An International Digital Strategy for the European Union
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
High Representative of
the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
JOINT COMMUNICATION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL
An International Digital Strategy for the European Union
Brussels, 5.6.2025
JOIN (2025) 140 final
The digital and Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution is reshaping economies and societies in Europe and across the world. Economic players and countries that are able to master them do not only gain a decisive economic edge in terms of competitiveness and efficiency but can also use these technologies to strengthen their national defence and security, as well as ensure they are aligned with the core values of their society. Conversely, those who are late in embracing them risk lagging behind economically and undermining their sovereignty.
In such a context, the EU is determined to boost its tech competitiveness and innovation capacity while working with partners and allies to support their own digital transition. No country or region can tackle the digital and AI revolution alone. The EU remains committed to the rules-based global order and to the defence of its fundamental values.
For the EU’s competitiveness, economic security and defence capacity, it is crucial to closely cooperate with our partners and tech allies to enhance the ability of European tech companies to innovate and grow globally. Concerted EU efforts are necessary to ensure that global digital governance supports EU interests and fundamental values.
This strategy sets out the basis on which the EU will address these objectives, working in a joined-up way.
1. Digital as a core element of the EU’s external action
At the current geopolitical juncture, the EU remains a reliable and predictable partner, committed to strengthening its existing relations with allies globally and forging new mutually beneficial partnerships with those willing to work towards shared objectives. The EU’s support to the rules-based global order, aligned with the values of democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights, is steadfast.
The EU’s growing network of bilateral and regional partnerships allows the EU to be stronger on the world stage, building coalitions in pursuit of shared objectives in key international fora and organisations. From shaping norms in multilateral fora to deepening bilateral partnerships, the EU aims to make progress on concrete and immediate priorities, protecting and promoting the EU’s strategic interests.1See the Conclusions of the European Council, 17th April 2024: “The European Council also highlights the need to strengthen the EU’s leadership in global digital affairs and invites the Commission and the High Representative to prepare a joint communication on the subject” (p. 10)
As emphasised by the Draghi report2
The future of European competitiveness: Report by Mario Draghi (2024) , the increasing productivity gap between the EU and the United States since the mid-1990s is largely explained by the superior ability of the US to innovate, scale-up globally and succeed in the tech sector. The EU also faces the risk of weaponisation of its technological and economic dependencies and the risk of critical technology leakage. As outlined in the ProtectEU Strategy3
Communication on ProtectEU: a European Internal Security Strategy, COM(2025) 148 , the lines between offline and online threats are increasingly blurred and the EU needs to cooperate better with its partners to combat the misuse of technologies.
In boosting its tech competitiveness and innovation capacity, as set out in the EU’s Competitiveness Compass4
Communication on a Competitiveness Compass for the EU, COM(2025) 30 final , the EU can build on several strengths. The EU has a large and integrated digital single market and is the global leader in the import and export of digitally delivered services.5
See source WTO It hosts world-leading tech companies and has an increasing number of tech start-ups.6
COM(2025) 217 of 28/05/2025 – ‘EU startup and scale-up Strategy’ It can draw on world-class research and innovation and has the capacity to provide integrated technology solutions to partner countries seeking to uphold their digital sovereignty and to implement a human-centric digital transformation.
As part of its Digital Decade Policy Programme 2030,7
See the full Digital Decade Policy Programme the EU aims to boost investment in connectivity infrastructure, skills, and research,8
As outlined in the Communication on the Union of Skills COM(2025) 90 final and create more favourable conditions for EU disruptive start-ups to emerge and scale up. As technologies such as AI, semiconductors, cloud and quantum computing are fundamentally changing the industrial as well as defence and security landscape, Europe needs an industry capable of designing, developing, manufacturing and delivering these technologies and products faster and at scale.
An increasingly active Digital Diplomacy has built on these strong domestic foundations to advance our international priorities and to build partnerships9. Investments and initiatives launched under the Global Gateway, including in enlargement and neighbourhood countries, notably the EU Growth Plans, demonstrate the strategic importance of the digital sector from a geopolitical, security and economic point of view.
Building on the EU’s strengths and internal policies and actions, the International Digital Strategy for the European Union will therefore focus on the following objectives:
a) Boost the EU’s tech competitiveness through economic and business cooperation. The EU will continue to cooperate with trusted partners to reinforce EU leadership in emerging tech, including through research and innovation and by attracting foreign investments and talents; use its international tools to develop and promote EU technology solutions worldwide; and expand its growing network of digital trade agreements
b) Promote a high level of security for the EU and its partners. In line with existing commitments10, the EU will continue to strengthen its cybersecurity and cyber defence, particularly of key critical infrastructures; enhance the security of research while enhancing research in security-related fields; tackle hybrid threats and foreign information manipulation and interference; enhance the resilience, security, and stability of ICT supply chains, including beyond its borders; tackle cybercrime through joint operations11, including through bilateral and multilateral cooperation; and promote trusted suppliers of digital technologies, including in dual-use technologies such as AI and quantum.
c) Shape global digital governance and standards with a network of partners. The EU will continue to promote its values-based approach on digital governance and digital standards to shape a global digital transformation that is human-centric, trustworthy, and respects human rights and fundamental freedoms. By acting decisively, the EU can be a driving force of responsibly guided technological advancement on the global stage.
2. Scaling the EU’s global networks of partners
The EU has developed strong regional and bilateral digital cooperation with partners through Ministerial-level Trade and Technology Councils12 and Digital Partnerships13, as well as Digital Dialogues14. It maintains Cyber Dialogues with a wide range of partners15, and digital issues are an increasingly important feature of the tailor-made Comprehensive and Strategic Partnerships16.
In addition, digital cooperation also builds on the association of partner countries to key EU programmes, notably Horizon Europe17 and the Digital Europe Programme18 for advanced research and innovation cooperation and the deployment of digital technologies.
Advancing the harmonisation of key digital transformation policies, investing in secure digital connectivity and boosting innovation are also at the heart of the EU’s cooperation with enlargement and neighbourhood countries, via instruments such as Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements or Stabilisation and Association Agreements. These trade agreements and other related instruments, such as the Growth Plans for the Western Balkans19, the Reform and Growth Facility for Moldova20 and the Ukraine Facility21 set a strategic basis for the gradual integration of candidate countries into the Digital Single Market22.
The EU is developing a New Pact for the Mediterranean with partners of the Southern Neighbourhood, building on the 2021 Agenda for the Mediterranean, to deepen our political engagement and strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest, notably in the digital domain.
The EU is continuously expanding its network of free trade agreements23 and digital trade agreements24. Among others, these set high-standard digital trade rules that ensure a secure and safe online environment for consumers, bring transparency, predictability and legal certainty for companies, and prevent or remove unjustified barriers to digital trade, including for cross-border data flows. Furthermore, the Commission liaises with other leading regulators and enforcers, building new networks on digital services and AI.
