Through the Digital Decade Report 2024, the EU highlights Spain's ambition, with the country taking a leading role in areas such as connectivity, the use of AI in business and[...]

This represents a collective effort to build a competitive, sovereign and resilient EU based on technological leadership, empowering people, structuring the territory and harnessing digital transformation for a smart green transition.

In this context, Spain is excelling in connectivity with coverage well above the European average through high-capacity fixed networks and 5G. Specifically, 95.2% of the population already have fibre coverage compared to 64%, which is the European average. This difference demonstrates the Government of Spain's determined investment of over 1 billion euros since 2018 to achieve this objective. Furthermore, 92% of the Spanish population already have 5G mobile coverage compared to 89%, which is the European average. In fact, the Government of Spain has just invested another 1 billion euros to provide 5G coverage to 2 million residents of towns with less than 10,000 inhabitants. The report highlights investment in semiconductors, deployment of proximity nodes and quantum technologies (one such example is the boost to the MareNostrum5 supercomputer, recently revalidated with the publication of the Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2024).

The business outlook also places the country in a very strong position, as the level of SMEs' digitisation is above the EU average, with 61% of SMEs reaching at least a basic level in 2023, compared to 58% in Europe. Special mention should be made of the Kit Digital programme and, in the same field, Kit Consulting, both aimed at boosting the digitalisation of SMEs.

It also highlights the dynamism with which companies have integrated artificial intelligence (AI) into their processes; its adoption in Spain reached 9.3% in 2023 compared to 8% in Europe. However, this is an aspect on which Spain is continuing to work through different initiatives, as well as integrating other advanced digital technologies, such as big data and cloud computing. Nevertheless, the Next-Tech Fund is evidence of Spain's support for start-ups and the innovative scale-up ecosystem, which has been lauded in the Report.

A strategic aspect for building a healthier and more competitive digital society, and one that is looked at closely in the EU as an indicator year after year, is Digital Skills. Spain has passed with flying colours here due to the focus it has placed on making great efforts in this area.

The country has set a target of ensuring that 85% of the population have at least basic digital skills by 2030 - with the EU benchmark having been set at 80%. Spain has already achieved 66%, compared to the European average of 56%.

The same ambition can be seen in the indicators relating to digitisation of the administration, with Spain having achieved results above the EU average: the score received by public services for citizens was 84 compared to 79, and by public services for business 91 compared to 85.

This approach is in line with the suggestions for improvement made by the European Commission in its Report, stressing the need to continue promoting the necessary tools for digitalisation and to promote training and empower populations in the Member States. This applies both to jobs and tasks relating to the digital economy, people's day-to-day lives and their relationship with the administration.

In the case of Spain, the recommendations regarding the percentage of digital specialists in total employment stand out, as this is slightly below the European average, 4.4% and 4.8% respectively. Spain has been working on this aspect for some years now through initiatives like the Hacker Academy and Generation D SMEs, as well as the Chip Chairs and ENIA Chairs recently promoted to train professionals specialised in microelectronics.

Another example of good practice included in the report is the implementation of the Digital Rights Observatory and promotion of the Digital Rights Charter.

In addition to the many measures put in place by Spain to protect privacy and security online, the country is working to protect consumers and ensure the protection of minors in the digital environment; to prevent the dissemination of illegal content and hate speech; and to safeguard against the risks associated with digital technologies. In the same vein, the Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Function, José Luis Escrivá, yesterday presented the "Digital Portfolio Beta", the tool for verifying the legal age for access to content that is inappropriate for children.

Spain's commitment is to continue contributing to the recommendations made by the Commission in all areas, including the use of digital technologies to boost the ecological transition in strategic areas. This includes implementing innovative programmes to reduce the environmental impact of digital technologies.

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