“Digital cohesion must be introduced as an important additional dimension of the traditional concept of economic, social and territorial cohesion into the EU Treaty. This is key since citizens empowered with connectivity and digital skills can offer significant value to their communities.” Gaetano Armao, Rapporteur for the Opinion on ‘Digital Cohesion’ made these remarks when addressing the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) COTER Commission during an exchange of views on ‘8th report on economic, social and territorial cohesion’.
Referring to the ‘Digital divide’ – the different levels of access to information and communication technologies – Armao, who is Vice-President of the Region of Sicily and Regional Minister for Economy of the Region of Sicily recalled that the 2021 EU Annual Local and Regional Barometer shows how the existing digital divides are not diminishing, but, on the contrary, growing. Stressing the need to address this, Armao said “The digital gap, is not recognised formally as a threat to the EU’s cohesion. A public debate on how to close the innovation and digital gap is necessary and should be focused on achieving a clear understanding of the ‘Digital Cohesion’ concept, which calls for the recognition of the essential role that technology plays in our life, and requires the integration of the Cohesion objectives (set out in the EU Treaty) in the digital rights, principles and policies of the Union.”
The rapporteur expressed concern that rural areas are still lagging behind in the area of connectivity and digital infrastructure. The report in fact outlined that there is a significant divide in broadband connection speeds between cities and rural areas. Since the highly developed regions have better access to high capacity networks, this risks further increasing territorial disparities, because less developed regions may be increasingly excluded from economic opportunities. As regards digitalisation of public services, Armao noted that the gap between individuals living in cities and those in urban areas even increased from 2019 to 2024 and warned that acceleration of digitalisation during the COVID-19 pandemic does not guarantee improved access and use of e-services.
With respect to the importance of access to digital tools to boost resilience Armao said “The events in Ukraine, accompanying refugee crisis and electronic warfare also show us that digital technologies are a key factor in bolstering our resilience. The capacity of citizens to connect to the Internet, to have access to the latest news, to be well informed and to process the information received, to enable relevant humanitarian actions, are crucial to help to cope with the unprecedented crisis that we are faced with. Therefore, the ‘resilience’ aspect of digital cohesion also needs to be properly addressed.”
Mr. Armao will next speak on the topic at the next Broadband Platform meeting in May. The opinion itself is foreseen for adoption in ECON on 8 July and final adoption at the October plenary session.