The Global Gateway strategy offers the opportunity to advance partnerships, policy dialogues, and investments with countries around the world, including through the EU-Latin America and Caribbean Digital Alliance25, the administrative arrangement with Smart Africa26, the Team Europe Central Asia initiative27, and Digital Economy Packages with partners in Africa, Asia and Latin America28, including with Least Developed Countries. The Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships29 allow the EU to address the links between digital issues, trade and clean tech.
There is a growing appetite across the world for digital cooperation with the EU, and the current global landscape calls for new, deeper, and more flexible forms of cooperation to nurture mutually beneficial partnerships, which recognise the advances made by many of our partners across the digital arena, from digitising government services to facilitating electronic payments, from supporting citizens’ rights to developing local resilience. The EU will keep seeking cooperation – not only with long-time like-minded partners, but with any country with which we share common objectives.
Faced with the need to accelerate its digital transformation in a more challenging geopolitical context, the EU will therefore scale its global network of partners in four directions:
1. Deepening its existing Digital Partnerships and Dialogues, to advance cooperation in key areas, such as research and innovation, industrial and policy cooperation on emerging tech, transparency and resilience of global supply chains, security and sustainability of digital infrastructure, AI deployment and innovation, with a focus on mutual economic benefits and enhancing economic security. The EU will propose a more significant integration of additional priorities into these partnerships, such as cybersecurity, research security, sensitive technology protection, and aspects related to dual-use technologies. It will continue engaging in advanced regulatory cooperation. Deepening the Digital Partnerships and Dialogues will also involve providing an enhanced role for businesses from the EU and partner countries, stimulating business-to-business and business-to-government cooperation and focusing on investment opportunities.
2. Broadening the existing cooperation network, with the establishment of new Digital Partnerships and Dialogues and expanding the network of digital trade agreements. Priority partners will be determined by building on the EU’s priorities and existing bilateral and regional cooperation at EU and Member State levels. Under the Global Gateway, the EU will work to increase European investments in partner countries, linking the EU with centres of digital growth and contributing to the EU’s economic security.
3. Connecting these partnerships to operate as a network. As the network of partnerships expands, so does the opportunity to work together in pursuit of shared interests. Likewise, cooperation is increasingly necessary as we face common challenges. Cooperation could take the form of regular technical exchanges on common issues (e.g. emerging tech, secure and trusted connectivity, standardisation or regulatory cooperation), the preparation of joint projects (e.g. research and innovation cooperation, interoperability pilots, joint projects in third countries), and the organisation of a network, involving high-level representatives from EU partners, the EU and EU Member States.
4. Strengthening Security & Defence Partnerships30 as regards digital issues, given the increasing importance of advanced digital infrastructure and technologies. Leveraging investment into dual use advanced technological capabilities and promoting the EU security and defence tech industry as a central partner and driver of innovation in AI, quantum, and other emerging technologies are among the priorities in this area.
The EU sees the development of AI as fundamental for the future of humanity. It cannot be reduced to the quest for supremacy among advanced AI powers. In response, the EU will continue to promote its open and collaborative model of developing trustworthy AI, which is based on the participation of researchers and the private sector in ‘AI Factories’. In this regard, cooperation with like-minded partners and allies which share our respect for the rule of law and fundamental and democratic values will be crucial.
Examples of forthcoming actions: Preparation of potential new Digital Partnerships and Dialogues, in a Team Europe approach, ensuring close cooperation with Member States, industry, stakeholders and partner countries, including in the context of the EU cooperation with neighbourhood countries.
Establishment of a Digital Partnership Network, involving the EU’s partners, the EU and its Member States. Close cooperation to promote synergies between Digital Partnerships and the technology-related issues of the EU’s Security and Defence Partnerships.
Expansion of the network of Digital Trade Agreements and continuation of negotiations of Free Trade Agreements, including on digital trade.
3. The EU Tech Business Offer
To engage with a broader set of trusted partners, the EU will develop an integrated Tech Business Offer. Such a comprehensive Offer will support the deployment of secure and trusted connectivity, Digital Public Infrastructure, AI and software solutions, and beyond. The objective will be to tailor and combine technology components in a modular approach, balancing the interests of partner countries and the EU, in order to create a package of mutual benefits. This will be complemented with capacity-building and measures to bridge the global talent gap, coordinating training efforts on digital skills with international partners. The EU will actively promote digital solutions enabling more energy- and resource-efficient manufacturing, services and other applications.
The Tech Business Offer will be managed jointly by the EU and its Member States in a ‘Tech Team Europe’ approach, closely involving EU companies31, EU Development Finance Institutions and Export Credit Agencies, with a strong facilitator role by the D4D Hub32 and the EU4Digital33 umbrella initiative. The Offer will build on existing external financing tools and investments by the private sector. It will be essential to coordinate investments through the different programmes, between public and private sectors and to continue improving the business environment. This will be done in close cooperation with EU Delegations and national Embassies, for example via the Informal Digital Hubs, which the EU has established in a number of partner countries34 to promote Team Europe cooperation. In countries with which strategic partnerships have been concluded or are being negotiated, the Offer will be integrated in the existing or negotiated partnership framework.
4. Priority areas of cooperation with partner countries
Cooperation with partner countries will cover the following areas:
Secure and trusted digital infrastructure
The security and resilience of digital networks and infrastructures are essential to enable developments in critical sectors such as energy, transport, finance and health. While the EU has already demonstrated leadership in this area, work will continue by drawing on instruments such as the 5G Toolbox35, to assist partner countries who are equally concerned about the need to build their digital economy on secure foundations. In line with the recent Communication to strengthen the security and resilience of submarine cables36, this approach could be extended to submarine cables and other critical digital infrastructure. This could be the subject of an annual conference to deepen technical contacts and understanding on opportunities and security requirements for future routes, partnerships, and financing, feeding into the Global Gateway process.
The EU will promote the deployment of secure digital connectivity and sustainable infrastructure worldwide – in particular secure and trusted 5G networks, submarine and terrestrial cables, satellite connectivity, Internet infrastructure, supercomputers and data centres. The EU will also work to support its partners’ resilience through diversification and integration of networks, including through satellite connectivity and other forms of non-terrestrial networks.
The EU will seek to develop a network of secure37 submarine and terrestrial communication cables connecting the EU with partner countries, as well as sovereign and resilient space connectivity. This should support the EU’s role as an international hub capable of hosting data and computing capacities in a resilient and reliable space, tapping the opportunities of the data economy, and attracting investments in sustainable data centres, computing and AI capacities. In cooperation with partner countries, the EU will actively seek to support digital solutions enabling more energy- and resource-efficient manufacturing, services and other applications, reducing the carbon footprint as well as facilitating climate adaptation and resilience.
