The digital economy in the EU [What Think Tanks are thinking]

Written by Marcin Grajewski,

The digital revolution is reshaping the European Union’s economy, from financial services and telecoms to creative industries and the way workers are employed. While posing certain threats, such as cyber-attacks, new technologies offer vast opportunities, provided that people acquire the right skill-sets to underpin their use.

Seeking to tap the full potential of digitalisation, the European Commission is pushing ahead with its Digital Single Market Strategy. On 10 May, it presented a mid-term review of this strategy, calling for swift approval of proposals already presented and outlining further actions on online platforms, the data economy and cybersecurity.

This note offers links to recent studies and reports from major international think tanks and research institutes on problems and opportunities relating to digitalisation. More studies in innovation in the EU can be found in a previous edition of ‘What Think Tanks are Thinking’, published in July 2016.

Digital technologies can be a 21st-century game-changer for women
Friends of Europe, May 2017

Building an effective European cyber shield
European Political Strategy Centre, May 2017

Europe’s digital power: From geo-economics to cybersecurity
European Council on Foreign Relations, April 2017

From start-up to scale-up: Examining public policies for the financing of high-growth ventures
Bruegel, April 2017

Digital infrastructure: Overcoming the digital divide in emerging economies
Centre for European Policy Studies, April 2017

Digital health ecosystems: A radical shift to drive health innovation across Europe
Friends of Europe, April 2017

Social networks and populism in the EU: A comparative study
Jacques Delors Institute Berlin, April 2017

Reforming e-Communications services: A critical assessment
Centre for European Policy Studies, March 2017

Franco-German axis to drive digital growth and integration
Institut Jacques Delors, March 2017

Reskilling for the fourth industrial revolution: Formulating a European strategy
Jacques Delors Institut, March 2017

Vers la providence 4.0? L’entrée dans le numérique de l’Etat-providence, dans les domaines du travail, de la santé et de l’innovation comparatif européen
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, March 2017

The creative economy in Europe: Why human beings remain the economy’s key asset
Lisbon Council, March 2017

High expectations for 5G confront practical realities
Bruegel, March 2017

Adapting diplomacy to the digital age: Managing the organisational culture of Ministries of Foreign Affairs
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, March 2017

Europe’s telecoms reform fails to fly
Centre for European Policy Studies, March 2017

Big data and first-degree price discrimination
Bruegel, February 2017

Digitales Lernen: Möglichkeiten und Grenzen einer Digitalisierung im Bildungsbereich
Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, February 2017

Policy towards competition in high-speed broadband in Europe
Centre on Regulation in Europe, February 2017

The future of retail financial services: What policy mix for a balanced digital transformation?
Centre for European Policy Studies, February 2017

Making the best of the European single market
Bruegel, February 2017

Enter the data economy
European Political Strategy Centre, January 2017

European leadership in 5G
Centre for European Policy Studies, January 2017

Governing cyberspace: A roadmap for transatlantic leadership
Carnegie Europe, January 2017

Cyberspace and the world order
Carnegie Europe, January 2017

Demand for digital skills in the US labour market: The IT skills pyramid
Centre for European Policy Studies, January 2017

Open Data: Wertschöpfung im digitalen Zeitalter
Bertelsmann Stiftung, January 2017

New Space: L’impact de la révolution numérique sur les acteurs et les politiques spatiales en Europe
Institut français des relations internationales, January 2017

China 4.0: Reaktionen in Partei und Gesellschaft auf die digitale Transformation
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, January 2017

Crowd work in Europe
Fondation Européenne d’Etudes Progressistes, December 2016

Technology disruptions as enablers of organizational and social innovation in the digitalized environment
Research Institute of the Finnish Economy, December 2016

Digital citizens: Countering extremism online
Demos, December 2016

Unleashing internal data flows in the EU: An economic assessment of data localisation measures in the EU member states
European Centre for International Political Economy, December 2016

Digital revolution and illegal trade: Is Europe on the leading edge?
Fondation Robert Schuman, November 2016

EUnited against crime: Improving criminal justice in European Union cyberspace
Institute Affari Internazionali, November 2016

Into the clouds: European SMEs and the digital age
Atlantic Council, October 2016

The EU’s response to the OBOR should be the digital silk road
Friends of Europe, October 2016

The way forward: UK digital policies and Brexit
European Council on Foreign Relations, October 2016

Does state aid for broadband deployment in rural areas close the digital and economic divide?
Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung, October 2016

New network neutrality rules in Europe: Comparisons to those in the U.S.
Bruegel, September 2016

Telecoms Investment in focus: 3 Steps to Create a broadband infrastructure for a digital Europe
Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, September 2016

Search engines, big data and network effects
Bruegel, September 2016

Combating consumer discrimination in the Digital Single Market: Preventing geo-blocking and other forms of geo-discrimination
Centre for European Policy Studies, September 2016

The digital economy and the single market
Fondation Européenne d’Etudes Progressistes, July 2016

The economic impacts of telecommunications networks and broadband internet: A survey
Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung, July 2016

Connected continent for a future-proof Europe ensuring affordable, fast and reliable internet access for a thriving digital ecosystem
European Political Strategy Centre, July 2016

The digital silk road will be the road of 5G
Friends of Europe, July 2016

Financial services in the digital age: How strengthened digital identity will open markets, drive innovation and deliver growth
Lisbon Council, June 2016

Read this briefing on ‘The digital economy in the EU‘ in PDF.