EU members debate whether, and how much, to open Horizon to the world

In times when cities are looking to digital solutions to tackle a growing range of interconnected challenges, a number of organisations representing European cities have recently taken the initiative to find a common ‘European way’ for the digital transformation of sustainable cities and communities by ensuring data and technological sovereignty in the European Union. The European Commission and the Committee of the Regions support the initiative.

Eurocities, Open and Agile Smart Cities (OASC), the European Network of Living Labs (ENOLL), the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the European Union call upon all official representatives of governments and public administrations at local, regional, national and European level in the European Union to agree on some principles and actions to better use all possibilities of digital technologies to improving the quality of life of European citizens. They are invited to sign a political declaration to that effect.

The extensive uptake and scaling up of digital solutions is also crucial to help our cities and communities meet their climate targets and reduce their environmental footprint in line with the European Green Deal presented by President Ursula von der Leyen on 11/12/2019.

What’s in it for us?

As a city, community and citizen we maintain our independence in deploying innovative digital solutions tailored to individual needs for both big and small communities while respecting citizen digital rights.

Member States support and facilitate cities and communities to develop efficient, cost-effective and citizen-centric services.

Developers and/or entrepreneurs will profit from the deployment and scaling up of open, interoperable, cross-sector and cross-border platforms.

Decision makers can more easily ensure data and technological sovereignty in the EU, respecting European values.

The initiative underlying the importance of taking forward and scaling up digital solutions was launched by the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU at Oulu Boost Event 2019 on 10/12/2019.

The signing process of the European Declaration to join forces to boost sustainable digital transformation in cities and communities in the EU will continue to the Cities Forum in Porto on 30-31 January and beyond.

#joinboostsustainEU #livinginEU #EUGreenDeal

These are the hashtags that you can follow in social networks if you want to know what moves around the initiative. For more information, you can also check the website of the European Commission.