Examples of forthcoming actions in the field of secure connectivity:
Arctic connectivity is a strategic priority for the EU. The EU will work with partners to boost support for projects that advance new submarine cable routes in the region, by making use of the Connecting Europe Facility to catalyse public and private investments. A key element of Global Gateway investment in the digital sector is a network of strategic submarine communication cable infrastructure projects to provide secure and resilient links between the EU and partner countries. Investments include:
BELLA, the first transatlantic optical fibre cable between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean, which connects Latin-American research institutes, provides fast access to Earth Observation data from the Copernicus component of the EU’s Space Programme. It will be further extended across Central America and the Caribbean and will support the growth of High-Performance Computing in the region.The MEDUSA submarine cable, supported by the European Commission and EIB Global, will provide high-speed connectivity between the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean and will be extended to West Africa. Blue-Raman consists of a planned 11,700km secure submarine cable system connecting Europe to India, with landings in the Middle East and Eastern Africa, along the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). With its strong connectivity dimension linking Europe and India via the Gulf region, it will facilitate the exchange of data and increase cooperation with partner countries.
The EU’s Black Sea strategy recognises the Black Sea as a key gateway linking Europe to the South Caucasus, Central Asia, and beyond. To increase connectivity and trade with the Eastern Partnership region, the EU will support targeted investments in digital infrastructure, with the development of Black Sea digital links aiming at creating secure, high-capacity internet connections, when conditions allow. The Central Asia Team Europe Initiative will provide enhanced secure connectivity, primarily to unserved and underserved areas in Central Asia, via satellite provided by the EU private sector.IRIS², the new secure satellite-based connectivity component of the EU’s Space programme, will provide global coverage when the entire constellation will have been deployed. At an early stage, it will set up pilot projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. The EU-ASEAN Sustainable Connectivity Team Europe Initiative under the Global Gateway includes a digital component promoting the expansion of the Copernicus mirror site in the Philippines to further countries in ASEAN, including Indonesia and Thailand.
Emerging technologies
Artificial Intelligence: As outlined in the AI Continent Action Plan38, the EU will continue to engage bilaterally, regionally and multilaterally with trusted partners to attract investments in the EU, support the establishment of a global level playing field for trustworthy AI, and to promote the good governance of AI globally. The EU will also act decisively to establish itself as a frontrunner in applying
AI to science for its own competitiveness and to attract top scientists to Choose Europe39. The EU will further seek cooperation with trusted partners, notably on innovation-related aspects of AI, such as the deployment of AI Factories outside the EU and their connection to the network of EU AI Factories. Such cooperation will also include providing access to AI models and algorithms, in particular on projects relating to AI for the Public Good (e.g. tackling climate change and supporting clean transition, improving healthcare or agriculture).
This cooperation will also leverage EU public and commercial satellite data and services to enhance AI-driven solutions for global challenges, such as environmental monitoring and disaster response. Given the dual-use nature of some AI applications, the EU will continue to work on the role of Artificial Intelligence in the Common Foreign & Security Policy (CFSP) and Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), working with Member States to ensure that the EU’s CFSP and CSDP are able to profit from the technological advances of AI.
5G/6G: The EU is the global innovation leader in advanced connectivity, such as 5G and fixed network solutions. The objective to reach common standards for the next generation sustainable by design (6G) requires cooperation with like-minded countries, starting with research and innovation cooperation and standardization.
The main challenge is the development and choice of 6G technologies, notably Radio Access Network technologies, including integration of terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks. EU industry can lead 6G development in line with EU standards notably on cybersecurity, interoperability and compliance with legal access standards and will benefit from cooperation with countries having complementary strengths in the value chain, including microelectronics, devices, cloud or AI.
Semiconductors: Geopolitical uncertainty and the growing complexity of semiconductor supply chains demand a tailored, country-specific approach, ensuring that the EU partners with global leaders of the semiconductor ecosystem while safeguarding its own technological, economic and security interests. The EU will continue engaging with countries where collaboration in areas like pre-competitive research and development and supply chain resilience is mutually beneficial. In line with the Economic Security strategy40, the EU will also defend its economic security interests, including through bilateral, regional and multilateral engagement, encouraging information sharing to prevent supply chain disruptions, mitigating risks, and attracting global talents to address the skills gap in the European semiconductor ecosystem.
Quantum technologies: Advancing common standards and applications in quantum technologies demands robust international collaboration, particularly in research and innovation. The EU will strengthen ties with countries that offer complementary strengths in the quantum technology value chain, including computing, sensing, communication, post-quantum safe encryption, and related fields on a reciprocal basis. The EU remains attentive to the role of quantum technologies in the future security landscape and maintains regular contact with NATO and other relevant partners in the field. The EU will join forces with partner countries on concrete applications of quantum technologies in sectoral policies, for example, to develop new materials.
Examples of forthcoming actions in the field of emerging technologies:
- The EU will implement joint research and innovation projects in Quantum technologies with Japan, the Republic of Korea and Canada.
- As part of the EU-India Trade and Technology Council, the EU and India are working on developing a dedicated programme that will facilitate talent exchanges and foster semiconductor skills among students and young professionals.
- In the context of the EU-LAC Digital Alliance, the EU will establish a robust partnership to federate High Performance Computing resources in Latin America and the Caribbean and to enhance their interoperability and integration with the European HPC ecosystem.
- The EU will follow up on the commitments of the EU-African Union Ministerial Meeting (May 2025), to work together to develop regional innovation ecosystems, establishment of AI strategies and digital governance frameworks.
- The EU wil support the deployment of AI Factories in trusted partner countries, supporting them with developing their compute infrastructure while also securely connecting them to the EU and its AI Factories ecosystem.
- The EU will work with Member States to outline areas where Artificial Intelligence can support the implementation of the Common Foreign & Security Policy and Common Security and Defence Policy.
- The EU will continue to support defence innovation through the EU Defence Innovation Scheme (EUDIS) and will explore ways to enhance collaboration with Ukraine in this domain.
- The EU will, in close dialogue with trusted partners such as Norway and Ukraine, explore new ways for supporting synergies with the Hub for European Defence Innovation (HEDI).
Cybersecurity
In today’s hyper-connected world and evolving geopolitical landscape, cyber threats from state and non-state actors do not stop at the borders. A cyber-attack or incident in one country can cripple businesses and infrastructure worldwide, and our citizens and businesses rely on digital products and solutions from third countries. Strengthening cybersecurity and cyber defence, including the capacity to detect, prepare for and response to cybersecurity threats and incidents, and enhancing information sharing on cyber threats with international partners to improve response time and resilience, is a direct investment in the EU’s own security. Nowhere is this truer than in the EU’s neighbourhood, where the EU is fully committed to supporting enlargement countries to ramp up their cybersecurity and cyber defence capabilities.
