Towards a Digital Single Market: How Europe can Reap the Benefits of the Digital Revolution?

Digital technologies are radically transforming the world's economy, with significant impact on trade, industry, labour markets and public services. Europe is well placed to benefit from these changes, but remains confronted to the fragmentation of its internal market. In this context, the European Commission, with the full support of the Member States, has identified the creation of a Digital Single Market as one of its top political priorities. A fully functional Digital Single Market could contribute €415 billion to the European economy and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs.

This article describes how the Digital Single Market Strategy contributes to reinforcing the digital dimension of the single market; stimulating investment in high speed broadband networks; transforming our productive system and building a European data economy; creating the framework conditions for a knowledge society (digital skills and data infrastructures); and securing and reinforcing trust in the Digital Single Market.