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Digitising European industry

2016/2271(INI)

The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy adopted an own-initiative report by Reinhard BÜTIKOFER (Greens/EFA, DE) on digitising European industry, following the Commission’s communication on this subject.

Developing an integrated Industrial Digitalisation Strategy for the EU: Members welcomed the Commission’s communication on digitising European industry, and strongly believed that such a strategy is of critical importance in contributing to solving Europe’s most pressing economic and societal challenges. Such a strategy would, notably:

  • strengthening economic dynamic, social and territorial cohesion;
  • fostering quality job creation and reshoring opportunities, by contributing to providing consumers with more opportunities and information;
  • strengthening European cohesion through a reliable and ambitious European investment policy;
  • supporting Europe's goals in climate policy by reducing emissions and energy consumption; 
  • strengthening economic, policy and social innovation through the principles of openness and accessibility of public and private data.

The report recommends putting in place a competitive business environment that facilitates private investment, a build-up of state-of-the-art European digital infrastructure, and an EU coordination structure for the digitisation of industry.

Digitisation must be accelerated particularly in those Member States, regions and sectors that are lagging behind and among those people who are affected by the digital divide.

Such a strategy would contribute to solving some of the most pressing challenges in the transport and tourism sectors. Members called on the Commission and Member States to provide uninterrupted and high-performance connectivity for main transport paths and hubs no later than 2025 and to initiate full coverage all over the EU.

Creating conditions for successful industrial digitisation (infrastructure, investment, innovation and skills: Members felt an integrated industrial digitisation must be based on strong enabling conditions ranging from a first-rate, future-proof digital infrastructure, research and development and an investment-supportive environment to an appropriate innovation-nudging legislative framework.

The report stressed the need to:

  • advance public and private investment in high-speed connectivity, for example through 5G, fibre optics, navigation and satellite communications infrastructure;
  • harmonise spectrum allocation, aimed at increasing demand for connectivity and enhancing the predictability of the network investment environment; 
  • establish leadership in key technologies such as 5G, high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, big data analytics, the Internet of Things (IoT), and robotics.

Particular attention should be given to the specific problems encountered by SME’s.  Furthermore, the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI) should be better used.

Advancing the digitisation of businesses: in this regard, the report stressed the need to:

  • safeguard sensitive European technologies and know-how: Members highlighted the potential risks in regard to strategic state and industrial policy-driven foreign direct investment (FDI), particularly by state-owned enterprises by means of mergers and acquisitions; equal market access for investment should be enforced by establishing global rules;
  • adopt a common European cybersecurity approach, particularly the need to advance cybersecurity for the internet of things;
  • strengthen the role that the governing bodies referred to in the Directive on network security have in establishing trust in future technologies;
  • establish a framework that ensures the free flow of data whilst protecting the ownership of data ;
  • set out clear rules regarding data management in the framework of contractual relations between businesses ;
  • establish a strong standardisation strategy, including interoperability in the digital domain; Members wanted to see an EU-wide coordinated approach through the European standards organisations (CEN, CENELEC and ETSI) in relation to international fora and consortia.

The social dimension (skills, education and social innovation): in view of the digital gap, Members considered that a digitization strategy for businesses should gave a strong social dimension, including the right to training and the implementation of a skills guarantee, and lifelong learning, as well as the integration of digital skills into national education curricula. Employers should make use of the European Social Fund for such training. All Member States should develop comprehensive national digital skills strategies with targets.

Lastly, the report emphasised the importance of investing in the digitisation of vocational training and the skilled crafts sector. Digital skills also need to be combined with engineering skills and the promotion of education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.