The EU also has the tools to lead at a global scale on cybersecurity. With the Cyber Resilience Act41, the EU is setting a new standard for secure-by-design products. As countries worldwide seek to secure their supply chains, the EU’s expertise in product security offers a powerful foundation for international partnerships. In a similar vein, as the EU’s global partners are investing into securing their critical infrastructures, market opportunities arise in areas where the EU has strong European industrial leadership, such as cryptography and highly secure digital products.
With its strong impact on businesses and hospitals, ransomware remains a global scourge, one that no single country can combat alone. In line with the ProtectEU Strategy, the EU will push for stronger international cooperation to take down the infrastructure that ransom groups rely on, break their financial lifelines, ensure more efficient sanctions against perpetrators and facilitators, and bring the cybercriminals to justice.
As part of these efforts, the EU will also promote enhanced cyber resilience in sectors increasingly reliant on digital technologies, such as transport and smart mobility, where secure infrastructure, data and services are essential to ensure operational continuity and public trust.
Recent efforts have ensured that candidate countries that are associated to the Digital Europe Programme would be able to access the EU-level Cybersecurity Reserve established by the Cyber Solidarity Act42. In addition, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, ENISA, will continue cybersecurity cooperation with relevant third countries, including capacity building in candidate and Neighbourhood countries.
Examples of forthcoming actions in the field of cybersecurity: The EU will work with relevant partners to explore the potential for mutual recognition agreements regarding the Cyber Resilience Act and respective frameworks of the partners to facilitate compliance with product cybersecurity requirements. The EU will continue cooperating with partner countries to enhance global cyber resilience and contribute to a free, open, safe and secure cyberspace.
Firmly anchored in the Global Gateway strategy, cybersecurity and cyber capacity-building support will focus on securing critical infrastructures and strengthening cyber ecosystems, including through the development and implementation of relevant regulatory and policy frameworks, as well as cyber hygiene and literacy.
At the UN and within regional security bodies, the EU will continue to promote responsible state behaviour in cyberspace, based on the UN General Assembly-endorsed framework. This includes upholding international law, adhering to globally accepted norms of state conduct in peacetime, developing confidence-building measures, and supporting states in building the capacity to implement these framework elements. The EU will reinforce its attribution of cyber-attacks to malicious actors, including state-based actors, and continue to develop the associated sanctions mechanisms.
Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI)
Together with its partners, the EU will also better protect citizens from Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) campaigns or other societal risks stemming from online platforms. To do so, ensuring algorithmic transparency in how content is recommended and moderated is essential to enhance accountability and public trust.
This is also relevant for candidates, potential candidates and neighbourhood countries, in view of their specific vulnerabilities to disinformation and foreign interference and will in turn allow to strengthen our mutual resilience, including democratic resilience.
Examples of forthcoming actions in the field of FIMI: Following an expansion of its work on attributing cyber-attacks to defined actors, the EU will expand the attribution of incidents of FIMI.
Digital identities and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)
The EU’s experience in developing open-source digital identity wallets and secure and data protection compliant Digital Public Infrastructure offers significant value beyond EU borders. International cooperation and mutual recognition arrangements with key partners can simplify cross-border business for companies and facilitate citizens’ mobility. The EU will notably continue to pursue cooperation with third countries (such as Ukraine, Moldova, the Western Balkans, Japan, India, Egypt) to achieve seamless cross-border usage of trust services. It will also promote the European Interoperability Framework43 to help partner countries with fostering administrative modernisation and cross-border digital integration, including aligning with EU standards and practices. The EU will continue to promote the use of common specifications and open standards to ensure interoperability, transparency, and reuse.44
Examples of forthcoming actions in the field of secure Digital Public Infrastructure: The EU will support the development of trust services and digital identity solutions (based on the EU Digital Identity Wallet specifications), putting them at the core of an interoperable and scalable suite of digital building blocks and solutions, including open source ones, to support the digital transformation of public administrations and businesses of partner countries.
The EU will also continue its work with Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans, to prepare for their gradual integration with the EU Digital Identity Wallet. The EU will be cooperating with countries such as India, Egypt, Uruguay and Brazil in the area of e-signatures and DPI interoperability, with the view of creating benefits for businesses and citizens both in the EU and in partner countries. The EU will support an interoperability-by-default approach, based on the European Interoperability Framework, to facilitate seamless exchange of data across borders.
The EU will continue to work with key international partners (Japan, India, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia) to promote the EU model for eInvoicing, based on the European eInvoicing standard and interoperable technical specifications.
Online platforms
The EU’s Digital Services Act45 protects democracy, free speech, privacy, the safety and security of children online, and provides a secure framework for the sale of legally compliant goods. The Digital Markets Act46 and EU competition policy promote the contestability of digital markets, a level playing field and fair competition between digital players. These acts complement the protection provided in the digital environment by the GDPR47 and consumer protection laws.
The protection and empowerment of minors online is a global priority. Under the Digital Services Act, all online platforms have to ensure a high level of privacy, safety, and security of minors, on their service. In addition, the largest online platforms must annually assess and mitigate any systemic risks that their services pose – including for the respect of the rights of the child and the protection of minors more generally. The Digital Services Act is supported and complemented by the Better Internet for Kids Strategy (BIK+). In particular, the EU cofunds the network of hotlines in Member States to tackle the dissemination of child sexual abuse material online. Global cooperation is ensured via the INHOPE network with 55 hotlines operating worldwide.
Strong and consistent consumer protection across online marketplaces is another priority the EU shares with many of its international partners and a key issue addressed by the Digital Services Act, as well as consumer protection and product safety frameworks. Under the Digital Services Act all online marketplaces are required to meet strong standards for safety, transparency and accountability to ensure that illegal and unsafe products cannot be sold to EU consumers through their services. The 2025 Communication on e-commerce48 complements this by setting out new actions to address challenges linked to the surge of unsafe, counterfeit and otherwise illicit products sold through online platforms. The EU will prioritise cooperation with partner countries and in multilateral fora to find joint solutions to common risks to consumer safety stemming from online marketplaces.
Examples of forthcoming actions in the field of online platforms:
The EU will continue to promote its regulatory approach and its underlying principles bilaterally and multilaterally and share its experience in implementing them.The EU will organise regional events with international organisations, third-country legislators, regulators and civil society to promote freedom of expression and safety online.
5. Global digital governance
To advance its goals in the digital domain, the EU will continue to pursue a multilateral and multi-stakeholder approach and ensure meaningful participation of relevant stakeholders, including civil society, academia and the private sector, building on the strong existing ties with partner countries.
The EU’s Digital Partnerships and Dialogues allow for coordination ahead of discussion in multilateral and regional fora, building strong coalitions in pursuit of shared objectives in key international fora and organisations, such as the United Nations, G7, G20, OECD and the Council of Europe, as well as global Internet Governance institutions. In particular, with G7 partners, the EU will continue to promote the development and uptake of Economic Security Standards – including when relevant for digital technologies – taking into account various criteria such as transparency, diversification of supply, security, sustainability, trustworthiness and reliability.
