Belgium remains a top-tier performer in the EU, ranking 6th overall in the 2024 DESI thanks to strong connectivity and digital adoption. Its fixed broadband (≥100 Mbps) uptake is 67%, significantly above the EU’s 55% average, and very high-capacity network (VHCN) coverage reaches 78% of households.
In terms of internet speed, Belgium performs strongly: median fixed broadband speed was 107.01 Mbps at the start of 2025, while median mobile speed stood at 88.69 Mbps. This places Belgium among the top ~20–30 countries globally for both fixed and mobile speeds. Additionally, mobile penetration exceeds 125%, and 90% of the population uses mobile broadband, reflecting high digital access.
Belgium also excels in digital skills and e‑government: 93% of individuals are internet users, and 54% possess at least basic digital skills. Moreover, 88% of citizens utilise online public services, well above the EU average of 74%. These factors, combined with robust connectivity and strong infrastructure, firmly position Belgium among the most advanced digital economies in Europe.
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Spain’s digital profile is anchored by very high fibre coverage and strong interconnection. The FTTH Council Europe ranks Spain among Europe’s leaders for FTTH/B penetration (≈78.9% as of Sept 2023), which underpins fixed speeds and 5G backhaul. Major IXPs such as DE-CIX Madrid and ESpanix provide dense domestic and international peering, while new and legacy subsea cables, MAREA and Grace Hopper on the Atlantic side and 2Africa landing in Barcelona, give diverse, high-capacity routes into both the Atlantic and Mediterranean basins.
On cloud supply, Spain is one of the few EU markets with all three hyperscalers operating local regions: AWS Europe (Spain) in Aragón, Google Cloud Madrid, and Azure Spain Central near Madrid. Such a footprint is being reinforced by large-scale capex commitments (e.g. AWS’s €15.7 bn plan in Aragón and Microsoft’s €6.69 bn for additional data-centre capacity), supporting low-latency workloads and data-residency needs for public and private sectors alike.
Latvia’s public-sector digital infrastructure is robust and widely utilised. National e-ID and qualified e-signature tools (eParaksts) were used 22.4 million times in 2024, representing a 60% year-on-year increase, indicating to strong uptake of trusted digital identity in everyday services. In the EU monitoring for the Digital Decade, Latvian respondents also report high satisfaction with digitalisation (75% say it makes life easier). Together with GDPR enforcement by the Data State Inspectorate and an updated cybersecurity framework, this underpins a mature, EU-aligned governance model.
On infrastructure, the state-owned operator LVRTC operates a nationwide optical backbone and data centre network, known as the ‘Baltic Data Hub’. Its Riga TV Tower colocation site is listed in PeeringDB as the largest and most connected facility in Latvia and the Baltics, and the country maintains an active internet exchange footprint (LIX-LV tracked by Internet Society Pulse). These assets help keep traffic local and resilient while providing diverse paths to Nordic cloud regions.
In emerging technologies, Latvia stands out regionally for defence-grade 5G experimentation: NATO’s multi-year DiBaX campaigns have been hosted at the Ādaži test range, trialling 5G, drones and LEO satcom at scale. In AI, Riga-based Tilde won the European Commission’s Large AI Grand Challenge (2024), securing EuroHPC compute to build multilingual models, an EU-level recognition that places Latvia on the map for language-technology research and development.
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Romania stands out in Europe for the quality of its fixed digital infrastructure. It is consistently ranked at or near the top in fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) coverage, with around 95–97% of households passed by fibre networks, one of the highest rates in the EU. This extensive fibre footprint underpins very high fixed broadband speeds, which regularly place Romania among the fastest countries globally in independent speed tests, while retail prices remain relatively low by the EU standards. A dense network of Internet exchange points (InterLAN, RoNIX and others) keeps a large share of traffic local, improving performance and resilience.
The country also performs strongly in terms of data centre and interconnection capacity, relative to its size and GDP. Bucharest has emerged as a regional connectivity hub in South-Eastern Europe, with multiple carrier-neutral facilities and diverse fibre routes to neighbouring markets. Such an environment supports a growing cloud and content ecosystem and makes Romania an attractive location for regional hosting and transit. Combined with high fibre coverage, this positions the country as a strong infrastructure base for emerging services such as AI, cloud computing and content delivery.
