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Digital tracking

The digital transition is a core element of the Commission’s competitiveness agenda. Beyond enhancing EU competitiveness, including leadership in artificial intelligence innovation, it serves as a vital catalyst for prosperity, economic recovery and resilience while enabling innovative solutions to tackle global challenges.

In 2021, the Commission presented its vision for the EU’s digital transformation by 2030, with a digital compass for the EU’s Digital Decade that evolves around four digital dimensions:

  • skills,
  • secure and sustainable digital infrastructure,
  • digital transformation of businesses, and
  • digitalisation of public services.

On 14 December 2022, the co-legislators adopted the Digital Decade policy programme, taking up the digital compass and its vision, setting up quantitative EU targets for the four cardinal points to be reached by 2030, and establishing a cooperation mechanism with the Member States to progress towards these targets.

Achievements

  • 20 million dwellings gained access to very-high-capacity internet networks, including 5G networks and gigabit speed, through measures under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, InvestEU and cohesion funding by the end of 2025.

  • 13 video games, whose development was supported by the media strand of the creative Europe programme, received 34 nominations in the most important industry competitions (1) in 2025.

  • Under the Connecting Europe Facility, 10 362 terabits per second of additional capacity were created in 2025 by deployed backbone networks, including submarine cables.

  • In 2025, 19 AI factories started to be deployed in 16 Member States, offering AI start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises and researchers access to AI-optimised high-performance computers, AI training and technical expertise to promote cutting-edge research and AI applications. AI factories benefit from the world-leading public supercomputing network established by the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking.

(1) The Game Awards, The Indie Game Awards, Tribeca Games, Game Developers Choice Awards, IGF, DEVGAMM, A Maze, Swedish Game Awards, Golden Joystick Awards, TIGA Awards, Venice Immersive, VR Awards.

How much do we spend?

The 2026 stocktaking exercise to estimate EU spending on the digital transition was conducted for the implementation of the 2021-2027 EU budget over the 2021-2025 period. The findings show that the EU budget, including NextGenerationEU, is channelling significant contributions to all of the digital transition’s key dimensions. The Commission’s ambition is to build on the findings to develop a comprehensive and robust methodology for measuring the EU budget’s overall contribution to the digital transition across all programmes.

Based on the results of the stocktaking exercise, EUR 229 billion of the EU budget (including NextGenerationEU) was dedicated to the digital transition between 2021 and 2025, representing 14.5% of the total EU budget for that period (1). A significant share of this amount came from the Recovery and Resilience Facility, which dedicated EUR 150.9 billion towards the digital transition during the same period.

(1) Given that a fully-fledged tracking methodology for the digital contributions of the EU budget has not yet been established, any aggregation of the contributions of individual programmes at this stage should be interpreted with caution. This is because the methodologies employed by individual spending programmes may not be strictly comparable. Despite this, such aggregation can still provide a general estimate of the total digital contribution from the EU budget. Almost 70% of the reported digital expenditure this year could be attributed to the four categories of the digital compass.

Estimated contributions to the digital transition of the EU budget programmes, in 2021-2025 (cumulatively) (*)

Source: European Commission;

(*) Including NextGenerationEU, in EUR billion. 
NB: For readability purposes, the scale is broken, as the Recovery and Resilience Facility provides more than 10 times more support to the digital transition than the next most contributing programme. The abbreviations stand for: RRF – Recovery and Resilience Facility; HORIZONEU – Horizon Europe; NDICI – Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe; DIGITALEU – digital Europe programme; ESF PLUS – European Social Fund Plus; JTM – Just Transition Mechanism; SPACE – EU space programme; CEF – Connecting Europe Facility; IPA III – Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance III; IBMF – Integrated Border Management Fund; ISF – Internal Security Fund; CREATIVEEU – creative Europe programme; CAP – common agricultural policy; EMFAF – European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund; SECURE CONNECTIVITY – EU secure connectivity programme; TSI – Technical Support Instrument; ESC – European Solidarity Corps; OCT – Decision on the Overseas Association, including Greenland; RIGHTS – citizens, equality, rights and values programme; TCC – Turkish Cypriot community; EDF – European Defence Fund; WBF – Western Balkans Facility.uding Greenland; RIGHTS – Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme; TCC – Turkish Cypriot community.