The Global Digital Compact (GDC) of the United Nations was adopted by consensus as the first comprehensive framework for global digital governance. It sets out the objectives, principles, commitments and actions to develop an open, free and secure digital future for all. The EU will remain actively involved in the GDC implementation work to defend its achievements, while ensuring non-duplication of efforts and maximizing synergies with the existing global digital architecture, including the Internet Governance framework.
In addition to these processes, the EU will focus on standardisation as a key tool to advance its goals. The EU has strengths to rely on, including a strong research and innovation base, world-leading tech companies and many innovative SMEs and start-ups that need to be encouraged to take part in international standards setting. By leveraging on the EU standardisation system to increase its influence in international standards setting for key digital technologies, the EU aims to strengthen the competitiveness of its industry, foster digital and tech sovereignty, and protect and promote its fundamental values and interests while pursuing international cooperation in standard setting. The EU acknowledges the important role of the ITU in the context of global standardisation.
The EU will also continue to defend a rules-based, equitable allocation of radiofrequencies under the global framework of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), acknowledging that the radio spectrum is a scarce natural resource that underpins all wireless digital applications.
Multilateral cooperation is also crucial to address the digital aspects of other sectors, including the energy sector, due to the rapidly increasing energy demand of AI. The EU is engaged in international energy initiatives, like the Clean Energy Ministerial, which develop collaborative approaches to meet these challenges.
As digital technologies continue to evolve rapidly, global Internet Governance must adapt to new geopolitical challenges, such as fragmentation risks, increased misuse of digital tools for practices such as Internet shutdowns and censorship and widening digital divides. Moreover, the transition towards Web 4.0 – driven by core technologies like artificial intelligence, extended and virtual reality, blockchain, and quantum computing – introduces new governance complexities that require updated, effective, and inclusive multi-stakeholder frameworks. The EU will continue to shape the inclusive multi-stakeholder approach to Internet Governance and is committed continuously to improve its effectiveness, opposing initiatives for state-controlled Internet architectures that could fragment and undermine the openness and security that have characterised the Internet since the Tunis Agenda.49
The EU will continue to proactively defend the general availability and integrity of the Internet as a global, interoperable network of networks, reflecting the importance of the multi stakeholder model of internet governance, for example in the upcoming editions of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and World Summit on the Information Society 20-year review (WSIS+20) negotiations. The EU acknowledges the central role of ICANN in managing the foundations of the Internet architecture.
Examples of forthcoming actions in the field of global digital governance:
- The EU will work to ensure proper follow-up and review of the implementation of the Global Digital Compact (GDC) commitments.
- The EU will work as Team Europe to ensure a suitable outcome to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+20) Review negotiations.
- The EU will support an international extension and broadening of the Open Internet Stack, referring to the foundational structure of protocols that enable communication and information sharing on the Internet, to address the needs of partner countries, including enhancing trust and security.
6. A competitive and secure Europe, open for business, connected to the world
In a volatile world, the EU is a consistent, predictable and reliable partner. In the context of complex tech value chains, no country or region can advance on the digital and AI revolution alone. The EU’s internal and external efforts on digital policy are closely intertwined and mutually-reinforcing. That is why the EU is not only boosting its own digital sector, from AI Factories to defence tech, but is also concluding substantial partnerships that bring visible benefits for the EU’s citizens and businesses and for our partners.
As a champion of multilateral solutions to global challenges, the EU is a steadfast supporter of the UN, G7, G20, OECD and other bodies that enable us to tackle together the defining challenges of our time.
The EU is ready to join forces for new, deeper, and flexible forms of cooperation, nurturing mutually beneficial partnerships, to reinforce Europe’s competitiveness and security. The EU will continue to engage constructively based on respect for the international rules-based order.
Annexe: Ongoing and planned activities
Security connectivity
| Objective | Description | Partner country / Region / Multilateral | Indicative Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Support to Arctic connectivity | Arctic connectivity is of strategic importance for the EU. It will help reduce data latency and facilitate trusted data flows between the EU, Greenland, Canada, the US and Japan, providing an alternative cable route and enhancing cable security and resilience between the EU and its partners. The EU will work with its partners to boost support for projects that advance new submarine cable routes in the region, by making use of the Connecting Europe Facility to catalyse public and private investments. | Japan, US, Canada, Greenland | 2025-2030 |
| Promote secure connectivity in enlargement countries | Promote the alignment with the EU 5G Cybersecurity Toolbox and support to adopting a legislative framework that would allow for and lead to imposing exclusions and/or restrictions on high-risk suppliers. | Enlargement countries | Continuous |
| Promote secure connectivity in Global Gateway partner countries | Promote secure and trusted connectivity, including 5G, submarine cable and space connectivity, in line with the EU 5G Cybersecurity Toolbox and the 2025 EU Action Plan on Cable Security, through diplomatic outreach, technical assistance and financial support under the Global Gateway. | Global | Continuous |
| National and regional 5G implementation guidelines and development of the LAC Connectivity Toolbox | These guidelines will address security, infrastructure challenges, and priority use cases in various Latin America and Caribbean national contexts. Another key focus will be the development of the LAC Connectivity Toolbox, which shall provide practical tools, best practices, and guidance for addressing cross-border connectivity, secure and resilient infrastructure, and meaningful connectivity challenges. This includes co-developing actionable recommendations, providing technical support, and fostering bi-regional coordination for 5G deployment. | Latin America andCaribbean countries | Ongoing under the EU-LACDigital Alliance – until Q4 2027 |
| Annual conference on secure connectivity | Possibly establish an annual conference on secure connectivity, hosted in Brussels, to deepen technical contacts and understanding on opportunities and security requirements for future routes, partnerships, and financing, feeding into the Global Gateway process. | Global | Annual |
Artificial intelligence
| Objective | Description | Partner country / Region / Multilateral | Indicative Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooperation on AI safety | The EU AI Office has signed an administrative arrangement on cooperation on AI safety with Singapore, and bilateral exchanges have started with other AI Safety Institutes – Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom and Australia. Cooperation arrangements with partner countries, to be pursued further e.g. including topics such as boosting innovation and AI uptake and cooperation on AI for public good (Japan), AI safety (India and Canada) and governance and regulatory aspects (Australia). The EU AI Office will continue to deepen the cooperation on AI safety in the Network of AI Safety Institutes, in particular, addressing the safety of general purpose AI models through information exchanges and best practices, joint testing and evaluations, development of tools and benchmarks, as well as research into AI safety. | Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, Australia, Canada, the US, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Moldova Western Balkans, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean | Continuous |