On the skills and innovation side, Romania is recognised for its strong pool of ICT specialists and competitive labour costs, which fuel a vibrant software and digital services sector. The country has produced globally visible tech companies (for example, in automation and AI-related fields), and its engineering workforce is frequently cited as one of the strongest in Central and Eastern Europe. While overall digitalisation indicators (such as e-government use or SME digital uptake) still trail the EU average, Romania’s top-tier connectivity, robust interconnection fabric and solid ICT talent base make it one of the regional leaders on core digital infrastructure and technical capabilities.
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Ireland’s digital profile is strongly shaped by its role as an EU regulatory hub for large tech firms, alongside steady investment in ‘digital government.’ In the EU benchmarking, Ireland has regularly placed near the top of the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), reflecting strengths across connectivity, skills, business digitisation and e-government.
On rights and accountability, the Data Protection Commission (DPC) is a central actor: under GDPR’s one-stop-shop, it often leads cross-border cases while working through the EU coordination and dispute-resolution via the European Data Protection Board (EDPB). That EU-facing role was most visible on 22 May 2023, when the DPC concluded its Meta inquiry with a €1.2bn decision on EU to US data transfers, following an EDPB binding decision, highlighting how Irish enforcement can influence global data flows.
Ireland’s DPC, a key enforcer of EU’s GDPR
Dublin’s digital rulebook:Ireland sits near the centre of Europe’s digital rule-making because many major tech firms base key operations there, making the Data Protection Commission (DPC) a frequent EU ‘lead regulator’ under GDPR’s one-stop-shop system and in close coordination with other authorities and the European Data Protection Board (EDPB). That role became especially evident on 22 May 2023, when the DPC issued a €1.2bn decision against Meta and required changes to EU-US data transfers, underscoring how cross-border enforcement can affect global business models and people’s privacy. Ireland’s remit has also widened beyond data protection: under the Digital Services Act 2024, Coimisiún na Meán is the national Digital Services Coordinator, helping oversee platform transparency, systemic-risk processes, and accountability mechanisms, with the consumer authority (CCPC) involved for online marketplaces. Looking ahead, Ireland has opted for a multi-regulator approach to the EU AI Act, naming 15 competent authorities across sectors and planning a National AI Office to coordinate, build expertise, and support controlled experimentation. Together, these steps show a governance model that is increasingly ‘whole-ecosystem’: privacy, platforms, and AI supervision, balancing innovation aims with rights, safety, and regulatory consistency.
Ireland has also expanded its digital governance toolkit beyond privacy to include oversight of platforms and content. Under the Digital Services Act, signed into law in February 2024, Coimisiún na Meán is designated as Ireland’s Digital Services Coordinator, with the CCPC designated as a competent authority for online marketplaces, which is essential given the concentration of major platforms’ EU operations in Ireland.
Ireland’s ‘hard infrastructure’ agenda combines domestic connectivity targets with international links. The Digital Connectivity Strategy targets gigabit coverage by 2028 and 5G in populated areas by 2030, alongside resilience of international connectivity. This matters because Ireland is also promoting itself as a subsea cable gateway: the IRIS cable between Galway and Iceland was presented by the government as increasing the capacity and diversity of Ireland’s routes to Northern Europe.
Ireland’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva represents Ireland at the UN Office in Geneva and other international organisations based there, focusing on areas such as human rights, disarmament, humanitarian action, global health and trade. It serves as a liaison between the Government of Ireland and UN institutions in Geneva, advancing Ireland’s foreign-policy priorities through multilateral diplomacy. The Mission is headed by Ireland’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative in Geneva.
Internet governance in Croatia encompasses a comprehensive regulatory framework, policies, and practices that oversee the use and development of the internet within the country. The primary legal framework regulating internet services is the Electronic Communications Act, which ensures compliance with EU directives and promotes competition and consumer protection. The Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM) oversees the telecommunications sector, including internet services, ensuring fair competition and safeguarding consumer rights.
In terms of digital infrastructure, Croatia has made significant strides. The National Plan for Broadband Development 2021–2027 aims to provide all households with download speeds of at least 100 Mbps and public institutions with symmetric connections of at least 1 Gbps. As of early 2025, median mobile internet download speeds reached 93.63 Mbps, while fixed broadband speeds stood at 80.78 Mbps, reflecting significant improvements over the previous year. The country is also progressing in 5G deployment. A1 Croatia has been actively expanding its 5G network, with plans to achieve 90% population coverage in urban areas and 25% geographical coverage in rural regions by the end of 2025. The rollout has primarily focused on major cities such as Zagreb, Split, and Rijeka, with gradual expansion into smaller towns and rural areas.
