The European Council agrees on goals for the digital economy

The European Council met on the 19 and 20 October to discuss migration, digital Europe, defence, external relations and Brexit. They endorsed the Leaders’ Agenda, a concrete work programme to guide EU’s action until 2019. With regards to the digital agenda, the European Council agreed to build upon the results of the Tallinn Digital Summit, discussed how the EU can seize the opportunities and address the challenges posed by digitalisation. Agreement was reached on a series of priorities:

• bringing governments and public sectors fully into the digital age

• completing the digital single market strategy by the end of 2018

• building a first rate infrastructure and communications network

• adopting a common approach to cyber security

• stepping up efforts to combat terrorism and online crime

• achieving an effective and fair taxation system fit for the digital era