| Global Partnership on AI and OECD | The EU is a founding member of the Global Partnership on AI and continues to engage in this initiative after it formed an integrated partnership with the OECD Working Party on Artificial Intelligence Governance (AIGO). The AI Office holds one of the Vice-Chair posts in the OECD AIGO. In addition, the AI Office is involved in all the AI-related working groups of the OECD and actively contributing to this work. | Multilateral | Continuous |
| G7 and G20 | The EU will continue to engage actively in the AI discussions in G7 and G20. This includes the Hiroshima AI Process and its reporting framework as well as the Hiroshima Friends Group, a voluntary framework of countries supporting the spirit of the Hiroshima AI Process towards achieving safe, secure and trustworthy AI. Moreover, the EU will continue to explore the possibility of G7 guidelines on AI in Science. One of the G20 South African Presidency priorities is Artificial Intelligence and Innovation for Sustainable Development, which is a priority in Africa, Asia and LAC countries | Multilateral | Continuous |
| Clean Energy Ministerial | The Republic of Korea, host of the 16th Clean Energy Ministerial meeting 2025, made “AI & Energy” one of its priority themes. The EC will actively engage with the ministerial programme and explore international collaboration in the field of digitalisation and AI in the energy sector. | Multilateral | Continuous |
| Research cooperation under Horizon Europe | The association of a number of non-EU partner countries to Horizon Europe will support research cooperation in AI and AI-based applied research. | Associated Countries to Horizon Europe | Continuous |
| AI for Public Good | As part of the AI for the Public Good initiative, the EU supports the deployment of AI solutions for the public good, including Generative AI, technology transfer and capacity building, with partner countries in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean (building on EU-LAC Alliance). The EU also supports scientific cooperation and development of AI-based Local Digital Twins underpinning urban reconstruction in Ukraine. | Africa, Latin-America and Caribbean, Asia-Pacific Ukraine | Continuous |
| AI Hub for Sustainable Development and AI collaboration with Smart Africa | The AI Hub for Sustainable Development is co-designed by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT) and the UNDP, aiming at strengthening local AI ecosystems in partnership with African countries. Smart Africa has launched the Africa AI Council and the EU is structuring its collaboration with Smart Africa under the Global Gateway strategy, building on the administrative arrangement between the European Commission and Smart Africa and following a Team Europe approach. | Africa | Continuous |
| GovTech4all | Development and piloting of AI solutions in the public sector for enhancing decision making, service delivery and internal administrative tasks. The goal is to support and accompany the goals of the Interoperable Europe Act, as well as wider policy goals of public sector innovation and start-up growth in Europe. | EU and EU candidate and potential candidate countries | Q4 2025/2026 |
5G/6G
| Objective | Description | Partner country / Region / Multilateral | Indicative Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6G research and innovation aligned 2026 call | Research and innovation cooperation on 6G AI-powered RAN. One project from Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking mirrors one project from Japan and the Republic of Korea. | Japan and the Republic of Korea | Project running 2027-2030 |
| 6G research and innovation aligned call | 6G research and innovation cooperation focused on physical layers, advanced antennas and AI RAN. | Taiwan | Potential aligned call in 2026 or cooperation between existing projects |
| 5G testbed | To support the development of 5G use cases, the EU is partnering with Costa Rica on a 5G testbed, with Nokia and Ericsson expected to provide the equipment. | Costa Rica | Continuous |
Semiconductors
| Objective | Description | Partner country / Region / Multilateral | Indicative Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joint research and innovation projects in the field of semiconductors | Research and innovation projects in semiconductors, jointly funded by the European Commission and Japan and the Republic of Korea. With the Republic of Korea, projects aim at advancing heterogeneous integration of chips as well as neuromorphic computing technologies. With Japan, calls are planned for 2026 on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) replacement, heterogeneous integration and chiplets, and devices and processes beyond 2 nanometres. | Japan, Republic of Korea | Continuous |
| Early warning mechanism on supply chain & public subsidies | Joint early warning mechanism, between the European Commission and the US and Japan respectively, aimed at identifying supply chain disruptions, and transparency mechanism on public subsidies provided to the semiconductor sector. | US, Japan | Continuous |
| Joint early warning mechanism, between the European Commission and the US and Japan respectively, aimed at identifying supply chain disruptions, and transparency mechanism on public subsidies provided to the semiconductor sector. | As part of the EU-India Trade and Technology Council, EU and India committed to developing a dedicated programme that will facilitate talent exchanges and foster semiconductor skills among students and young professionals. | India | Continuous |
| G7 semiconductor Point of Contact group | The G7 Point of Contact (PoC) group on semiconductors is dedicated to facilitating information exchange and sharing best practises among G7 members, on issues impacting the semiconductor industry, including pre-competitive industrial research & development priorities, sustainable manufacturing, the effect of non-market policies and practices, and crisis coordination channels. | Multilateral | Continuous |
| World Semiconductor Council – Government / Authorities Meeting on Semiconductors (GAMS) | The Government/Authorities Meeting on Semiconductor (GAMS) has a unique setting where Governments and Industry Associations representing together 95% of world’s semiconductors production (EU, US, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and China), meet to respond to common challenges facing the industry. The European Commission is representing the EU. | Multilateral | Continuous |
Quantum and High-Performance Computing
| Objective | Description | Partner country / Region / Multilateral | Indicative Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joint research and innovation projects in the field of semiconductors | Research and innovation projects in semiconductors, jointly funded by the European Commission and Japan and the Republic of Korea. With the Republic of Korea, projects aim at advancing heterogeneous integration of chips as well as neuromorphic computing technologies. With Japan, calls are planned for 2026 on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) replacement, heterogeneous integration and chiplets, and devices and processes beyond 2 nanometres. | Japan, Republic of Korea | Continuous |
| Early warning mechanism on supply chain & public subsidies | Joint early warning mechanism, between the European Commission and the US and Japan respectively, aimed at identifying supply chain disruptions, and transparency mechanism on public subsidies provided to the semiconductor sector. | US, Japan | Continuous |
| Joint early warning mechanism, between the European Commission and the US and Japan respectively, aimed at identifying supply chain disruptions, and transparency mechanism on public subsidies provided to the semiconductor sector. | As part of the EU-India Trade and Technology Council, EU and India committed to developing a dedicated programme that will facilitate talent exchanges and foster semiconductor skills among students and young professionals. | India | Continuous |
| G7 semiconductor Point of Contact group | The G7 Point of Contact (PoC) group on semiconductors is dedicated to facilitating information exchange and sharing best practises among G7 members, on issues impacting the semiconductor industry, including pre-competitive industrial research & development priorities, sustainable manufacturing, the effect of non-market policies and practices, and crisis coordination channels. | Multilateral | Continuous |
