Greece’s national digital decade strategic Roadmap

March 2024

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Greece’s National Digital Decade Strategic Roadmap outlines the country’s comprehensive plan to contribute to the EU’s Digital Decade Policy Programme 2030. It presents the current state, targets, policies, and actions Greece is taking to meet the EU’s four cardinal digital objectives:

1. State of play of digital transformation in Greece

Background: Greece has historically lagged in digital performance due to prolonged financial crises. However, in recent years, there’s been notable improvement due to institutional reforms, strategic planning, and funding support (e.g. Recovery and Resilience Facility – RRF).
Key achievements:
- Creation of a unified Ministry of Digital Governance.
- Development of the Digital Transformation Bible, encompassing 400+ cross-sectoral digital projects.
- Establishment of Gov.gr, the central public digital services portal.
- Adoption of key laws (e.g. Laws 4623/2019, 4727/2020, and 4961/2022) to enable digital governance and emerging ICT adoption.

2. National targets aligned with EU Digital Decade

Greece defines specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) across four core areas:

a. Digital Skills

Targets:
- 70% of citizens with at least basic digital skills.
- 180,000 ICT specialists.
Issues:
- Fragmented skills ecosystem; older populations and low formal education groups lag behind.
- ICT specialist shortage (~70,000 projected gap by 2030).
Measures:
- National Academy of Digital Competences.
- Focus on inclusiveness (women, elderly, people with disabilities).

b. Digital Infrastructure

Targets:
- 100% gigabit coverage.
- Full 5G coverage of populated areas.
- National participation in semiconductor value chains and quantum computing.
Progress:
- Rapid 5G deployment (~86% coverage).
- FTTP coverage rose from 7.1% (2019) to 27.85% (2022).
Plans:
- Establishment of a National Innovation Hub for Microelectronics.
- Participation in EuroHPC and EuroQCI projects.

c. Digital Transformation of Businesses

Targets:
- 56% cloud use, 40% big data, 32% AI adoption.
- 80% of SMEs with basic digital intensity.
Challenges:
- Greece lags in cloud (15.2%) and AI (2.6%) usage.
- SMEs dominate the business landscape (91.8% are micro/small).
Initiatives:
- €375M RRP program for SME digitalization.
- Creation of Digital Innovation Hubs (eDIHs) and improved funding for R&D.

d. Digital Public Services

Targets:
- 100% of major services available online for citizens and businesses.
- Universal access to electronic health records (EHR).
- Universal eID access.
Progress:
- Establishment and expansion of Gov.gr.
- Gradual rollout of digital wallets and national eIDs.
- Expansion of healthcare digital services (e.g. EHRs).

3. Challenges

General challenges: legacy infrastructure, digital divide, skills gap, resistance to digital change.
Specific to targets: inadequate digital adoption among SMEs, shortage of skilled professionals, and gaps in AI/cloud use.

4. Policies and measures

Each target is backed by detailed policies and investments. Some highlights:

Education and re-skilling (especially for ICT professionals).
Supportive legislation for AI and cybersecurity.
National strategies for broadband, AI, and cybersecurity.

5. EU cooperation and multi-country projects

Participation in projects under the Digital Europe Programme, EuroQCI, Chips Act, etc.
Cross-border initiatives on HPC, AI, cybersecurity, and quantum tech.