Almost all EU budget programmes contribute to the digital transition. However, due to data limitations, digital-related expenditure for the 2021-2025 period could only be tracked for 32 out of the 53 spending programmes implemented in 2025. 

In terms of thematic concentration, significant efforts are being made to support the digitalisation of public services (in particular government ICT solutions and the digitalisation of healthcare) and businesses, with strong support directed towards small and medium-sized enterprises. More information is provided in the following sections. 

Estimated contributions to the digital transition by key digital dimensions (2021-2025) (*)

Source: European Commission, based on the 2026 stocktaking exercise.

(*) Including NextGenerationEU, in EUR billion.

(**) Includes programmes that could not be disaggregated into specific categories due to methodological limitations (Erasmus+, European Solidarity Corps programme, Creative Europe, the CAP and the common fisheries policy, Technical Support Instrument, LIFE programme, European Defence Fund and the EU Secure Connectivity Programme).   

Digitalisation of businesses and public services

The EU budget (including NextGenerationEU) is making a significant contribution to the digitalisation of the private and public sectors. For the 2021-2025 period, an estimated EUR 63.3 billion was dedicated to the support of the EU budget to public services (including the digitalisation of health and justice systems) and EUR 46.3 billion for the support of the digitalisation of businesses. The Recovery and Resilience Facility, the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund are important contributors to this investment. From 2021 to 2025, 11.8% of the amounts from the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund were used to finance interventions that advance the digital transition, in particular supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and public services.

Estimated contributions of the EU budget to the digitalisation of public services (2021-2025) (*)

Source: European Commission, based on the 2026 stock-taking exercise.

(*) Including NextGenerationEU. 

These amounts are the result of the stocktaking exercise conducted for 2021 to 2025 and exclude the external action programmes, expenditure under indirect management, Erasmus+, European Solidarity Corps programme, Creative Europe, the CAP and the common fisheries policy, Technical Support Instrument, LIFE programme, European Defence Fund, and the EU Secure Connectivity Programme due to methodological limitations.

Supporting the development and deployment of digital technologies and research

From 2021 to 2025, estimates indicate that the EU contributed EUR 29.6 billion to investment in digital capacities and the deployment of advanced technologies, and EUR 17.5 billion to research. These numbers include contribution to the digital objective from Horizon Europe, whose primary objective is supporting research. These figures are not yet final and will be updated as more information from funded projects becomes available.

The main contributing programmes towards investment in digital capacities and the deployment of advanced technologies and research are the Recovery and Resilience Facility, Horizon Europe, the EU space programme, the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the digital Europe programme.

Investing in digital skills

From 2021 to 2025, the EU budget, including NextGenerationEU, made a significant contribution to both basic and advanced digital skills, with an estimated investment totalling EUR 32.4 billion. In addition to supporting the development of digital skills at all levels, along with information technology services and applications for digital skills and digital inclusion, particular emphasis was placed on supporting young people. The main programmes contributing to improving digital skills are the Recovery and Resilience Facility (EUR 22.0 billion) and the European Social Fund Plus (EUR 8.1 billion), providing support to youth employment and the socioeconomic integration of young people.

Enhancing digital connectivity

The EU budget, including NextGenerationEU, is contributing to enhancing digital connectivity, which will give citizens and businesses new opportunities to benefit fully from the digital single market and accelerate economic growth. Between 2021 and 2025, investment in digital connectivity, including investment in very-high-capacity broadband networks and 5G network coverage, is estimated to have reached EUR 19.1 billion. The main programmes contributing are the Recovery and Resilience Facility (EUR 12.7 billion), the cohesion policy funds (EUR 1.0 billion) and the Connecting Europe Facility. Already reported figures on the contribution from the Recovery and Resilience Facility needed to be adjusted because of amendments to the national recovery and resilience plans that took place in 2025.