| World Semiconductor Council – Government / Authorities Meeting on Semiconductors (GAMS) | The Government/Authorities Meeting on Semiconductor (GAMS) has a unique setting where Governments and Industry Associations representing together 95% of world’s semiconductors production (EU, US, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and China), meet to respond to common challenges facing the industry. The European Commission is representing the EU. | Multilateral | Continuous |
Cybersecurity
| Objective | Description | Partner country / Region / Multilateral | Indicative Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advance cyber dialogues with partner countries | The EU has Cyber Dialogues with the US, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Japan, India, the Republic of Korea and Brazil. Cybersecurity is also discussed in the Digital Partnerships with Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Canada and the Digital Dialogues with Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Australia and the Western Balkans. | US, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Japan, India, Republic of Korea, Brazil, Singapore, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Australia, Moldova, Western Balkans | Continuous |
| Mutual recognition agreements (MRA)regarding product cybersecurity | The Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) sets out requirements for the cybersecurity of products with digital elements in the internal market. The EU will work with relevant partners to explore the potential for mutual recognition agreements regarding the CRA and respective frameworks of the partners to facilitate compliance with product cybersecurity requirements. | Bilateral discussions | By the time ofCRA application (end 2027) |
| Extension of the EU’s Cyber-Reserve to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova | Amendments to the Association Agreements related to the participation of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova in the Digital Europe programme will pave the way for extending the EU’s Cyber-Reserve to both countries. | Enlargement countries | Continuous |
| Engagement in the G7 Cybersecurity Working Group | The Commission represents the EU in the G7 Cybersecurity Working Group. Among other topics, the Commission will pursue cooperation on healthcare cybersecurity, in line with the European action plan on the cybersecurity of hospitals and healthcare providers (COM(2025) 10 final). | Multilateral | Continuous |
| Advancing the UN Framework of Responsible | At the UN and within regional security bodies, the EU will continue to promote responsible state behaviour in cyberspace, based on the UN General Assembly endorsed framework. This includes upholding international law, adhering to globally | Multilateral | Continuous |
| State Behaviour in Cyberspace | accepted norms of state conduct in peacetime, developing confidence-building measures, and supporting states in building the capacity to implement these framework elements. | | |
| The EU is carrying out external cyber capacity-building projects with partner countries across the world. The EU will continue these initiatives by prioritising activities addressing cybercrime and building cyber resilience, including support for building strategic frameworks, developing incident management capabilities and enhancing expertise through training. | The Commission represents the EU in the International Counter Ransomware Initiative (CRI). The EU will continue its active participation in CRI. Moreover, the European action plan on the cybersecurity of hospitals and healthcare providers commits to advancing cooperation in the CRI. | Multilateral | Continuous |
| Cyber capacity-building | LAC4 is the regional hub for cybersecurity education and training in Latin America and the Caribbean. LAC4’s objective is to provide cybersecurity and cybercrime expertise to support digital transformation and collaboration in Latin America and the Caribbean to counter cyber threats. | Global | Continuous |
| LAC4 | LAC4 is the regional hub for cybersecurity education and training in Latin America and the Caribbean. LAC4’s objective is to provide cybersecurity and cybercrime expertise to support digital transformation and collaboration in Latin American and Caribbean to counter cyber threats. | Latin America and the Caribbean | Continuous |
| EU-LAC Cybersecurity Community of Practice (CoP) | Under the EU-LAC Digital Alliance, a Community of Practice (CoP) of cybersecurity experts and practitioners will be established to encourage the exchange of best practices on cybersecurity between both regions. Future activities may include institutionalising mechanisms to swiftly mobilise cybersecurity experts in case of cyber-attacks and emergencies and capacity-building. | Latin America and the Caribbean | Continuous (until Q4 2027) |
Digital identities and digital public infrastructure
| Objective | Description | Partner country / Region / Multilateral | Indicative Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mutual recognition of electronic signatures and other trust services | Advance towards mutual recognition of electronic signatures and other trust services with third countries in order to create a global trust framework. This includes developing a set of tools and services implementing trust anchors for the global recognition of trust services and digital identities, and dropping digital barriers by reusing and replicating the European Trust Services infrastructure in their territory. | Ukraine, Moldova, Western Balkans, Egypt, India, Brazil, Japan, Uruguay, members of the Central America Integration System (SICA); (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama) | Continuous(2025-2027) |
| Prepare onboarding of digital public services in the scope of the Single Digital Gateway | Promote cooperation on Digital Public Infrastructures by supporting the creation of a scalable suite of open-source digital building blocks and solutions around EU wallets. In addition, demonstrate interoperability between the EU eID Wallet and similar initiatives in third countries on the basis of practical use-cases. | Japan, India, SingaporeMultilateral | Continuous(2025-2027) |
| Cooperate with EU accession countries to prepare onboarding and development of interoperable solutions for online administrative procedures and the Once-Only Technical System in the scope of the Single Digital Gateway. Those services facilitate access of business and citizens to do business, work and live in EU countries. | Cooperate with EU accession countries to prepare onboarding and development of interoperable solutions for online administrative procedures and the Once-Only Technical System in the scope of the Single Digital Gateway. Those services facilitate access for businesses and citizens to do business, work and live in EU countries. | Western Balkans, Moldova, Ukraine | Continuous(2025-2030) |
| Standardisation of digital identity solutions | The Architecture and Reference Framework for the European Digital Identity Wallets aims to set a global example for trusted and secure identification at a high level of assurance. Cooperation between the EU and like-minded countries on the development of common identity standards on the basis of the EU model shall be pursued, including in international organisations. | Japan, India, CanadaMultilateral | Continuous(2025-2030) |
| Global Digital Health Certification Network (GDHCN) | The Global Digital Health Certification Network is an initiative aimed at creating a standardised, interoperable framework for digital health credentials and certifications. This network, created by the European Commission to fight against COVID-19 and later on taken up by WHO is intended to facilitate the secure and efficient exchange of health-related information across borders (e.g. COVID-19 certificates, Digital International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis/Yellow Booklet, Vaccination Card, International Patient Summary), promoting global health security and improving healthcare delivery. | Global | Continuous(2025-2028) |
Online platforms and the integrity of the information ecosystem
| Objective | Description | Partner country / Region / Multilateral | Indicative Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| DSA/DMA alignment support for EU accession countries | Support alignment of EU accession countries with EU DSA and DMA. | Moldova, Ukraine, Western Balkans | Continuous(2025-2027) |
| Regional human rights-based implementation of online platform laws | Raise EU key concerns (closed market for digital services, illegal goods on Chinese marketplaces) and possible areas of closer cooperation (data sharing on illegal Chinese sellers), in line with the EU-China Administrative Arrangement on product safety cooperation and an Action Plan on Safety of Products Sold Online. | China | Continuous(2025-2027) |
