access to the next generation of broadband and boosting public spending on R&D. 

Weekly internet users reached 72 percent, on track for the target of 75 percent in 2015, and 47 percent of EU residents shop online, versus a target of half by next year. However, 20 percent of the population still does not use internet, still well above a goal of 15 percent by 2015. The lowest levels of use are in eastern Europe, with regular users below 40 percent of the population in Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. 

There also remains a wide gap in access to high-speed broadband of over 30 Mbps, going from just 20 percent of the population in Italy to almost 100 percent in the Netherlands and Malta. In total, 64 percent of the EU could access more than 30 Mbps at the end of 2013, up from 54 percent the previous year. Only 3 percent of residents are subscribed to 100 Mbps or higher. 

The report also shows the EU still lagging in e-government, with only 42 percent of people interacting with public authorities online and 21 percent filling in government forms electronically. That compares to goals of respectively 50 and 25 percent in 2015. Progress has slowed since the Digital Agenda started in 2009 and in some countries even shows regression, the report said. 

Among businesses, only 14 percent of SMEs are selling their products online, versus a target of a third in 2015. The report termed the progress "glacial" with even the best-performing countries unlikely to meet the target next year. A higher percentage of SMEs make purchases online, at 26 percent, but this has proven easier than setting up e-commerce platforms. 

The report also highlighted the sharp slowdown in public support for ICT research and development, as most governments look to reduce spending in the face of budget deficits and the economic slowdown. After growing for several years, public spending on ICT R&D fell by 2.5 percent in 2012, the latest year for which data was available. To reach the 2020 goal of a doubling in spending compared to 2009, governments must increase the outlay by 5.5 percent per year. To date, the total spending is only up 55 percent since the start of the Digital Agenda.