The CAP plays a key role in improving broadband access in rural areas by supporting broadband infrastructure and improved access to e-government services. Nearly 13 million people living in rural areas are benefiting from improved access to ICT services and infrastructure as a result of support from the EU budget.

Under the Connecting Europe Facility, 10 300 terabits per second of additional capacity were created by deployed backbone networks, including submarine cables. More than EUR 800 million was awarded to 45 projects to support the digitalisation of the trans-European transport network, notably through support for the European Railway Traffic Management System technology. The programme also aims to modernise energy grids and deploy digital connectivity infrastructure to support the EU’s digital transition. Specifically, the programme will support the deployment of 5G systems and high-capacity digital networks to transform various sectors, including healthcare, education and manufacturing. This will enhance digital readiness, competitiveness and inclusiveness, particularly in the outermost regions, and contribute to the EU’s economic recovery and growth. Through InvestEU, more than two million households, enterprises or public facilities have obtained access to high-speed internet. The European Investment Fund allocated EUR 3.6 billion to support small and medium-sized enterprises in innovation and digitalisation through a dedicated guarantee supported by InvestEU. This guarantee supports various digitalisation efforts, including innovative business models, supply chain management and digital skills acquisition. With a focus on joint small and medium-sized enterprises, the fund also supports investments fostering the development of digital, cultural and creative industry solutions.

The twin transition: exploiting synergies

The twin green and digital transitions are deeply interconnected, offering the potential to create significant synergies. The EU budget is instrumental in this process, acting as a key enabler in unlocking these synergies. It provides the necessary financial support for initiatives that align with the objectives of both transitions, thereby ensuring that the potential benefits can be fully realised. The table below provides illustrative examples of some of the synergies that are being achieved with the support of the EU budget.

  • The IM4CA project, funded under Horizon Europe, strengthens climate action by improving Europe’s capacity to monitor and understand methane emissions. By combining satellite and ground-based observations, the project provides data and methods to better quantify methane sources, sinks and trends, supporting evidence-based mitigation and progress towards EU and global climate targets.
  • Supporting smart grids, such as those under the Connecting Europe Facility energy strand, contributes to sustainable development by the integration of energy from renewable sources and the development of smart energy grids. An example is the Danube inGrid project, whose first phase is expected to be completed by the end of 2027. The project adopts smart grid technologies and fosters the roll-out of modern energy infrastructure at the cross-border areas of Hungary and Slovakia, to efficiently support the increased demand of consumers, prosumers and distributed renewable energy sources.
  • In addition, as a result of the investments in smart energy systems financed through the cohesion policy funds through the entire 2021-2027 programming period, around 2 million additional end users will be connected to the smart energy systems.
  • Supported by the cohesion policy funds, a public water company in Sardinia has digitalised and centralised its water service, providing drinking water to over 1.6 million residents. It has improved its service quality by developing a centralised data control and acquisition system that enables real-time monitoring, remote management and tools for simulating and optimising water resource flows. This will enable better planning of targeted interventions to ensure water availability in the context of increasing water stress in the region.
  • As part of the EU’s broader efforts to modernise agriculture and rural development under the CAP, strategic plans under the policy support the twin transition by helping farmersadopt digital technologies that can also deliver environmental and climate benefits. This support is channelled mainly through investment projects EIP-AGRI operational group projects, but also through eco-schemes and agri-environment-climate commitments. For example, in Flanders, farmers can use satellite-guided machinery to reduce overlaps and input use. Another example is the Soil Passport, which helps farmers use parcel-level soil data to improve sustainable soil management. Other Member States, including Estonia, Poland and Romania, have also planned investments in precision agriculture.
  • The EU’s Galileo satellite system supports technologies that are key enablers for smart and sustainable transport, and in particular for connected and autonomous driving. In road transport, using navigation and positioning services from Galileo leads to a range of innovative applications that enable smart mobility and multi-mode transport digitalisation with optimised travel routes, in turn allowing for a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. In air transport, using the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service for the efficient definition of flight routes helps reduce fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.