| Global human rights-based implementation of online platform laws | Promote universal principles underpinning the DSA and DMA in global instruments (including OHCHR guidance on UN Cybercrime Convention). | UN, OHCHR, UNESCO, OECD | Continuous(2025-2027) |
| ASEAN, LAC, and countries under the CEFTA | Prioritise regional engagement on human rights-based implementation of online platform laws, organised in cooperation with the UN (where possible), to bring together policymakers, regulators and civil society. | ASEAN, LAC, countries under the CEFTA | Continuous(2025-2027) |
| EU election observation missions (EOM) social media observation | EU EOMs integrate observation and of social media behaviour during electoral processes in their overall assessment of electoral integrity. | Global | Continuous |
| Advance partnerships to bolster resilience against FIMI | Promote resilience and technological awareness on FIMI attacks; expose and increase costs to perpetrators. | Global | Continuous |
Internet governance
| Objective | Description | Partner country / Region / Multilateral | Indicative Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work towards an Open, Free and Sustainable Internet | In the negotiations for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+20) Review, the EU aims at enhancing inclusivity, notably from partner countries and youth communities. This includes upholding an open, human-centric Internet based on human rights, enhance multi-stakeholder Governance, and bridge the new digital divides by establishing an operational connection with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Global Digital Compact (GDC).The EU will also engage youth in shaping the future of Internet Governance by integrating their perspective into the forthcoming annual Youth Policy Dialogue on digital, fostering informed participation, strengthening digital civic responsibility, and equipping young leaders with the tools to uphold an open, secure, and inclusive Internet. | Multilateral | Q4 2025 |
| Work towards an Open, Free and SustainableInternet | The EU will support accountability, comprehensive monitoring and promotion of internet freedom worldwide while strengthening the openness and sustainability of the internet infrastructure and empowering civil society organisations (CSOs) to hold their own governments accountable. This includes addressing internet shutdowns via diplomatic channels and promote policies that maintain an open and interconnected internet. | Global | Continuous |
| Improving the security, resilience and openness of the Internet | Implement a multi-stakeholder strategy for the comprehensive deployment of Internet standards across the EU Internet infrastructure.Charting the EU Influence in Web 4.0: Conduct an extensive mapping of potential EU contributions to improved or new networking protocols and solutions required and enabled by impacts of core technologies like AI, extended reality (XR) / virtual reality (VR), blockchain, and quantum computing that are currently shaping the Web 4.0. | Global | 2026-2030 |
| Promote the Open Internet Stack | The EU will support an international extension and broadening of the Open Internet Stack, referring to the foundational structure of protocols that enable communication and information sharing on the internet, to address the needs of partner countries, including enhancing trust, reducing costs, avoiding vendor lock-in, supporting customizability and integration, and upholding values such as privacy, security, and data protection. | Global | Continuous |
References
1 See the Conclusions of the European Council, 17th April 2024: “The European Council also highlights the need to strengthen the EU’s leadership in global digital affairs and invites the Commission and the High Representative to prepare a joint communication on the subject” (p. 10)
2 The future of European competitiveness: Report by Mario Draghi (2024)
3 Communication on ProtectEU: a European Internal Security Strategy, COM(2025) 148
4 Communication on a Competitiveness Compass for the EU, COM(2025) 30 final
5 See source WTO
6 COM(2025) 217 of 28/05/2025 – ‘EU startup and scale-up Strategy’
7 See the full Digital Decade Policy Programme
8 As outlined in the Communication on the Union of Skills COM(2025) 90 final
9 As outlined by the Foreign Affairs Council Conclusions on Digital Diplomacy in June 2023 10 The Protect EU Strategy ((COM)2025 148), Joint White Paper for European Defence Readiness 2030, Preparedness Union Strategy (JOIN(2025) 130), Strategic Compass (7371/22)
11 For example: Europol
12 With the U.S. and India
13 With Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Canada
14 With Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Australia and the Western Balkans
15 India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Brazil, United States, Ukraine and the United Kingdom 16 With partners such as Tunisia, Egypt or Jordan
17 Nineteen countries are currently associated to Horizon Europe – listed here. In addition, Switzerland, the Republic of Korea and Egypt are expected to become associated in 2025, whereas association negotiations are progressing with Japan
18 Countries associated to DEP are listed here
19 Communication new Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, COM(2023) 691
20 See more information on the Growth Facility for Moldova
21 Ukraine Facility – European Commission
22 For example, following the transposition of the relevant EU acquis, Ukraine and Moldova are on their path to be granted mutual internal market treatment for roaming
23 Free Trade Agreements with comprehensive digital trade chapters have been concluded with the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Chile, and are ongoing with India, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia
24 Signature of the EU-Singapore Digital Trade Agreement took place on 7 May 2025. Negotiations for the Digital Trade Agreement with Korea were concluded March 2025. Rules on cross-border data flows with Japan, complementing the EU-Japan Free Trade Agreement, entered into force in July 2024.
25 https://international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu/policies/global-gateway/eu-latin-america-and-caribbean digital-alliance_en
26 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/eu-and-africa-strengthen-cooperation-digital-transformation 27 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/pl/ip_22_6963
28 Since 2022 the EU has launched Digital Economy Packages in Nigeria, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and the Philippines.
29 https://commission.europa.eu/topics/eu-competitiveness/clean-industrial-deal_en
30 The EU has secured such partnerships with the United Kingdom, Norway, Moldova, South Korea, Japan, Albania and North Macedonia.
31 Including through the Global Gateway Business Advisory Group
32 The Digital for Development (D4D) Hub is a platform that aims to strengthen digital cooperation and coordination between the European Union and its Member States and partners in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and EU neighbouring countries.
33 The EU4Digital umbrella initiative pools together EU-funded programmes aimed at extending the benefits of the Digital Single Market to the Eastern Partnership countries and to the Western Balkans. 34 Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Colombia, Brazil.
35 Cybersecurity of 5G networks – EU Toolbox of risk mitigating measures
36 Joint Communication on EU Action Plan on Cable Security, JOIN(2025) 9 final
37 In line with the Commission Recommendation on Secure and Resilient Submarine Cable Infrastructures, C (2024) 1181, and the Joint Communication to strengthen the security and resilience of submarine cables, JOIN(2025) 9.
38 Communication on an AI Action Plan, COM(2025)165
39 Choose Europe: advance your research career in the EU
40 Communication on a European Economic Security Strategy, COM(2023) 20 final
41 Regulation (EU)2024 2847
42 Regulation (EU)2021 694
43 Part of the Communication on a European Interoperability Framework – Implementation Strategy, COM(2017) 134
44 A relevant example is the Data Catalogue Vocabulary Application Profile, which has become a de facto standard, which facilitates harmonised metadata descriptions and seamless data sharing across borders. 45 Regulation (EU)2022 2065 and amending Directive(2000) 31 EC (Digital Services Act) (OJ L 277, 27.10.2022).
46 Regulation (EU)2020 1828
47 Regulation (EU) 2016/679
48 A comprehensive EU toolbox for safe and sustainable e-commerce, COM(2025) 37 final
49 Tunis agenda for the Information Society, 18 November 2005
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