Croatian stakeholders are active participants in various internet governance forums and initiatives at the regional and global levels. Croatian stakeholders participate in the annual South Eastern European Dialogue on Internet Governance (SEE+) and Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG) events, which bring together stakeholders from the region to discuss digital policy-related issues and challenges. At the global level, Croatia is a member of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). Croatia also has a national internet governance initiative called Croatian IGF, which was established as a bottom-up, multistakeholder platform for discussing internet-related public policy issues.
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The digital economy in Italy is experiencing significant growth, driven by advancements in technology and strategic investments. The country’s digital market is projected to reach approximately $2.77 billion in 2024, with significant contributions from sectors like security services, cloud computing, and AI. AI, in particular, is expected to add substantial value to the Italian economy, potentially contributing up to €312 billion annually, equivalent to 18% of the GDP.
In the Italian context, AI is expected to play a pivotal role in key sectors such as retail, financial services, healthcare, education, and the ‘Made in Italy’ industries, including agri-food, tourism, and manufacturing. These sectors are uniquely positioned to benefit from AI, leveraging its capabilities to preserve and enhance Italy’s competitive advantages on the global stage.
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Burundi has steadily built its digital infrastructure foundation, anchored by the Burundi Backbone System (BBS), a 1,245 km national fiber-optic network launched in 2013–2014 that links all 18 provinces and provides high-speed connectivity to government institutions, universities, banks, and ISPs. Mobile networks cover most of the population, with 2G reaching ~97%, 3G ~50%, and 4G around ~34% as of 2025, though rural areas still experience significant gaps. Recent efforts include solar-powered towers and satellite broadband (e.g., SpaceX Starlink) to enhance resilience and access in underserved areas.
Adoption remains modest: approximately 1.78 million internet users (~12.5% penetration) and 8.04 million mobile connections (~56.6% of the population) in early 2025. Digital literacy and advanced ICT skills are limited, with much of the population remains excluded from transformative digital services.
Institutions like MINCOTIM/SETIC and ARCT, alongside the World Bank–backed Digital Foundations Project (PAFEN), 1are steering digital expansion via policy, regulation, and rural connectivity programs. Nonetheless, the country’s digital economy is described as ‘nascent,’ with regulatory gaps, particularly in e-commerce, data protection, and digital trade, limiting full-scale digital integration and economic potential
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Malta has established a growing presence in the field of digital diplomacy, leveraging its position as a small but influential state within the European Union. Its digital diplomacy efforts are focused on advocating for a rules-based digital order, promoting data privacy, and supporting the responsible use of emerging technologies like AI and blockchain. Malta actively participates in international forums that discuss internet governance, cybersecurity, and the digital economy, often aligning its diplomatic efforts with EU policies. Malta has made digital cooperation a core aspect of its foreign relations, working closely with international partners to enhance cross-border digital trade and the regulation of digital platforms.
Malta shows a good performance in research and innovation framework conditions, consistently outperforming the EU average in several key indicators, particularly in digitalisation. Notably, the country ranks first for high-speed internet access and 9th for the share of individuals with above basic overall digital skills, reflecting its effort in enhancing its digital infrastructure and digital literacy among its population. To support the further adoption and development of digital technologies, Malta has allocated a significant part of its recovery and resilience plan to digitalisation
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Hungary’s strongest digital headline is connectivity. Gigabit-capable fixed broadband already reaches most households (around 84% in 2023). FTTP is also widely deployed, placing Hungary well above the EU average and among Central Europe’s leaders for fibre reach. These figures come from the European Commission’s annual Broadband Coverage in Europe study and datasets for the 2023 reference year.
On payments and transaction infrastructure, Hungary is an early mover: nationwide instant account-to-account payments went live on 2 March 2020, operating 24/7/365 and designed as a mandatory rail for domestic credit transfers (with rules issued by the central bank). The launch places Hungary among the first countries globally to implement an always-on instant payment system at a national scale, with the Magyar Nemzeti Bank documenting the regime and its legal underpinnings.
Regionally, Budapest also punches above its weight as a peering hub. The Budapest Internet Exchange (BIX) lists more than 130 networks and reports >1.4 Tb/s peak public traffic, anchoring diverse paths to neighbouring capitals and major European hubs, an important complement to Hungary’s high fixed-line coverage and improving mobile footprint tracked in the regulator’s annual State of the Open Internet report.
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